GLENDALE, CA.- After over a year of closure the Museum of Neon Art will reopen on April 24th to members and May 1st to general audiences. Visitors will get the first view of MONA’s new exhibition, 40 Years of Light: Works From The Collection and Collective, which showcases an impressive range of pioneering light-based artwork from the MONA permanent collection and community, as well as a selection of MONA’s historic sign collection. In lieu of MONA’s usual tour and long form programs, the museum will offer several bite size educational experiences during the opening weekends - from hands on glass bending, to show and tells of vintage technology, and object spotlights in the galleries.

During the opening weekends, a small group of visitors who reserve slots will get the chance to dabble in glass bending through a guided 30 minute session with neon artists in the MONA studio classroom. Throughout the opening weekends urban anthropologist, author, and neon historian, Eric Lynxwiler will offer pop in experiences to educate and delight visitors with historic tidbits. On May 1st visitors will get a glimpse at vintage technology with historian and co-author of Neon: A Light History, Dydia DeLyser, who will showcase a neon salesman’s suitcase that would glow on the inside to demonstrate the light different neon tubes produced. MONA’s Immersive, one-day, bending classes and 8 week Introduction to Neon Art course will resume in the first week of May.

The Museum will be open weekends only in the month of May, and will expand hours from Wednesday to Sunday in June. Following California and LA County guidelines, as well as CDC recommendations, the museum will operate at a maximum of 50% capacity and is prepared for visitors with plentiful hand sanitizer, floor markings to remind patrons to keep a safe distance from each other, as well as contactless payment options, pre-purchase online ticket options (click here to purchase tickets), and enhanced cleaning and sanitizing protocols. All employees and visitors will be required to wear masks and stay 6 feet away from anyone outside their household while on MONA premises in order to prevent the spread of Coronavirus. The exhibition space will host no more than 40 people at a time, the gift shop no more than 20, and the lab/classroom will host no more than 12. Guests will be allowed in by appointment followed by a first come, first served basis.




“Research from the Berlin Institute of Technology during the pandemic demonstrated that Museums are the safest indoor activity in regards to transmission of Covid. We are thrilled to finally reopen after closure, providing a place of solace, connection, critical thought and wonder. We hope that the neon lights create an atmosphere of healing and invigoration for our visitors, and that our historic signs illicit nostalgia and educate about the compelling histories of California that they tell,” states Executive Director Corrie Siegel.

“While we are looking forward to sharing the glow of the neon lights with our community, our priority remains the safety and health of our visitors and employees,” says Executive Director Corrie Siegel. “Over the past 14 months we have developed reopening plans through careful consideration of the recommendations of the American Alliance of Museums, the CDC, and other health experts. Our team has gathered necessary safety supplies and developed protocol for maximum safety and enjoyment of the museum.”

The exhibition 40 Years Of Light: Works From The MONA Collection & Collective features 16 artists who create sculptural, kinetic, and atmospheric works that engage light. For the past 40 years, the Museum of Neon Art has been a haven for artists who valued experimental approaches toward luminous, electric, and kinetic artwork. The exhibition shares about the reemergence of neon art in the 1970s and the role artists who exhibited at MONA played in the canon of luminous artwork. When MONA was founded in Los Angeles in 1981, it was the only museum dedicated to preserving neon, electric, and kinetic art. In a time when the city was losing its glow and neon sign shops were losing their customers, the museum aimed to protect neon as a form of both vernacular art and fine art. Now in the museum’s 40th year, neon is seeing a new renaissance. Contemporary artists, benders, craftspeople, and enthusiasts see the light and honor the skill, craftpersonship, and historic legacy of this unique art-form.

This exhibition displays artworks from the 1980s through 2020 and honors the range of approaches toward light. Artwork by community members who continue to shape MONA’s vision and push toward experimentation are exhibited alongside works from the museum’s permanent collection. The exhibition illustrates neon’s dynamic and varied legacy, as well as the ways that MONA itself represents a sum of the contributions of its vibrant community. MONA continues to exist as an artist-run museum made strong by each unique individual who has shared threads of their light and vision to make a bright path forward for critical thought, experimentation, and artistic innovation.The exhibition showcases works by artists Brian Coleman, Candice Gawne, Cork Marcheschi, Craig Kraft, David Otis Johnson, David Svenson, Eric Zimmerman, Kunio Ohashi, Linda Sue Price, Maurice Gray, Michael Flechtner, Ray Howlett, Stephen Antonakos, Tsai Ten-Chin, Wayne Strattman and William Shipman.

“We are thrilled to share these works, many of which have not been exhibited publicly until now. The works exhibited demonstrate the range of ways artists have used light as a transformative, symbolic, and playful tool. The exhibition also pays respect to the stewards of this influential yet commonly misunderstood artform. Institutions and art movements are made of people and MONA would not be what it is today without the steadfast developments these artists have contributed to the craft of neon, as well as support they have shown to MONA during its development as a museum,” says Executive Director Corrie Siegel.