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Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Museum pops up downtown with free admission

Published 2012-04-02T19:46:00Z”/>

entertainment

Nicole Walker

Pop goes the weasel, or museum in this case.

The Museum of Northern California Art is a nonprofit art organization that lacks a permanent facility to display its collection. Therefore, MonCA will be holding pop-up museums downtown in various rented spaces to show off its art.

The first pop-up will kick-off with a reception Friday at 325 Broadway St.

The main motive behind the temporary museum is to exhibit a print collection donated by Chico State alumnus Reed Applegate.

Applegate has collected and carefully assembled his collection from the north state since the ’60s.

Art should be accessible and available to everyone, said Patricia Macias. She is one of the founders of MonCA as well as a ceramic lecturer and artist on campus.

“I just hate to see stacks of artwork that nobody else is able to experience,” she said.

Applegate’s collection is more than 350 works of art by artists from San Jose to Nevada and Oregon, such as Robert Arneson, Roy De Forest and David Park.

MonCA attempts to present this art in a comfortable environment for observation and educational opportunities.

The museum allows the community to view and enjoy art that varies in style, form, color and texture.

It is about showing people art, Macias said. The museum is not trying to sell art as a gallery would, just expose people to it.

MonCA began in August as the only museum for the entire north state and is run by advocates who are driven by their passion for art.

MonCA secretary Trudy Duisenberg is not an artist but shares an intimate relationship with the process of art because of its healing nature and educational acceptance, she said. She always found it as a release for her child who had learning difficulties growing up.

“Art changes many people’s lives, and to some people it is really special,” Duisenberg said.

MonCA values art appreciation and hopes to begin a program to bring original art and activities to schools and retirement communities in order to maintain art education.

The idea of the art being temporary draws students in, said Vanessa Hara, a junior psychology major who is in Macias’ ceramics class. It won’t be here forever, so they will want to see it while it is here.

Students like new ideas, and this pop-up may grab the attention of those unexposed to art, Hara said.

“Our goal is to make this a destination point,” Macias said.

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<strong>Nicole Walker can be reached at</strong>

<em>[email protected]</em>

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