My late summer travels in the northeast brought me to Mass MOCA, a huge contemporary art museum in the small town of North Adams, Massachusetts. Prior to its current life as the museum, the sprawling factory complex was home to textile printing, and then capacitor production companies over its 150+ year history.
The very specific reason for my visit was the same as every other amusement park enthusiast who recently had the museum land on their radar: Brava!, a custom Skyline Attractions-built rollercoaster that will reside at the museum for about a year and a half, until early 2024.
Brava! is the centerpiece of EJ Hill's Brake Run Helix exhibition, which includes other sculptures and paintings inspired by rollercoasters and their relationship to de-segregation efforts during the Jim Crow era. With Brava!, Hill subverts the typical expectation of an amusement park attraction, turning it from a shared experience to one that's held individually.
Brava! sits atop a wooden 'stage' in a large warehouse-esque building, flanked on either side by these windows. The huge amount of natural light made the ride a lot of fun to photograph.
Skyline Attractions has had a rough go of it. It feels like everything they put out faces endless problems before being unceremoniously retired early. This is probably one of their only installations that hasn't been a disaster, thanks to its near-complete lack of controls and electromechanical components. The only such element found on the ride is a standard truck winch which carries the ride vehicle up to the loading area.
In terms of rollercoaster experiences, there's probably nothing more unique out there. Brava! accommodates a controversially low 1 rider per hour, for a maximum of 5 or 6 riders per day. Reservations have to be made well in advance to score a ride.
Outside of those 'performances' the entire ride area is open to walk around, photograph, and touch.
Brava! is funny and absurd. The crowd of people watching and filming you on what's ultimately a kids' sized rollercoaster is anxiety producing. It's one of the most interesting and bizarre things I've gotten to experience in my amusement park hobby.
