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Backing up rumors we’d been hearing over the weekend, MoCCA, the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, is closing its physical space on Broadway in Soho, effective immediately, with hopes to move to a new space.

Changes Ahead for the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art

 The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (MoCCA), New York City’s only cultural institution dedicated specifically to celebrating the comics medium, will be closing its physical location effective immediately. 

The SoHo museum, currently at 594 Broadway, recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. While the physical space is closing, plans are afoot to continue MoCCA in a new and exciting incarnation. An announcement of MoCCA’s future arrangements will be forthcoming by the end of July.

Current memberships will be honored at the new venue, as will table renewals for MoCCA Fest 2013.


Suspicions that something was going on spread over the weekend as heard from several folks who had planned programs at the museum about suddenly having to reschedule them. According to an email from Steve Lafler, his Bughouse release party had to be moved to Bergen Street Comics after his July 12th MoCCA date was cancelled.

The MoCCA museum space is located at 594 Broadway, prime real estate in one of Manhattan’s most expensive neighborhoods that had been made available to the non-profit organization at a special real estate deal. It’s not too hard to guess that probably that deal no longer made sense to the landlords.

The Museum’s websitensays only that the museum is “currently closed to the public. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

Over the years MoCCA’s facility has been host to a number of fantastic comics events and exhibits and definitely served the local comics community so hopefully a new space can be found.

1 COMMENT

  1. It’s a drag that this happened so suddenly. They benefit greatly from a larger, street level space – so, hopefully they’ll recover from this and return in strong form.

  2. 10 YEARS! and i trust many decades more to come from this fantastic museum and group of incredibly dedicated group of volunteers. i look forward very much to their new incarnation! go MoCCA!

  3. So now would be a GREAT time for all the lapsed MoCCA members to RE-up their memberships and support the museum!
    MoCCA has been (and will continue to be) a central hub for the indy comics community and for the mainstream as well. The memberships would help them with the up front fees for a new space, and frankly the SoHo area has become so snobish and unfriendly that I think a new location will help the museum immensely.

    So like Craig Yoe said…
    Go MoCCA!

  4. MoCCA’s awesome. I’m going to re-up my membership.

    Although I’m sure Dan Nadel will have tcj.com write a victory lap article now.

  5. The ToonSeum looks forward to MOCCAs newest incarnation in a brand new space! In the mean time The ToonSeum in Pittsburgh will offer free reciprocal admission to all MOCCA Members. So dont let your memberships with MOCCA lapse, show your support of the cartoon arts through memberships with MOCCA, ToonSeum and the Cartoon Art Museum San Francisco!