Lucas Museum of Narrative Art Prepares to Open in Los Angeles

Located in Exposition Park, the museum is scheduled to open to the public on September 22, 2026. Its arrival adds another major destination to one of Los Angeles' most established cultural districts and expands the region's offerings for residents and visitors interested in art, film and visual storytelling.

The museum's approximately 300,000-square-foot building was designed by architect Ma Yansong of MAD in collaboration with Stantec. Its campus covers about 13 acres and includes landscaped public areas designed to make the institution part of the surrounding Exposition Park environment.

Inside, the museum features more than 100,000 square feet of gallery space spread across more than 30 galleries. The inaugural presentation will include more than 1,200 works from a permanent collection of more than 40,000 pieces.

Rather than organizing its exhibitions exclusively around traditional art categories, the museum focuses on the ways images communicate stories. Its galleries explore themes such as family, love, community, work, childhood, sports and adventure.

That approach allows the museum to bring together a wide variety of artistic forms. Visitors will encounter fine art alongside illustration, photography, comics, children's book imagery, murals, cinematic material and other forms of visual culture.

The collection includes works connected to internationally recognized artists such as Frida Kahlo, Norman Rockwell and Diego Rivera, as well as contemporary artist Banksy. The breadth of the collection is intended to demonstrate how storytelling through images has developed across different periods, cultures and artistic traditions.

The museum also has a particularly strong connection to the history of cinema through the Lucas Archives. Material from the archives includes props, costumes, artwork and other objects associated with productions connected to George Lucas' career.

Among the most recognizable material is related to the original Star Wars films and Indiana Jones adventures. The museum's inaugural cinema exhibition, “Star Wars in Motion,” will examine the visual development of the franchise through production artwork, vehicles, costumes and props.

However, the museum is not intended to function solely as a destination for fans of popular film franchises. The Star Wars material represents only one component of a much larger program focused on narrative art.

The institution also includes two theaters for film programs, a research library and educational spaces. These facilities are intended to broaden the museum's role beyond conventional gallery exhibitions and create opportunities for visitors to engage with cinema, research and learning.

Its location is another important part of the museum's significance. Exposition Park is already home to several prominent cultural and educational institutions, making the Lucas Museum part of a larger concentration of attractions in central Los Angeles.

The museum has also established several admission initiatives intended to make the institution accessible to a broad audience. General admission is free for children ages 17 and under, while active-duty military members, personal aides and EBT cardholders can also qualify for free admission. A dedicated program is available for residents of ZIP code 90037.

For Southern California residents, the opening represents an opportunity to experience a museum built around an increasingly broad understanding of visual culture. Its exhibitions place traditional fine art alongside forms such as comics, illustration and cinema, creating connections between artistic disciplines that are often presented separately.

The museum's emphasis on narrative also reflects the central role storytelling plays in Los Angeles' cultural identity. As a global center for filmmaking and entertainment, the city has long been associated with visual storytelling. The new institution places that tradition alongside works from the broader history of art.

The September 22 public opening will mark the beginning of the museum's next chapter after years of planning, construction and collection development. With its combination of galleries, archives, theaters, educational facilities and public spaces, the institution is positioned to become a significant addition to Los Angeles' cultural landscape.

For residents and visitors, the key takeaway is that the Lucas Museum offers a different way to experience art—one that places storytelling at the center and connects fine art with popular and cinematic forms. Its opening in Exposition Park gives Southern California another major cultural destination while offering audiences a chance to explore how images have been used to tell stories across generations.

As Los Angeles prepares for the museum's public debut, its arrival represents a significant new chapter for Exposition Park and for the region's expanding cultural scene.