Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia

Very intriguing place to go. It will be informative and thought provoking. It allowed me to take in everything each artist painted and really helped me to appreciate them and the painting.

Fairly disappointed from a visitor experience view point. There is no signage outside or once inside to direct visitors to museum. Once you do locate the museum downstairs, it’s labeled as a “research center”. Once inside the space is smaller than expected but that’s not an issue - the work by William Downs is breath taking and a must see. The issue is the lack of interaction upon check in. The associate is blocked from view by signage, you literally don’t see a person sitting behind the desk. She asked my name, checked me in but offered zero info about the organization or the work on view. When I specifically asked about this I was offered a note card and nothing else. The note card listed upcoming events - this wasn’t helpful at all. Please improve way finding and employ staff who are interested and excited to share about the work. A one minute introduction to make people feel welcome and offer insight would also help with conversion (if you’re interested in that). I typically prefer smaller museums for this more personal experience so was terribly disappointed in my first visit to MOCA.

It was a great experience, so much to see and learn! No wait to enter and no wait to buy the tickets

The museum is a delightful, small museum. I'm not much into art museums but I liked this one. It's just the right size to keep me from getting bored. The exhibits were fascinating.

I adore going to MOCA. Very Covid friendly and enjoyed having the space practically to myself to view the exhibition. Participated in the recent virtual artist talk and information on the exhibitions is readily available online. The staff has always been super friendly and informative. Super excited for the new space at the Goat Farm.

Beautiful space hidden off of Peachtree Road. Came here during the Atlanta Preservation Center's Phoenix Flies and really enjoyed the docent tour! All Georgia artwork.

A small hidden gem but the staff was very informative and the art was incredible.

Do not waste your time!! It is one white room, full of average paintings, in the basement of a warehouse. Plus they want five dollars!! At least the parking is free.

What a cool little hole-in-the-wall museum! I love art and supporting local artists and was thrilled to stumble upon this gem. We happened to be there on the day they were awarding artists at the end of the showcase, so it was really cool to see everyone with their artwork. It's a small space, but the impact of the art is that much more impressive. The only negative thing is the parking situation. They share a parking lot with some popular restaurants and it was a bit of a mess, so just keep that in mind.

Unique contemporary art museum featuring GA artists. Went for an alumni event and explored the Larry walker retrospective from his last years. Highly recommend it! The other galleries looked great as well but did not have time to view. The docent was personable and friendly throughout the evening. Parking is free and plentiful out front. Building is behind all the antique buildings.

New Location on 75 Bennett Street Small working art gallery. Neighborhood also houses several very cute antique shops. Seems a bit pricy for the $8 admission fee.

More of a gallery than a museum, MOCA Georgia usually has something interesting showing. It's a not a large space, so it doesn't take long to visit. There are a few other galleries in the building (the TULA Art Center) as well, including the Atlanta Photography Group Gallery. The new location is more accessible than the one near the High.

This place was stellar awesome. If you're into contemporary art, you HAVE to visit this place. Admission prices are $8 for a regular one time admission. If you're a student, tickets are $5 with a valid ID. If you purchase a family membership, you're allowed to bring one family member with you for free, and I think it is many times as you want as long as the membership is active. If you're asked to make the final left or right turn in the directions, drive all the way down the narrow street towards the "Antique" billboard. You'll see it in the distance... MOCA GA will be to your right with a black canvas overarch and white letters. Enter the lounge looking entrance, and you'll see the door on the left hand side. There is also a downstairs area (photography and the permanent collection). Here you will find photographs, sculptures, 3D pieces, objects, and so much more unique artwork. While admiring at one of the photographs, a gentleman came up and asked if we liked his work. It was cool to have this brief chit chat with him. This museum features local artists: students, upcoming, and established artists. This place is small and will take you a tad over an hour even if you hit the two areas (upstairs and downstairs) with reflection time at each piece.

