The Museum Of Bad Art collects, exhibits, and celebrates work that will find a home in no other venue. Founded in 1993, MOBA’s public galleries have been housed in the basement of vintage movie theaters in the Boston area: Dedham Community Theatre, Dedham, MA and Somerville Theater, Somerville MA.

We lost the space in Dedham 20 years ago and in the fall of 2019, we had to move out of the Somerville Theater, leaving MOBA homeless. We worked hard to source new gallery space, to no avail. 

With a worldwide audience, we had long defined our presence as a mix of in-person and online connections, so we put more effort into our website, Facebook activity, and Curator Talks on YouTube.

In the past, we had occasionally visited public libraries, bringing along art and a slide show to introduce the Museum Of Bad Art. Every few years, I brought a car full of MOBA art to Tewksbury Public Library, Tewksbury MA, for an evening with MOBA.

In October 2020, since we couldn’t visit, Tewksbury’s Community Outreach Librarian, Robert Hayes, suggested a fully remote, virtual program for his library. I agreed immediately. This would be a way to continue the connection to Tewksbury. Presenting MOBA from my desk at home is a lot easier than loading the car with art and driving 40 miles. We agreed on the same fee he had been paying for in-person visits.

The evening was a success. Rob wrote a very nice letter thanking us for the program. Within a few days, we had decided to offer MOBA 101: An Introduction to the Museum Of Bad Art to other Massachusetts libraries. We quickly found that it’s not hard to collect email addresses for public library staff in MA. We built a list of about 400 libraries and their senior staff.

MOBA’s Curator in Chief, Michael Frank, had upgraded the MOBA 101 slide show, adding reference photos of works that may have inspired pieces in our collection and finding appropriate music clips to introduce some of the art. That effort grew into developing four additional MOBA Curator Talks:

• Dopplehangers, works that intentionally or not, resemble famous people
• In the Nood
• MOBA Zoo
• Tough Times, from having a bad day to Dystopian Apocalypse

These programs were developed in PowerPoint to be shared via Zoom. By the time we were ready to email our promotion to libraries, we could offer them a choice of five MOBA programs. There was a discount for booking two or more Curator Talks.

In November and December, we sent promotional emails that included Rob Hayes’ endorsement. We were convinced that the flood of mediocre virtual content meant that differentiation, uniqueness, and strong identity would help an offering stand out. Of the 400 libraries in Massachusetts, 19 of them booked 25 MOBA programs.

The Curator Talks are live presentations of a PowerPoint slide show. Each one is narrated by Michael Frank or by me. When one of us narrates, the other monitors Zoom chat to respond to questions and comments. At the end of the 35 to 40 minute program, we open for Q&A. Entertaining and engaging an audience means that they will talk about and recommend a program.

Beyond Massachusetts

Our success in Massachusetts led us to dig into library resources in other states and build lists state-by-state. Very few states had lists as accessible as MA, but we managed to build a list for each state except Hawaii where it seems that no one is meant to contact a library via email! The total mailing list is now at about 10,000 names.

Discounted price for booking two or more programs encourages about 10% of clients to book multiples. We encourage very small libraries to work with their peers and split the cost. We have sent as many as nine invoices to cover one program, making it easy for them.

Here are some things that work for us: 

• In February, a librarian in Illinois was pleased with a MOBA program. She commented about it on a Librarians’ Listserve. Within three weeks, we had booked 20 more programs in Illinois. Now when a librarian is pleased, we ask for comments on their Listserve or discussion board.

• We allow the libraries to record the program and share with their patrons for up to four weeks. 

• We expected libraries to schedule Monday through Thursday, early evening. But we’ve had afternoon, weekend, and even Friday nights. Now we say we’re available almost any time. 

• After too many emails and phone calls with certain clients, we learned to set up a “booking summary” that includes booking details, technical information, promotional text and images, an invoice, and more. This document continues to evolve. 

• We provide each library with short paragraphs about the museum, the presenters, and the program, as well as image files with our logo, a splash sheet for the program, and a photo of the presenter. This helps keep the local promotion in synch with our positioning. 

• It took us longer than it should have to learn to test everything. Test the slide show. Test the Zoom connection. Set up a tech test with the client a day or two before. 

• On my PC, I learned that an add-on monitor allows me to share slides, but still see my notes. (Please don’t ask me questions about this. With a great deal of help, I’ve got it working, but I know I can’t help you!) 

• We offer to list the library’s program under Events on the MOBA Facebook page. This may bring a few additional visitors to their program and it’s evidence that we’re busy and engaged. 

We’ve booked 85 programs, about half of which have been delivered in 20 states. We expect the pace of virtual programming to slow down as pandemic restrictions ease, but we believe that many Zoom programs will continue. We will contact the US libraries again, perhaps add Councils on Aging, or libraries in other English-speaking countries. Our sales proposition will change from ‘No one can go out, so here’s something they can do at home” to “you can’t afford to bring your patrons to a museum, so here’s a way to bring the museum to them.”

The benefits to the Museum Of Bad Art have been numerous:

• Program fees are a steady source of income
• New audiences are discovering MOBA, then
• Visiting our website and Facebook page
• Shopping at our online gift store
• Offering to donate art

We, the museum staff, have been energized by this new activity and new audiences.