Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opens its doors to fans from LA and galaxies far away

Gather the Rebel Alliance — the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is officially open to the public in Exposition Park.

The 300,000-square-foot building, sitting on a 13-acre campus in the South L.A. neighborhood, is an ode to the universal tradition of visual storytelling, according to museum officials.

Co-founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, the exhibitions highlight centuries of human culture — ancient sculptures, Renaissance paintings, myths of the American West, photography, fantasy and everyday life, to name a few. There are also plenty of cinema moments for Star Wars fans, of course.

Visitors burst through the doors Tuesday, spilling into the more than 30 galleries, pair of theatres, public park, library and the museum’s full-service restaurant, the Skywalker Grill.

Keenan Wayne Jones Jr., a director in career services at Otis College of Art and Design, was among the earliest guests in the galleries Tuesday. He told LAist that “emotionally invoking” was the first thought that came to mind in the museum, and that he’s already planning the next trip back.

“ There are students all around right now, and they are enthralled. Just seeing their faces light up and seeing that artistic expression being evoked to them is a really cool part of my job,” he said. “Words can't even encompass what it looks like; you have to see it in person.”

Inside the grand opening

At a packed press event ahead of the opening, Hobson said the museum is our building — all the staff who work there, all the construction workers who built it and the entire community across the city.

“It is our gift to you because it belongs to all of us,” she said. “And so we say welcome home.”

Founders Mellody Hobson and George Lucas greet guests on opening day. Hobson was wearing a jacket with "Lucas 26" on the back.

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Presley Ann

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Getty Images for Lucas Museum

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George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, co-founders of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, speaking to a packed press event on Tuesday, Sept. 22.

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Presley Ann

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Getty Images for Lucas Museum

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Founders Mellody Hobson and George Lucas speak onstage during the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art's opening day Tuesday.

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Stefanie Keenan

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Getty Images for Lucas Museum

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In the Norman "Rockwell" exhibition, named for the famous artist whose work the museum includes, L.A. artist Shiloh Williams said he was “incredibly impressed” by the breadth of the collection.

“There's also other artists' work who were inspired by Norman Rockwell in here too, which I thought was really nice,” Williams said. “They have them right next to his stuff, so it's kinda like you can see the inspiration through each generation and subsequent generation which … I would love to have in my own work.”

Keenan Wayne Jones Jr. and Shiloh Williams in the "rockwell" exhibition.

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The Lucas Museum features more than 30 exhibitions across several floors.

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Film students from Lucas' alma mater, USC, were also filtering the space, including Kc Donaldson-Werblin and Nathan Phillips. Donaldson-Werblin said it was cool to see the evolution of the concept art in the cinema exhibition, which includes Star Wars.

“ There's stories in all this art, but there's also a story in the process from concept to finalized thing,” Donaldson-Werblin said. “We're starting where [George Lucas] started from, basically. And it's just very cool to see we have so much time.”

Phillips said they were the first people out of the elevator, but the exhibitions still felt full.

“There's so much art here and so much to appreciate,” Phillips said. “I already know I'm gonna be back here a couple more times 'cause, like, there's no way to intake all of this at one time.”

USC film students were among the first guests filtering through the museum Tuesday, including Nathan Phillips and Kc Donaldson-Werblin.

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The "murals" exhibition on the fifth floor features large-scale public works of art.

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Ryan Linkof,  senior curator and head of film programs, told LAist museums only make sense when people are in them. He described the opening as an exhilarating moment that’s been years in the making.

“ I think as an Angeleno … to see something of this scale and to see the amount of investment that was made in this city is just really, really special,” he said. “I feel like it's deserved as well because Los Angeles is, in so many ways, a cultural capital, and this is the spiritual home for narrative art.”

How we got here

It’s a big year for Exposition Park with the Lucas Museum’s grand opening and the California Science Center’s major expansion not far behind this fall.

But why South L.A.?

The museum offers several places to sit and take in the surroundings.

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The curved building, designed by Ma Yansong of MAD with Stantec, offers views of the downtown Los Angeles skyline and neighboring Exposition Park museums.

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The site was selected in 2017 because of its location — there are hundreds of schools in the area and more than half a million people living within a three-mile radius of the park, according to museum officials. They said Exposition Park is also among the top tourist destinations in Southern California between its museums, the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, BMO Stadium and EXPO Center.

“ It really is an asset for this community, but also for Los Angeles, and then really for the world,” Linkof said. “ So to bring all these eyes on Expo Park in South L.A. is really part of the mission of the project in many ways.”

But the Lucas Museum wasn’t originally destined for California — it was supposed to be built in Chicago.

That was scrapped in 2015 due to a “disagreement” over the site, according to museum officials. A parks preservation group filed a lawsuit, which effectively pushed the project out of the Windy City, as reported by WTTW.

However, Hobson said at a media preview earlier this month that they believe Exposition Park is where “we were always meant to be.”

Guests were greeted by a familiar character Tuesday: R2-D2 of Star Wars with a Lucas Museum staff lanyard.

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Makenna Cramer

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LAist

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How to see it for yourself

• Where: One Lucas Plaza, Exposition Park, Los Angeles
• When: 
  
  • 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays
  • 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. on Fridays
  • 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. on Saturdays
  • 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Sundays
  • Closed Tuesdays
• Tickets: All tickets are timed entry. Tickets are $25 for adults and $21 for those 65 and older. Children 17 and under, members and active-duty military have free entry. Museum neighbors in the LM37 program also have free entry.
• Park and Gardens: Free and open to the public
• Skywalker Grill: You can make a reservation here (no museum ticket required)