Tom Marioni's Museum of Conceptual Art moved into its second San Francisco location on January 3, 1973, at 75 Third Street above Breen's Bar. Founded in 1970, MOCA treated conceptual art as a social artwork and became one of the key California centers for conceptual and performance-based practice. The new space supported a high point in the museum's activity: artists including Joseph Beuys, Chris Burden, and Dan Graham performed there, and Marioni's Wednesday Free Beer gatherings mixed salon, performance, video viewing, and artist network into a deliberately informal institutional form. Its short life made it a touchstone for alternative spaces and artist-run museums.
MOCA modeled the artist-run institution as both exhibition site and social practice.
