Cleveland鈥檚 Museum of Contemporary Art, also known as moCa, has had a reputation for going against the grain for more than a half century.
When a racial reckoning spread across the country in the spring of 2020, moCa faced its own sort of reckoning.
鈥淲e had various things that happened in moCa that were problematic,鈥� said Joanne Cohen, board co-president at moCa.
Questions were raised about the museum鈥檚 past openness to its non-white staff and visitors. The museum canceled an exhibition depicting police violence against people of color. And its longtime director Jill Snyder resigned to make way for cultural change at moCa. Many museums are facing similar issues, here and across the country.
鈥淎rt institutions, it goes without saying, they've had a reputation,鈥� said Stephen Sokany, board co-president at moCa.
The museum is rolling out several changes to evolve its reputation.
Audra T. Jones, the moCa board鈥檚 third co-president, said that the museum needs to promote a feeling of diversity and inclusion.
鈥淚t's important for people to feel welcome in coming into these doors,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd how is that? What do we do? We make certain that people that are being exhibited in this space are representational of that in the community.鈥�
Criticism of moCa even hung from gallery walls, as part of an exhibition by former curatorial fellow La Tanya Autry, called 鈥淚magine Otherwise.鈥� Alongside a collection of paintings, film loops and other images were signs that read, in part:
鈥淎utry envisions possibilities beyond moCa Cleveland鈥檚 consistent antiBlack practices鈥︹��
and
鈥�Imagine Otherwise is a limited, yet hopefully, significant prodding for an authentic, community-led institutional reckoning of moCa Cleveland鈥︹��
Curator La Tanya Autry's Imagine Otherwise exhibition statement [David C. Barnett / 91福利]
鈥淭hat critique was part of the concept of the show,鈥� said Megan Lykins Reich, executive director at moCa. 鈥淎nd so to not have shared it would have been to not have offered the curator鈥檚 full vision.鈥�
Reich took on interim moCa director duties in the wake of Snyder鈥檚 departure and has since been officially named executive director.
鈥�She's such a quick study, super smart,鈥� said Joanne Cohen. 鈥淪he understands what it takes to be a leader. I mean, she had been doing that and illustrating that so well in the past 18 months.鈥�
Joanne Cohen, moCa board co-president [Jean-Marie Papoi / 91福利]
Reich actually started at the museum as an intern in 2001, and she worked her way up through a variety of positions, culminating in her new appointment.
鈥淭here was a fair degree of soul searching, to use a kind of cliched term, but also a lot of very hard, honest conversation among a variety of individuals to understand where we needed to go and how we might approach getting there,鈥� Reich said.
Antwoine Washington was one of the artists in the exhibition La Tanya Autry curated last year. He called his installation 鈥淎nd Yeah, About That Seat at the Table.鈥�
鈥淟aTanya first believed in the work that I was doing as an artist,鈥� Washington said.
Washington鈥檚 piece was installed in an offsite gallery on Cleveland鈥檚 West Side. As it turns out, the work was the victim of a bit of controversy itself.
The piece explored the struggle of underrepresented artists to have a voice in the mainstream art world. The work was installed in a room painted white, with illustrations and personal objects from Washington鈥檚 life hanging on the walls. The centerpiece was a table with a single seat. That seat was covered with scattered $100 bills, carrying the message that only those with privilege get to sit down.
Antwoine's installation 'And Yeah, About That Seat at the Table.' [Field Studio]
鈥淚 wanted to tell a story about exactly what's going on,鈥� Washington said. 鈥淚t was me telling that story from such a personal standpoint and also just me like bearing the history of how Black folks have been able to, still, through all of these different roadblocks, we are still able to rise through it all. It doesn't matter if they don't let you in, go build your own damn table .鈥�
The exhibit was displayed in an apartment space that was occasionally used as an Airbnb. As the show was about to open, Washington stopped by to check on the installation and was shocked by what he saw.
鈥淟iterally, it was socks, underwear, clothes, equipment, crumbs, napkins and just like someone ate at the table. And also, just threw the stuff all over the place.鈥�
The show was quickly relocated to an East Side gallery, where the exhibition finished its run.
After being vandalized, Antwoine Washington's exhibition was moved to Vince Robinson's East Side gallery [Antwoine Washington]
When Megan Reich heard about the incident, she reached out to Washington.
鈥淎nd so, we began talking about what it might look like to consider a partnership where they could program within our building,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd then we could collaborate on joint programing and learn from one another about the ways in which we approach making exhibitions, working with the community, supporting youth. So, it was it was a really organic process.鈥�
Megan Lykins Reich, moCa Cleveland executive director, and Antwoine Washington, MOCHA co-director, discuss their collaboration [Jean-Marie Papoi / 91福利]
And it certainly was a new experience for Washington. He said he鈥檇 only stepped inside the museum a few times.
鈥淣othing against the people who were curating shows before, but there was nothing to draw me as a Black person to come,鈥� he said.
In fact, that was one of the reasons he created his own arts organization, the Museum of Creative Human Art (MOCHA). He started the non-profit two years ago with longtime friend Michael Russell in order to give voice to underrepresented local artists and to mentor a new generation.
He said there has been some confusion over the 鈥淢OCHA鈥� nickname of his organization and moCa Cleveland.
We've always called it MOCHA for short, he said. It was a coincidence.鈥�
Michael Russell and Antwoine Washington are co-directors of MOCHA [Antwoine Washington]
Washington and Russell were given full autonomy of their own space at the museum. They are curating the gallery with the work of other local artists and providing art education workshops for young people.
In addition to MOCHA鈥檚 institutional stay on moCa's second floor and further residencies offered to individual artists around town, moCa is working to diversify the museum鈥檚 board of directors, including splitting the board presidency among three people. Development expert Stephen Sokany from greater Cleveland鈥檚 LGBTQ+ community is one of them.
Stephen Sokany, moCa board co-president [Jean-Marie Papoi / 91福利]
鈥淲e're in this very critical time right now,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o, how do we develop programs that engage those historically overlooked constituencies to come in and feel welcome? With Megan's leadership, with the board鈥檚 crystal focus on that, I think our best days are ahead of us.鈥�
The museum is focused on operating in a new world, Reich said.
A new world that鈥檚 looking for more than a seat at the table. Board co-president Audra Jones said, for her, there鈥檚 a lot more to diversity, equity and inclusion than rearranging furniture.
鈥淛ust having a seat at the table doesn't always mean that you have the opportunity to make decisions and to have input into decision-making,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淲e find that in many areas, not just in the arts. And so just having a seat at the table doesn't mean you get to pick up the spoon and eat, okay? Being in a leadership role helps you get to the dessert phase.鈥�
Washington said his goal is to pay the residency experience forward and exhibit the work of other local artists in his gallery. For Megan Reich, this MOCHA-in-moCa experience is part of a larger lesson that her 54-year-old museum is learning.
Sometimes an institution needs to figure out how to get out of the way or back off, or step down or step away or get quieter, so that we can be realizing our mission and delivering on our values as best as possible, she said.