This museum should: 1) be free 2) should not be called a museum (as that title is misleading) given that they only showcase two (and a half) artists. We visited the two exhibits Upstairs: Cathetine Wilmer's Just Passing Through, and Sheila Pree Bright's Working Artist Project were uninspired mediocre student art at best. The Catherine Wilmer exhibit was like flipping through someone's Instagram photos (and I don't think that was intentional), and the Sheila Pree Bright exhibit, though an incredibly important and current topic that should not be overlooked, and should certainly be expressed through art-- was unsuccessful and uncreative. It's not enough to bring up social issues, what makes an artist a great artist (in my opinion) is when they can raise social issues in creative ways that inspire emotional reactions from their viewer. It's not enough to educate-- that is not art. Art should move the viewer in some form. There was a similar exhibit to the Sheila Pree Bright done by a different artist that showed at the Smithsonian and another similar one that showed at MOCA in LA but those were larger than life, and really affected the viewer. Downstairs there was another large room but half of the walls were empty. The girl at the front desk apologized and said they were preparing for an event, but that there were still two rooms with some work in them. The art in these two rooms was mostly from the early 80s and nothing you would find at a reputable museum, most of it looked like the kind of art you might find in a Days Inn hotel (and this was certainly not the intention), a couple of pieces from the 60s and a couple from the 70s but again mostly uninspiring. Two weeks whole star because: 1- The staff was extremely nice! 2- there was free parking. 3- the two artists in the upstairs galleries (though not great work) were women artists, something that is hard to find in most art museums today -- that show great body of work by male artists and few pieces by their female contemporaries. 4- they are conveniently located near the Sunflower Cafe (which is fantastic), and numerous other FREE galleries (some of which have much more inspiring work), and they are free! 5- close enough to several antique shops that are worth checking out if you are in the area. You can get through this entire "museum" in about 15-20 minutes, and feel like: 1- you took entirely too long 2- you wonder who curated this stuff? It's awful. 3- how did I just pay $8 (regular), $5 (Seniors and students) for this kind of work? I have to say this r fir is purely based on the work exhibited, not the employees. One of the galleries was empty and I asked for half of our money back and they refunded us the full amount since the entire gallery was empty. They explained they had had an event the night before called PinUp where artists (who are members) get to pin their work to the walls for collectors. This sounds like a pretty cool event, however, the art we saw and the many empty galleries (not just downstairs, but also an entire empty gallery upstairs), did not excite the creative mind, nor did it warrant a return visit.

Some of the best art I have seen around the city!!! Really was taken back by this collection. We had the place to ourselves, and I do wish more people knew about this hidden little gem. Maybe they like it like that because it was so cool to be able to express your views and have fun (not like some of the stuffy joints)! I will follow them to see how they progress and how the collections change!

We visited the Museum of Contemporary Art for the first time on a recent weekday. We were looking for an art museum which we hadn't visited before. MoCA had the benefit of being slightly closer than others, plus it opened earlier; hence we decided to check it out before lunch. It is located on Bennett Street, towards the far end of a series of small shops. Once you arrive at their building, it is fairly confusing as to how to access the museum. Take the middle door, which says it is also for the TULA Gallery; the entrance to the MoCA is just inside, down the hall, on the right. They could really use some additional signage outside. Entry fee is $8 per person. This struck me as a bit steep for the size of the museum. The upstairs is composed of two galleries with rotating exhibits. One was a more political set of photo-faces on the floor + video; it had chalk boards inviting audience feedback. At least one foreign language entry stated that the person didn't like the exhibit... The second was more of a travel-related theme, with an interesting depiction of photos shown in rear-view mirrors from cars. There were also random street scenes from various world cities in small box-frames. The permanent collection of the museum is housed downstairs. You have to descend a tight spiral staircase to get down there. Most of this is in one large open gallery, with a few side-rooms. Overall, there were a few pieces I liked and a lot that were in the general category that make me question modern art. There are also working artists in studios around the complex, though none were open at the time we were there. Overall, I'm not sorry we went but I doubt I'd return.

