Naboo Starfighter at the entrance to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
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Lou Caltabiano
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Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
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Topline:
The museum, which opens to the public Sept. 22, unites the Star Wars universe with all kinds of illustration and classic art.
What you can see: Illustrations and props relating to the original Star Wars films, among many other intellectual properties — not to mention an extensive collection of murals and paintings from fine artists.
About the building: The 300,000-square-foot building designed by architect Ma Yansong with the firm Stantec, could easily blend into the scenery of Coruscant or Bespin in the Star Wars universe.
About the grounds: The gardens outside the museum are free and open to the public.
Read on... to see pictures of the collection.
Exposition Park’s new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opens to the public on Sept. 22 — and LAist got a preview.
The 300,000-square-foot building, designed by architect Ma Yansong, working with the firm Stantec, could easily blend into the scenery of Coruscant or Bespin in the Star Wars universe.
For the fans of that certain long-time ago, far, far-away universe, you are immediately greeted by a Naboo Starfighter big enough to fit inside at the museum entrance with a life-size R2-D2 in the co-pilot seat.
Star Wars fans will definitely get their fill with pieces like this in the cinema section:
Doug Chiang, Podrace Crash, production art for "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace," 1995–99. Digital print.
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Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
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R2-D2 and C-3PO pose next to their concept drawing.
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Kevin Tidmarsh/LAist
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You may recognize these speeders from the chase scene in "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones."
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Kevin Tidmarsh/LAist
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Yes, that's a mockup of General Grievous in his wheel bike in the background.
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Kevin Tidmarsh/LAist
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You can find designs and set pieces from other George Lucas production companies, Industrial Light and Magic and Skywalker Sound.
But the museum is dedicated to impactful storytelling of all kinds, with a special focus on the work of illustrators.
“Most of the stories are myths, they're not real, but the illustrations make them real,” George Lucas said at a preview event. “A picture is very powerful, and the stories are very powerful, and you combine them together, and those two elements create a society.”
So, you’ll also see works like this E.H. Shepard illustration from Winnie-the-Pooh in a section dedicated to children’s stories.
E. H. Shepard, “Christopher Robin at the enchanted place,” illustration for Home Chat, 1928.
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Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
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And that’s not the only significant work you’ll see there.
“You can see one of the first historically important ‘dogs playing poker’ paintings made in 1894 as a whiskey advertisement, very close to Frida Kahlo, very close to Batman,” Lucas Museum senior curator Ryan Linkof said.
The museum’s umbrella of “narrative art” encompasses fine art like these works from painter, pro-football player and actor Ernie Barnes, photographer Dorothea Lange, and comic book artist Rafael Navarro:
Ernie Barnes, The Critic’s Corner, 2007. Acrylic on canvas.
Rafael Navarro, art for Sonámbulo: Mexican Stand-Off, 2006.
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Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
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Murals and public art
The museum features public art installations — both reproductions of works by Diego Rivera and Banksy.
Three of the featured works by Banksy.
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Matthew Kroening
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Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
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You'll also experience an extensive video installation of Judith Baca’s The Great Wall of Los Angeles, which you can take in while sitting instead of having to walk the whole length.
A new green space in the middle of the city
The museum boasts extensive grounds built on a former parking lot. There, you can see a number of sculptures, including one of Jabba the Hutt and Princess Leia.
Jabba the Hutt and Princess Leia statue.
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Kevin Tidmarsh
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LAist
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“This public park is available and accessible to everyone all the time, even if you don't come to the museum, even if the museum's not open. You can come to the research library,” Linkof said. “It's an asset and a resource for everyone, including and especially the community.”
How to visit
Location: One Lucas Plaza, Exposition Park, Los Angeles
Tickets: Timed tickets cost $25 for adults, $21 for seniors and are free for minors, active-duty military, members and LM37 passholders. See your options ▶
Jordan Rynning
has been following this case for months, including interviewing the man at the center of allegations.
Published October 31, 2026 7:00 AM
Michael Angel Alvarez, 41, spoke with LAist on Sept. 16, 2026, about the federal body armor case against him being dismissed.
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Jordan Rynning
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LAist
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The L.A. County District Attorney’s office dropped its felony body armor charges against Michael Angel Alvarez earlier this week. Alvarez was sentenced to time served on a lesser charge — a probation violation. He served more than 100 days in jail earlier this year while awaiting trial.
Most serious claims haven’t materialized: Though federal prosecutors made headlines claiming in court documents and on social media that Alvarez was “leading a violent street gang, while claiming to be a gang interventionist for the City,” they have not filed charges related to those claims.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office dropped its felony body armor charges against Michael Angel Alvarez on Wednesday. Alvarez was sentenced to time served on a lesser charge — a probation violation. He had served more than 100 days in jail earlier this year while awaiting trial.
Why Alvarez’s arrest made headlines: Alvarez was working as a city-contracted peace ambassador in MacArthur Park when he was arrested by federal agents in May. Federal and county prosecutors each brought felony charges against him, claiming he was in possession of body armor as a violent felon.
Bill Essayli, who leads the U.S. Attorney’s office in L.A., pointed to the case on social media to criticize city officials for allowing taxpayer money to be “shelled out to a convicted gang murderer.”
