Lucas Museum Of Narrative Art To Finally Open September 22

(MENAFN- USA Art News) The $1 billion Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is scheduled to open its doors in Los Angeles's Exposition Park on September 22, eight years after its 2018 groundbreaking ceremony. Founded by Star Wars director George Lucas and his wife, Mellody Hobson, a former Starbucks chair and current chief executive of Ariel Investments, the museum's opening was originally set for 2021 but was delayed twice.

Designed by Ma Yansong of Mad Architects, the museum features a curving, science fiction-style building. Its 300,000 sq. ft of exhibition space is surrounded by gardens and winding paths created by Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA. The structure incorporates numerous stylized elements, including three curved glass-tube elevators. Ma emphasized the building's function in Los Angeles's climate, stating,“In Los Angeles, you need a canopy, you need shading, you need the architecture to protect people from the sun. So this building is like a big tree. It's elevated. It's floating. And it casts a shadow for people underneath. We created a big plaza with shading, but with an oculus that allows people to observe the sky, so there can be this conversation between humans and the universe.”

The inaugural exhibitions will display more than 1,200 objects from Lucas and Hobson's private collection, which comprises 40,000 pieces, across 35 galleries with a focus on illustration. Lucas, 82, began collecting comics in college. The museum will present 20th-century comic strips by illustrators such as Robert Crumb alongside significant artworks by artists including Frida Kahlo, Norman Rockwell, and Maxfield Parrish. While Lucas has maintained it is not a Star Wars museum, some film artifacts, like General Grievous's wheel bike from Revenge of the Sith, will be on view. The institution emphasizes storytelling, with its founders classifying its holdings as“narrative art.”

Ryan Linkof, who became the museum's first curator in 2018 and now serves as senior curator and head of film programs, explained the concept:“Narrative art is rooted in storytelling, it is art that translates words into images. While all art has a story, not all art is about stories.” Tracey Bates, the museum's chief executive, added,“From the beginning, George and Mellody have had a clear vision for the mission of the museum: to platform and celebrate illustrators and artists whose work traditional institutions have often overlooked or excluded. The Lucas Museum is dedicated to creating a home for these unsung heroes of narrative art.”

Funded entirely by Lucas and Hobson, the museum aims for a democratic approach, rejecting distinctions between“high” and“low” art. Bates commented,“The museum is one of a kind because it brings together forms of storytelling that are rarely shown side by side.” Hobson, who was raised by a single mother facing financial instability, seeks to make the museum accessible to diverse audiences. She told Vogue in May that she intends for the gift shop to sell a 25-cent pencil that reads“First Draft,”“Second Draft,” and“Third Draft” as it is sharpened.

Admission is free for children aged 17 and younger, and for approximately 65,000 residents of postcode 90037, who can register for an annual pass. There are more than 100 schools within a ten-mile radius of the museum's South Los Angeles location. Entry to its on-site library is free for all visitors. General adult admission costs $25, while seniors pay $21. Galleries are organized thematically, featuring categories like“play,”“love,”“family,” and“adventure,” rather than chronologically or by artist. Linkof stated,“This idea that everyone, despite their expertise or art-historical acumen, can appreciate art is at the core of the project and George's vision. Many of the objects on view are works that people lived with in various ways, paperback books, magazines, posters, which makes the work inherently more democratic.”

The museum will also feature an extensive film program. At San Diego Comic-Con in July, details were shared about the inaugural programming for its two 299-seat theaters. A theater named after filmmaker Robert J. Flaherty (1884-1951) will show documentaries, including the specially commissioned Seeing Is Believing: The Story of Narrative Art, and films about artists whose works are exhibited, such as Diego Rivera and Weegee. Another theater, named for filmmaker Slavko Vorkapich (1894-1976), will focus on“the emotion of motion,” screening early silent films by Georges Méliès and Émile Cohl, episodes of the Japanese anime series Cowboy Bebop, experimental films by Man Ray, and Lucas's own student films.

Despite local excitement, the museum has faced controversies. Construction was significantly delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, and there were conflicts between architects and contractors. In March 2025, director Sandra Jackson-Dumont resigned after five years, with Lucas assuming much of the curatorial direction. In May of last year, the museum laid off 15 full-time and seven part-time employees, primarily from education and museum services, which appeared to conflict with the founders' stated emphasis on educational programming.

The categorization of“narrative art” has also drawn skepticism. In 2017, critic Christopher Knight wrote a critical piece for the Los Angeles Times, calling the museum a“bad idea” and a“vanity museum.” Knight argued,“'Narrative art is a made-up category,' Knight wrote. 'Narrative art is visual art that tells a story,' [the Lucas Museum's website] explains, merely repeating the same concept twice with different phrasing. A perfect tautology, that's nothing to build an art museum around.” Museum staff disagree, with Linkof stating,“The Lucas Museum is dedicated to the kind of art that captures and communicates shared stories and helps to inform our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.” Lucas himself has referred to the museum as“a temple to the people's art.”

We previously reported:

The $1 billion Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, is scheduled to open in Los Angeles on September 22.

The CEO of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has addressed staff layoffs and high-profile departures that occurred in 2025 ahead of its opening.

Source: The Art Newspaper

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