10 November, 2018
"Who loves pizza?" is a question you almost never have to ask an American.
A better question might be "Who doesn't love pizza?"
Now, there is a place for all pizza lovers to gather: the newly-opened Museum of Pizza. It can be found in America's pizza capital — New York City.
A company called Nameless Network came up with the idea for the museum, known as "MoPi" for short.
"It's often that the simplest ideas are the best," said Alexandra Serio. She is with Nameless Network.
The company used the popularity of pizza as a way to get people "looking at art and hearing about history in a different format," Serio explained.
She added that Nameless Network asked many kinds of artists to create art works about pizza. They, in turn, provided large photographs, sculptures and huge installations.
This Nov. 2, 2018 photo shows a textile sculpture from artist Hein Koh called "Mystic Pizza," part of a group art exhibition celebrating pizza at The Museum of Pizza in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
Thousands see MoPi
The Museum of Pizza is set up in a large space on the street level of the William Vale Hotel in Brooklyn, New York.
MoPi is a "pop-up" museum – meaning it can be enjoyed only for a short time before being moved somewhere else.
So far, the museum has had lots of visitors. More than 6,000 people came through the doors when it opened this month.
Visitors seem to love MoPi's bright colors, which makes it perfect for taking selfies and other photographs for social media.
Nene Raye, from New Jersey, was a recent visitor. Raye did not expect to see what she saw – and she was happy about that.
Honestly, I thought it would be, like, more of a traditional museum, she said.
But instead, Raye got some of everything. "So you get a little bit of education and then some fun, which I love," she said.
Nameless Network's Alexandra Serio said that, in recent years, art museums have changed as they've aimed for younger visitors. They are becoming more interactive and photo-friendly, she said.
Pizza lovers love it
Lydia Melendez had made plans to visit the pizza museum in April. For her, the experience was worth the wait.
"I thought it was going to be kind of boring," she said. She imagined walking in and finding books on how to make pizza.
But she was very pleased when her actual experience was different than what she had imagined.
Pizza may be what has captured the interest of crowds. But the point of the museum has been to help people experience more art.
Serio said the Museum of Pizza's crowds are unlike the crowds at more traditional museums. But MoPi is making art available to everyone.
I'm Alice Bryant.
The Associated Press reported this story. Alice Bryant adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
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Words in This Story
museum – n. a building in which interesting and valuable things (such as artistic, scientific or historical objects) are shown to the public
format – n. the form, design, or arrangement of something
sculpture – n. a piece of art that is made by carving or molding clay, stone, metal or something else
installation – n. a work of art that usually has several parts and that is usually shown in a large space
interactive – adj. designed to respond to the actions, commands, etc., of a user
boring – adj. dull and uninteresting