Art Museums in Los Angeles Mull Over Merger
- March 10, 2013 22:07
The beleaguered Museum of Contemporary Art has proposed a merger to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Lacma CEO Michael Govan responded to MOCA with a letter last month, but details have not been revealed.
“Combining Lacma and MOCA would strengthen both,” Govan said in a statement. “Lacma’s strong leadership, its history of fundraising, and its support from Los Angeles County and other donors will provide MOCA with the stability it deserves.”
Talk of a takeover by billionaire art collector Eli Broad, a cofounder of MOCA who pledged $30 million to the museum, have subsided for now. Broad is building his own contemporary art museum nearby.
MOCA fell on hard times last year when several board members resigned. Dissent ensued after New York gallerist Jeffrey Deitch became director of the museum and longtime chief curator Paul Schimmel quit.
Contributions and grants to the museum fell 21.5 percent to $14.6 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2011.
