Boca Museum of Art

The Boca Raton Museum of Art will be the first museum in the nation to host the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s groundbreaking exhibition, The Art of Video Games, following its enormously successful presentation in Washington, D.C.

 The exhibition in Boca Raton, presented by FMSbonds, Inc., explores the 40-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, focusing on striking graphics, creative storytelling, and player interactivity. During its stay in South Florida, the Boca Raton Museum of Art will also offer a variety of associated programs and educational opportunities for visitors of all ages and interests.

The exhibit highlights some of the best games for 20 gaming systems ranging from the Atari VCS to the Playstation 3. It will feature 80 video games presented through still images and video footage. Video interviews with developers and artists, historic game consoles, and large prints of in-game screen shots are included. Five featured games, one from each era, are available for visitors to play for a few minutes, to gain some feel for interactivity. The playable games – Pac-Man, Super Mario Brothers, The Secret of Monkey Island, Myst, and Flower – show how players interact with the virtual worlds, highlighting innovative new techniques that set the standard for many subsequent games.

The Art of Video Games is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum with generous support from the Entertainment Software Association Foundation; Sheila Duignan and Mike Wilkins; Shelby and Frederick Gans; Mark Lamia; Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk; Rose Family Foundation; Betty and Lloyd Schermer; and Neil Young. Promotional support is provided by the Entertainment Consumers Association. The C.F. Foundation in Atlanta supports the museum’s traveling exhibition program, Treasures to Go.