Directed by former MASS MoCA director of development Jennifer Trainer and narrated by Meryl Streep, “Museum Town” explores how the largest museum for contemporary art in the world ended up in North Adams, Massachusetts, and revitalized the post-industrial city.

A new trailer for the documentary sees locals and artists reflecting on their initial reaction to MASS MoCA. “I’m thinking, like everybody else, what is contemporary art? And then when I saw a little bit of it, I thought, ‘Oh my god. What is that stuff? People in North Adams are not ready for this,'” one character recalls. Others were more supportive of the venture. “If the state of Massachusetts were to put in, say, $35 million of taxpayer money, is this the kind of art that you would propose putting on view?” another character was asked. “And I said ‘Well, yes, this is exactly the kind of work that we we show,'” he emphasizes.

The doc also follows artist Nick Cave as he works on “Until,” an installation engaging with gun violence, race, and the American Dream.

“This is a story about risk — political, economic, and artistic — and the quest to build a contemporary art museum in a rural mill town in economic decline,” Trainer told us. “The idea of MASS MoCA landing in a small town was a story that begged to be told and has a lot to say to the national conversation about the rural and urban divide, and I felt I was the one to tell it.”

“Museum Town” will be released in virtual cinemas December 18 via the Kino Marquee virtual cinema platform.