The Contemporary Arts Center is thrilled to partner with Kino Marquee to present the December 18, 2020 virtual re-release of Museum Town! This documentary tells the story of an unconventional museum, the small town of North Adams, MA it calls home, and the great risk, hope, and power of art to transform a desolate post-industrial city.
Museum Town also looks at the artistic process itself—not only how museums work but how artists create, tracking celebrated artist Nick Cave as he builds the monumental installation “Until,” a reflection on gun violence, race, and the American Dream.
Your ticket purchase directly supports the CAC and our efforts to continue delivering programming and supporting artists during COVID-19.
Buy Tickets
Kino Marquee was created in part to provide an immediate lifeline to cinemas and arts institutions, and is turning hundreds of venues (theaters and otherwise) into virtual cinemas, making it easy to engage with audiences and generate revenue during COVID-19. More than 600 arthouse cinemas and arts institutions have participated so far, now including the CAC.
About Museum Town
Year: 2019
Running Time: 76 minutes
Country: U.S.
Language: English (English Closed Captions)
Directed by Jennifer Trainer, a former journalist and one of MASS MoCA's original builders, and narrated by Academy Award® winner Meryl Streep, the documentary tells the story of an unconventional museum, the small town of North Adams, MA it calls home, and the great risk, hope, and power of art to transform a desolate post-industrial city. Today, MASS MoCA is the largest museum for contemporary art in the world—but just three decades ago, its vast brick buildings were the abandoned relics of a shuttered factory. This documentary tells how such a wildly improbable transformation came to be.
Museum Town also looks at the artistic process itself—not only how museums work but how artists create, tracking celebrated artist Nick Cave as he builds the monumental installation “Until,” a reflection on gun violence, race, and the American Dream. In addition to Nick Cave, the documentary features appearances by artists James Turrell, Laurie Anderson and David Byrne, with original music and soundtrack by John Stirratt of Wilco, featuring songs by Talking Heads, Sharon Jones, Big Thief, Wilco, Moses Sumney among others.