MOCA Support Group to Seek Permanent Design Endowment

The Museum of Contemporary Art has announced that the Architecture and Design Council will join several of its official councils. The council formerly was an independent, nonprofit organization, the Architecture and Design Support Group, founded in 1980 at MOCA’s inception.

The council’s primary goal will be to endow a permanent curatorial chair for architecture and design. To achieve that goal, the council will mount a major fund-raising effort this year as part of the current campaign for capital funds to support the museum’s future. To date, more than $100,000 has been pledged to the council.

Official recognition of the council followed 10 months of discussion and was celebrated at a reception at the museum attended by William F. Kieschnick, chairman of the board of trustees, and Richard Koshalek, MOCA’s director.

The former support group was founded to encourage and publicize support for the establishment of MOCA and to act as a liaison between the museum and the architecture and design community.

The support group has sponsored lectures by Michael Graves and Arato Isozaki, an exhibit, symposium, and film festival, and initiated a Little Tokyo design competition that resulted in opening channels of communication with the surrounding neighborhood. This good will was one of the major factors that led to the acceptance of the Temporary Contemporary as a long-term facility at its present location.

Bill Fain of Pereira Associates, president of the council, said future events will include a program at the museum to honor Isozaki, its architect. He said the council will also act as an advisory resource to the museum on design matters, drawing on the diverse expertise of its members, many from various professional design disciplines.

The council’s board, which includes David Martin, chairman, and Donna Vaccarino, executive vice president, will hold its first meeting this month to determine its 1987 schedule of events.