I can be an artist, too!' " But the museum seeks to induce a subtler epiphany, Ms. Hoffberger said.
Spontaneity and other personal expressions are among the qualities that the museum seeks today in the objects it acquires.
In his place, Kerry Brougher, currently deputy director and chief curator, would serve as acting director while the museum seeks a successor to Mr. Koshalek, he said.
In addition to its collection, the museum seeks to educate through various programs, including the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies and the Academy for Genocide Prevention, which provides training in foreign policy.
Bret Eynon, an administrator at La Guardia Community College, practically next door to the museum, said officials at the Modern, through programs with the college, were cultivating the kinds of visitors that the museum seeks.
From ancient artifacts to contemporary art, the museum seeks to anchor the archaeology, material culture and ethnography of the world's Jews within a broader global context, both Western and non-Western.
MCA Director Madeleine Grynsztejn says the museum seeks to be 50/50 artist-activated/audience-engaged.
Having already brought performance art to the general public consumption with Marina Abramovic's The Artist is Present in 2012, the museum seeks to make sound art the next topic of discussion on the general public's lips.
In 2005, the museum, seeking expansion money, came close to selling it -- outraging critics, board members and arts professionals.
Meanwhile, the museum sought a bank loan of $2.7 million against the city's option to buy back the lease, and the board in December authorized using up to $1.4 million of the loan to pay back Mr. Sciame.
