ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Lucas Museum of Narrative Art to Open in Los Angeles After Years of Delay

institutional · 2026-04-26

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, a $1 billion project, is set to debut in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, on September 22, following eight years of setbacks. Established by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, the museum was initially planned to open in 2021. Designed by Ma Yansong, it boasts 300,000 square feet dedicated to exhibitions and gardens crafted by Mia Lehrer. The opening exhibitions will feature more than 1,200 items from a 40,000-piece collection, including pieces by Frida Kahlo and Star Wars memorabilia. Admission will be complimentary for children under 17 and residents of the 90037 area, while adult tickets are priced at $25. The venue also includes two theaters and has encountered various controversies, including delays due to Covid-19 and changes in leadership. Lucas describes it as "a temple to the people's art."

Key facts

  • The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will open on 22 September in Los Angeles's Exposition Park.
  • The museum was founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, with a cost of $1bn.
  • The building was designed by Ma Yansong of Mad Architects, with landscaping by Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA.
  • The inaugural exhibitions feature over 1,200 objects from a 40,000-piece collection, including works by Frida Kahlo, Norman Rockwell, and Robert Crumb.
  • The museum's collection is categorized as 'narrative art'.
  • Admission is free for children under 17 and residents of postcode 90037.
  • The museum has two 299-seat theaters named after Robert J. Flaherty and Slavko Vorkapich.
  • The museum faced delays, controversies, and leadership changes, including the departure of director Sandra Jackson-Dumont in March 2025.

Entities

Artists

Institutions

  • Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
  • Mad Architects
  • Studio-MLA
  • Ariel Investments
  • San Diego Comic-Con
  • The Art Newspaper
  • Vogue
  • Los Angeles Times
  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art
  • David Geffen Galleries
  • Dataland
  • MAD Architects
  • Comic-Con
  • Artnet News
  • Stantec
  • Vatican Museums
  • Louvre
  • Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia de México
  • University of Southern California
  • Museum of Science
  • William Rawn Associates
  • Powerhouse Parramatta
  • OMA/AMO
  • Open Architecture
  • Pelli Clarke & Partners
  • Centro Cultural Lola Mora
  • BIG
  • Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia
  • Ketterer
  • Koller
  • Ahrenshooper Kunstauktionen
  • Associated Press
  • ArtNet
  • Art News
  • Saturday Evening Post
  • Outing magazine
  • Harper's
  • Scribner's
  • Good Housekeeping
  • Hathaway Dinwiddie
  • Separate Cinema Archive
  • Artribune
  • Industrial Light & Magic
  • Skywalker Ranch
  • 18th Street Arts Center
  • UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
  • Claremont Museum of Art
  • Vincent Price Art Museum
  • East Los Angeles College
  • MAD
  • Getty Images
  • GraffitiStreet
  • Lucas Archives
  • Rockwell Group
  • WHY Architecture
  • Dezeen
  • Diversified Project Development
  • LERA
  • Alfa Tech
  • Empty
  • Glasbau Hahn
  • Build Group
  • Drinkall Dean
  • Lucasfilm
  • Disney
  • Starbucks
  • USC
  • California African American Museum
  • USC Fisher Museum of Art
  • California Science Center
  • Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center
  • Friends of the Parks
  • Presidio Trust
  • designboom
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust
  • Artists Rights Society
  • JLL
  • LA Times
  • USC School of Cinematic Arts
  • Dow Jones & Company
  • Design Museum Gent
  • Carmody Groarke
  • ATAMA
  • RE-ST architecten
  • KANAL–Centre Pompidou
  • Centre Pompidou
  • London Museum
  • Stanton Williams
  • Asif Khan
  • Julian Harrap
  • National Museum and Research Centre of Altamira
  • Artlyst
  • Skywalker Ranch Library
  • Exposition Park
  • Natural History Museum
  • BBC

Locations

  • Los Angeles
  • United States
  • Exposition Park
  • South Los Angeles
  • San Francisco
  • Chicago
  • Marin County
  • San Diego
  • Boston
  • Sydney
  • Australia
  • Parramatta River
  • San Salvador de Jujuy
  • Argentina
  • Suzhou
  • China
  • Jinji Lake
  • Gelsenkirchen
  • Munich
  • Zurich
  • Switzerland
  • Berlin
  • Northerly Island
  • Lake Michigan
  • California
  • Beijing
  • Santa Monica
  • Beverly Hills
  • USC
  • Presidio
  • Treasure Island
  • Altamira
  • Spain
  • Vatican
  • Sistine Chapel
  • Northern California
  • Bay Area
  • Mexico City
  • Mexico
  • Ghent
  • Belgium
  • Brussels
  • London
  • United Kingdom
  • Smithfield Market
  • Barbican

Sources

Related stories