(Los Angeles, September 2, 2026) —
Westhollywoodtoday.blogspot CA
By Karen Ostlund
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will open its doors to the public on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, showcasing more than 100,000 square feet of gallery space across 30-plus galleries.
10AM, Speakers at preview, Sept.2 2026.(Left to right)Mia Lehrer: President of Studio-MLA, who designed the sculpture-filled surrounding gardens and landscape.Tracey Bates: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) guiding the museum's launch and operations.George Lucas & Mellody Hobson: Co-founders whose vision and funding brought the $1 billion institution to life.Ma Yansong: Founder of MAD Architects, who designed the futuristic, cloud-inspired main building.Ryan Linkof: Senior Curator and Head of Film Programs, overseeing the rich collection of film, art, and storytelling artifacts.
The museum was founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, which traces visual storytelling across cultures and centuries — from prehistoric cave paintings to illustration, comics, cinema, and murals.
Art and popular cultures are presented, side by side, as part of one continuous visual tradition. The museum also features a free Research Library and the new restaurant Skywalker Grill.  |
| The 2-floor Lucas Museum's Research Library, is sleekly curved, and features research collections, special collections, rare books, and archives - which will be open to all visitors free of charge. |
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Skywalker Grill, the new restaurant atop the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, draws inspiration from the welcoming spirit of George Lucas's Skywalker Ranch, designed by Rockwell Group and operated by Rhubarb Hospitality Collection (part of Oak View Group). Skywalker Grill invites guests to enjoy panoramic views of Los Angeles, and will be open to both museum visitors and the general public.
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The 300,000-square-foot building, is designed by Ma Yansong of MAD with Stantec, and located in historic Exposition Park.
Architect Ma Yansong is seen as a narrative artist, which includes an installation of drawings, and photographs of his visionary work for MAD, including the Lucas Museum and other projects.
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| Starwars costumes for C-3PO by John Molla 1981-2005. Star Wars prop by Norman Reynolds. |
The museum's collection spans a wide range of eras —from Artemisia Gentileschi and Norman Rockwell to Frida Kahlo, Robert Colescott, Frank Frazetta, and Robert Crumb—alongside film materials that include the complete Lucas Archives (1971–2012).
Included in the 13-acre campus are the new park and gardens, designed by Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA, which feature sculptures and new public green space.
George Lucas said, “The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art was created to honor humanity’s stories and the artists who illustrate them. The artists in this collection didn’t just create images, they connected our modern imaginations with our ancient emotions."
Mellody Hobson said, "We wanted a museum unlike any other, that brings people from every walk of life, through the same doors. That's why this collection holds so many different kinds of stories: so people can walk in and, somewhere in these galleries, see themselves — and reflect back."
Lucas Museum of Narrative Art CEO Tracey Bates said, “George Lucas and Mellody Hobson have an unshakeable faith in the power of visual storytelling to inspire not just individuals, but entire societies, bringing people together around beliefs, and values. It's incredibly rewarding to finally welcome the public through our doors."
Ma Yansong said, “I am deeply grateful to George Lucas and Mellody Hobson for giving me the opportunity to create a building that will serve the visitors and the art. Designed with architecture spaces, that merged into the landscape into Exposition Park."
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| 3-D SCANS, |
The Creation of Adam is a famous fresco by Michelangelo painted 1511 on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City.The Lucas Museum’s inaugural exhibitions tells the history of narrative art through more than 1,300 works.
The story begins on the 1st floor in The History of Narrative Art: Heroes • Myths • The Sacred, an introduction exploring how visual storytelling has produced mythologies that inspired devotion, forged communities, and shaped societies. Examples include the Vatican Museums for the Sistine Chapel ceiling, the Louvre for the Winged Human-Headed Bulls from the Palace of Sargon II, the National Museum and Research Center of Altamira in Spain for ancient cave paintings, and Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia for the Aztec Sun Stone.
High-resolution images and 3-D scans of the original objects have been captured for the museum, that visitors could otherwise only see by traveling around the world.
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| 3-D SCANS, |
The Oath of the Horatii is a monumental 1784 oil painting by French artist Jacques-Louis David, on display at Louvre in Paris.
Galleries on the museum’s 4th and 5th floors present works from the collection in installations dedicated to themes, artistic mediums and the achievements of individual artists.
Artists represented in these galleries range from Vincent van Gogh, George Bellows, and Jacob Lawrence to Beatrix Potter, Charles White, and Ernie Barnes.
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| Adrian Adolph Greenburg was the legendary chief costume designer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) who created the iconic ruby red slippers and the lion-costume for The Wizard of Oz (1939). |
Exhibitions devoted to specific genres of storytelling—fantasy, romance, adventure—feature works by artists including George Méliès, Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell, and Ken Kelly. Exhibitions that showcase artistic mediums—comic books, manga, graphic novels, photography, and murals—include artists as George Herriman, Charles Schulz, Jim Lee, Frank Miller, Takashi Murakami, Robert Capa, Gordon Parks, Diego Rivera, JR, and Judith F. Baca.
American artists honored in the inaugural exhibition with individual galleries. include Norman Rockwell, N.C. Wyeth, Jessie Willcox Smith, Maxfield Parrish, Frank Frazetta, and Thomas Hart Benton.
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| Luke Skywalker's Tatooine farmer outfit from Star Wars: A New Hope is designed by costume designer John Mollo, and Tom Spina Designs. |
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| General Grevious’s Wheel Bike in Revenge of the Sith (2005). Ryan Church and Legacy Effects. |
Drawing on the works in the Lucas Archives, the inaugural Cinema gallery installation will present a special exhibition titled Star Wars in Motion, focusing on the land vehicles seen in the first six films of George Lucas’s saga and costume-design. On view will be concept designs, props, and costumes associated with the films’ high-speed racers, hulking transports, and flying vessels, from Luke’s Landspeeder in A New Hope (1977) to the first physical build of General Grevious’s Wheel Bike in Revenge of the Sith (2005).
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Mexican muralist Diego Rivera 1934,
Controller of the Universe.
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The gallery on the 5th floor is dedicated to highlight works from the extensive archive of Chicana muralist Judith F. Baca's famous half-mile-long mural, The History of California (commonly known as The Great Wall of Los Angeles). Additional highlights include large-scale works and studies by renowned muralists such as Mexican modernist Diego Rivera and French contemporary street artist JR, as well as iconic pieces alongside never before seen acquisitions direct from the studio of renowned street artist Banksy.
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Attack of the Clones costumes by Trisha Biggar,
1999-2002. |
The Lucas Museum will celebrate its opening September 22 with a series of events, including member's preview days, from September 5 through September 11 2026.
A Neighborhood Preview Day hosted on September 13, will welcome community partners, local business owners, students, and residents of the museum’s 90037 zip code. More information and tickets, visit lucasmuseum.org/plan-your-visit
