Lucas Museum of Narrative Art by MAD Architects Set to Open September 2026 in Los Angeles

"The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has announced that it will open to the public on September 22, 2026, adding a new cultural institution to Los Angeles's Exposition Park. Founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, the museum is dedicated to illustrated and narrative storytelling, understood as visual works that communicate stories across media and periods. The building is designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects, with landscape architecture by Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA and Stantec serving as executive architect."

"Located on an 11-acre site formerly used as surface parking, the project comprises a 300,000-square-foot structure and new public green spaces. MAD's design continues the practice's exploration of curving, sculptural forms, expressed here through an elevated volume that spans much of the site and creates shaded areas at ground level. The building accommodates thirty-five galleries totaling 100,000 square feet, alongside two theaters, a library, community and education spaces, a cafe, a restaurant, and a museum store."

"The museum's permanent collection includes more than 40,000 works of narrative art. The holdings span illustration, painting, muralism, comic art, children's book imagery, science-fiction illustration, and photography, as well as cinematic artifacts. Among the represented practitioners are artists such as Norman Rockwell, Kadir Nelson, Jessie Willcox Smith, N. C. Wyeth, Beatrix Potter, Judith F. Baca, Frida Kahlo, and Maxfield Parrish; comic artists including Winsor McCay, Jack Kirby, Frank Frazetta, Alison Bechdel, Chris Ware, and Robert Crumb; and photographers Gordon Parks, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Dorothea Lange."

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will open to the public on September 22, 2026, on an 11-acre site in Los Angeles's Exposition Park. The 300,000-square-foot building, designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with landscape by Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA, features an elevated, curving volume that creates shaded ground-level areas and new public green space. The museum houses thirty-five galleries totaling 100,000 square feet, two theaters, a library, education and community spaces, dining, and a museum store. The permanent collection exceeds 40,000 works across illustration, painting, muralism, comics, children's books, science-fiction illustration, photography, and cinematic artifacts, organized thematically around human experiences like family, work, play, and adventure.

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