Went for an event, and the atmosphere was really chill and modern. The look was industrial and they had a guitar exhibit up. I actually learned as I enjoyed myself. The staff was very friendly. Nice gift shop. Recommend.

Went here for the first time on my birthday weekend. We bought the annual family membership Groupon. We really enjoyed the exhibits and learned about their various talks and other events they have as well. It's definitely a good investment if you are looking for something different to do in the city. Even if you only go a few times a year, it would still be worth it in my opinion. The girl at the desk was very helpful as well.

I went to the museum on a Saturday at about 2PM, which is within the hours that it is supposed to be open. The upstairs gallery was open and I paid my $8 + tax but wasn't told that the downstairs exhibit was closed. When I went to that gallery and tried to open the door the lady at the front desk inside the gallery looked up waved her had indicating that I wasn't going to get in, and then went back to her work. The work itself varied: the front portion of the gallery had work by Chip Simone. It was supposed to be a retrospective but it really just felt like there were a ton of pieces that had been put together to fill up the space, not necessarily to create a coherent exhibit. The commentary could have been much more illuminating to build cohesion across the exhibit. The room behind this housed an exhibit "Pure Black" by Paul Stephen Benjamin which was really, really good and felt like it served a purpose. There were three black-on-black canvases on one wall; another wall had a rendition of the white house in black; a third wall had portraits of black men on black canvases that were so hard to see it seemed to be a part of the point; and in the middle was a large carpet of shattered glass titled "Ceiling". It was exquisite. While walking around the building, disappointed at the permanent exhibit which was closed, we stumbled upon an open artists' studio. This was Alexi Torres, whose large canvas of a firefighter meditation caught my attention. We knocked on his door and asked if we could see his work and it was stunning. His work and his willingness to welcome us in earns this review it's fourth star. I'd encourage you to check it out: www.alexitorres.com. He shares his studio with another artist and she was also amazing but I forget her name (sorry, if you happen to find this please send me your name so I can update this review!). As he sat there, painting Jewish motifs in white paint on a black canvass with the flag of Israel in the backdrop in faint, dull, white, I knew this had been time well spent, and that I'd discovered a new artist whose work I'll be following keenly.

Tiny "museum" that seems more like an art gallery, except that the paintings are not usually for sale. Admission is $5 ($1 if you are a student or a senior; free for members of the US military). They also have free admission on the First Thursday of each month. Some great contemporary art is shown here. They also host a wide variety of different arts events, and their space is available for event rentals. The tiny space makes for a limited amount of artwork on display. But, it's worth checking out, and will take 30 minutes or less to go through. you can also see digitized versions of their whole collection on their website.

Excellent art institution, very important for Atlanta and Georgia. The best show of 2012 was Martha Whittington 'deus ex machina', result of one of the three grants the museum gives to local working artists every year. It is important to get to know, visit and support this institution because they collect works and therefore help to write and preserve local history. This is about consolidating art and culture that serve the present: right here, right now. I wish museum visitors could see beyond the entertainment factor and understand the cultural function and importance that institutions like this have.

Went to the Georgia artists choosing Georgia artists exhibition. Some really interesting pieces. $1 for students is great and even $5 regular is very cheap for what this museum has to offer. Be aware that this is a small space and will not take more than 30-40 minutes to look at everything. Make sure to go next door to the studios and talk directly with the artists. I found Paul Light Jr.s work very interesting and he's a great guy to speak with too.

This is a very small museum, but it's worth visiting occassionally to check out some modern art mostly by Georgia artists. I've seen some great paintings and sculptures here, and one terribly impressive installation. I believe the museum is free as far as I can remember. It's just a short walk from the High, so it makes a nice addition to an art-filled day if you're in the area.