George Lucas’ Museum of Narrative Art Will Open Next Year in Los Angeles

Legendary filmmaker George Lucas helped shape cinema with Star Wars and pioneered the use of CGI with his visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic. Now, he is helping to preserve the history of narrative art with an expansive museum in Los Angeles, designed by Ma Yansong of MAD. Set to open in September 2026, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is taking shape across its 11-acre campus in Exposition Park.

The 300,000-square-foot structure will feature galleries, two theaters, a retail store, a library, a café, a restaurant as well as event spaces, and is coming together just as the initial renderings envisioned. The five-story museum is surrounded by parks, which also extends up onto the roof, injecting much-needed greenery into the area.

MAD’s design serves as a metaphor for storytelling and imagination, and is a tribute to Los Angeles’ pioneering spirit and the diversity of its inhabitants. Just as the city continues to evolve, so will the architecture as the planted trees flourish and grow in the coming seasons and years. Lifted off the ground to create a human scale at street level, it fosters social interaction while providing sweeping views.

The massive, luminous public plaza formed by arched steel beams is an innovative twist that offers a gathering space while providing shade and protection from the elements. It also provides access to the museum’s north and south lobbies, with expansive ceilings that give a sense of grandeur.

As construction continues, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has released images of the progress, giving us something to look forward to next fall. The initial collection will not only contain props and costumes from Star Wars, as well as movie posters and documentaries, but it will also draw from Lucas’ vast collection of narrative art, which he has amassed over the past 50 years. This consists of more than 40,00o works of art by painters including Norman Rockwell, Andrew Wyeth, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, and Jacob Lawrence, as well as contemporary artists like JR.

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will open in Los Angeles in September 2026.

Ma Yansong of MAD, the 11-acre campus incorporates extensive greenery and public gathering spaces.

The founding collection includes 40,000 artworks collected by filmmaker George Lucas.

Lucas Museum of Narrative Art: Website | Facebook | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

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