The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opened its doors to the public today, welcoming a sold-out crowd to its galleries, its park and gardens, and its landmark building in Los Angeles’s Exposition Park. Founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, the Museum is the first institution dedicated to the tradition of visual storytelling—tracing its history across cultures and centuries, from prehistoric cave paintings to illustration, comics, cinema, and murals.
The co-founders celebrated the historic opening with a special program that included Museum architect Ma Yansong and Lucas Museum CEO Tracey Bates. They were joined by more than 100 students from USC, the Los Angeles Technology Center, Otis College of Art and Design, and Los Angeles City College, having surprised them with free tickets to participate in the opening day program. Lucas and Hobson were also on hand to greet the first 100 visitors through the doors.
George Lucas said, “I’ve spent more than fifty years collecting the work of artists who don’t always get their due—illustrators, cartoonists, muralists, painters—because I believe their images are as vital as any other art form. They deserve to be in a museum.”
Mellody Hobson said, “This is a museum of the “people’s art”—the images are illustrations of the beliefs we live with every day, and for that reason, this art belongs to everyone. From the beginning, George and I have wanted this to be a place where visitors of every background can walk through our galleries and see themselves, and their humanity, reflected back. Today, that vision opens its doors.”
Lucas Museum CEO Tracey Bates said, “Today marks the culmination of years of work, and the beginning of the Lucas Museum’s life as a public institution. We set out to build a place that is both ambitious and accessible—one that welcomes everyone in South Los Angeles and beyond to discover the power of visual storytelling. This is just the beginning.”
Ma Yansong, founder of MAD Architects, said, “The opportunity to design an institution dedicated to the art of visual storytelling was an enormous privilege, especially as MAD’s first cultural project in the US. The design of the Lucas Museum is a metaphor for storytelling and imagination—a space to explore new possibilities. My goal was to create a building that invites curiosity and brings visitors on an emotional journey. The building’s biomorphic, dream-like form softens the boundary between indoor and outdoor, between architecture and park—because seeking a connection with nature is an innate human need. The museum also reflects Los Angeles itself: its pioneering spirit, its embrace of many cultures, and the relationship between nature, society and the city.”
Visitors to the 300,000-square-foot architectural landmark—designed by Ma Yansong of MAD with Stantec—discovered more than 100,000 square feet of exhibition space distributed across more than 30 galleries. In these installations, they experienced an unparalleled collection that brings together eras and mediums, featuring works by artists from Artemisia Gentileschi and Norman Rockwell to Frida Kahlo, Robert Colescott, Frank Frazetta, and Robert Crumb. A special gallery presenting rare film materials drawn from the complete Lucas Archives (1971-2012) featured Star Wars in Motion, an exhibition of designs for the visionary vehicles seen in the first six films in the series.
Beyond the galleries, visitors could explore:
- 11 acres of park and gardens designed by Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA, which create much-needed public green space for South Los Angeles, serving as a community gathering space and featuring 10 monumental outdoor sculptures of narrative art
- a film program with continuous drop-in screenings in two 299-seat theaters, the Robert Flaherty Theater and Slavko Vorkapich Theater
- a free public research library housing extensive general research collections, special collections, rare books, and archives, open to all visitors free of charge
- state-of-the-art educational and public programming spaces designed to bring storytelling to life for all ages
- a dedicated retail space with merchandise related to visual storytelling, inspired by highlights of the museum’s collections, designed and produced exclusively for the store
- and a signature destination restaurant, Skywalker Grill
The Lucas Museum will now be open to the public six days a week:
- Monday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
- Tuesday, closed
- Wednesday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
- Thursday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
- Friday, 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
- Saturday, 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
- Sunday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
The Museum is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day.
The library opens at 10 am and is shut one hour before the Museum closes. The park and gardens open at 8 am and close at sunset.
Museum admission is $25 for adults and $21 for seniors age 65 and over. Admission is free for children 17 and under, members, active-duty military, and LM37 passholders (current residents of the 90037 zip code). Memberships to the Lucas Museum start at $140 and offer unlimited admission, priority access, and previews.
To learn more about the Museum and to purchase tickets, visit lucasmuseum.org.