About his criminal record: Judges in federal and state court have now dismissed prosecutors’ felony charges against Alvarez, after U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang found on Sept. 9 that Alvarez did not have a violent felony conviction. Alvarez was 15 when he committed a gang-related murder. He was tried and convicted as an adult in 2002. After a change in state law increased the age at which minors could be sentenced as adults to 16, Alvarez’s case was sent back to juvenile court, and he was released in 2024. At that point, he had served more than 20 years.
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Mariana Dale
explores and explains the forces that shape how and what kids learn from kindergarten to high school.
Published October 31, 2026 5:00 AM
Myrna Velasco (left) performs as Dolores Huerta in “¡Sí Se Puede!” at Boyle Heights City Hall on April 2, 2026.
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Carlin Stiehl
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LAist
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Topline:
An all-ages play about the life of Dolores Huerta and other under-told stories of the farmworker labor movement is back on tour in Los Angeles.
The backstory: Center Theatre Group commissioned ¡Sí Se Puede! from Eliana Pipes in March 2025 and it debuted in L.A. this spring. “There's this perception that farm work was only done by men,” Pipes said. “There were women on the fields, there were women on the picket lines, and there were women in leadership in the United Farm Workers movement.”
An all-ages play about the life of Dolores Huerta and other under-told stories of the farmworker labor movement is back on tour in Los Angeles.
The show's extension had been announced prior to the news that Huerta died Wednesday, Oct. 28., at her Bakersfield home. She was 96 years old.
“There's this perception that farm work was only done by men,” said playwright Eliana Pipes. “There were women on the fields, there were women on the picket lines, and there were women in leadership in the United Farm Workers movement.”
Center Theatre Group commissioned ¡Sí Se Puede! from Pipes in March 2025 and it debuted in L.A. this spring.
CSULA seeks memories from underground music scenes
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez
is an arts and general assignment reporter on LAist's Explore LA team.
Published October 31, 2026 5:00 AM
CSULA is seeking memorabilia from LA's underground music scenes for its research archives.
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Courtesy Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State University, Los Angeles.
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Topline
There’s a whole world of underground Southern California music history that’s hidden in storage boxes — photos, fliers, cassettes and other memorabilia. Research librarians at the California State University, Los Angeles are holding a community archive event on Nov. 5 to ensure the cultural memory of L.A.’s underground music scenes are preserved for future generations.
Why it matters: The memorabilia are the physical remnants of the supportive L.A. communities built around music and enjoyment. But many of these objects languish out of sight, and run the risk of being lost, along with the memories attached to them.
Why now: For four years, archive staff have held an annual day to receive ephemera from the public. They're doing it again on Thursday, Nov. 5.
Read on… to hear how goth, rockabilly and other underground clubs in L.A. inspired the head archivist.
Right around the year 2000, there was a club night in Hollywood called Clockwork Orange. Fans of The Smiths, Depeche Mode, Bauhaus and other bands came for the DJ’s mix of their favorite songs but also for a vibe that welcomed people regardless of race, ethnicity or sexual and gender identity.
“I was a pretty shy person, and so that was a place where I could sort of be myself and express myself,” said Azalea Camacho, a regular there in those days.
She had just graduated from Workman High School in the City of Industry and was also clubbing at rockabilly music nights in Rosemead and goth club nights in downtown L.A.
Camacho said there was lots of memorabilia from those times, such as photos taken in and outside the clubs, ticket stubs and promotional fliers. They're the physical remnants of those supportive communities built around music and enjoyment, but many of them languish in shoeboxes and storage units, at risk of being lost — along with the memories attached to them.
Cal State LA has hosted Sounds of the Underground Archive for the last four years. It's an opportunity for people to donate their underground music scene memorabilia.
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Courtesy Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State University, Los Angeles
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“I think the danger is maybe those stories are not being told, or people don't know about the story,” she said.
Keeping stories alive
More than two decades later, Camacho is now in a position to make sure those stories are kept alive. She’s head of special collections and archives at the university library at California State University, Los Angeles.
Four years ago, she and library staff created an annual day for area residents to donate or digitize memorabilia for their Sounds of the Underground Archive. This year it's on Thursday, Nov. 5. They’ll accept physical donations, but they’ll also have a scanner to digitize printed material, so people can keep items that are precious to them.
SOUNDS OF THE UNDERGROUND ARCHIVE
Date: Thursday, Nov. 5 Time: 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. Location: Cal State LA Library Community Room, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles
Camacho is hoping this year will bring in a bumper amount of memorabilia. It's taken time to get the word out, she said.
“From the actual community archiving day [we’ve collected] maybe 100 or less than 100 items. … It's not a lot,” she said.
She said they're on the lookout for a wide range of mementos, including:
Fliers
Handbills
Zines
Newsletters
Posters
Set lists
Photographs (prints, negatives or digital files)
Cassette tapes, CDs, or vinyl records
Ticket stubs
Wristbands
Band merchandise (stickers, buttons, patches, T-shirts)
DIY press kits or liner notes and correspondence (letters, emails, messages related to music scenes)
Venue or collective ephemera (membership cards, schedules, announcements and more)
