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Calling all crappy artists! The Museum of Bad Art wants your subpar work.
Yep, you heard that right. There’s a museum in Massachusetts that’s dedicated to preserving shoddy drawings and paintings. Their slogan is, “Art Too Bad to be Ignored.”
Established in the autumn of 1993, the Museum of Bad Art presented its first exhibition in March 1994. The exhibition took place in the basement of a privately owned home in Boston. At the time, nobody expected there to be a big turnout. However, it ended up being quite the hit.
Twenty-two years later, and the museum is still going strong. In fact, the museum now publishes an electronic newsletter in addition to their popular book called Museum of Bad Art: Masterworks. They even have three different locations now.
One of the locations is at the Brookline Gallery. On the top floor, visitors can expect to see anywhere from 20-40 bad art pieces. Each piece is accompanied by an official artist statement in which the artist explains their motivation and interpretation. Admission is free.
The second location is at the Somerville Theatre. The movie theatre/concert venue displays pieces from the Museum of Bad Art on their basement level floor. Admission to the museum is free with the purchase of a concert or movie ticket.
Lastly, the third location is at the New England Wildlife Center. Again, admission to the museum is free.
Although the whole concept is pretty funny, it’s also rather genius. At one point or another, we’ve all experienced going to a museum and seeing a work that we perceive to be “crappy.” How on earth do people consider this art?! we think to ourselves.
But now there’s a place where people can go to appreciate this type of absurdity. It’s satire in its most beautiful form. What’s more is that it reminds us that art is meant to be enjoyed.