Independent Lens

Season 4

Episode 4: Downside Up

“Downside Up,” filmmaker Nancy Kelly's look at the effects of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art on North Adams, Mass., her economically beleaguered home town. Many residents, including a number of Kelly's relatives (seen throughout the hour) were skeptical when MassMoca opened in 1999. Even Kelly concedes that “this art scares me.” But MassMoca seems to have grown on the Kellys, and North Adams has been growing as well, even if it's not yet a boomtown. As one chef, a recent arrival from New York City puts it: “You raise the level of expectations and you create a scene.”