Step into Barbie Land and Beast’s castle at this museum exhibition

Monica Bushman produces arts and culture coverage for LAist's on-demand team. She’s also part of the Imperfect Paradise podcast team.

Published May 23, 2025 1:09 PM

Adults and children look at the objects on display at the "Barbie to Anna Karenina" exhibition. On the back walls are bright color swatches and to the left is a projection screen showing a scene from "Barbie." Kids are seated watching on pink ottomans.

From Barbie Land to a run down 19th Century Russian theater, a new museum exhibition dives deep into what it takes to create worlds for film.

“Barbie to Anna Karenina” at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles celebrates the work of Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer, the Oscar-nominated production design duo who’ve collaborated together on more than 20 films.

Through displays of props, concept art and scale models of sets, the exhibition highlights Greenwood and Spencer’s work on 2023’s Barbie, the 2017 live action remake of Beauty and the Beast, and 2012’s Anna Karenina.

What to see and learn

There’s the enchanted rose from Beauty and the Beast, a pink Corvette from Barbie (that you can sit in!), and even a scale-model film set that you can decorate with miniature furnishings yourself.

A woman and young girl stand in the shadows to the right of an ornate circular marble table with an etched glass bell jar on top of it, with a rose inside of the jar. In the background is a scene from the table, jar and rose in "Beauty and the Beast" with Belle in front of a massive window.

A video interview and wall-length timeline of Greenwood and Spencer’s working relationship features details about their work on several other films, including Pride and Prejudice (Why there were all those farm animals in and around the Bennets’ home), Atonement (How they planned out the single-take shot on the beach in Dunkirk), and Darkest Hour (How WW2-era window treatments helped convey the feeling of wartime).

The message: you can do it too

The exhibition includes a recreation of Greenwood and Spencer’s office from the set of Barbie, covered with color swatches, sketches and notes to give museum guests a sense of their working process — and a chance to try it out themselves at a table featuring a scale model film set.

A 3D sign for the "Barbie to Anna Karenina" exhibition at the Academy Museum. At top is a curved hot pink arrow pointing left. It's held up by a bright blue stand. Below the arrow is a pink rectangular sign that reads "Barbie to" in the toy's famous font, and below that a muted yellow sign that says "Anna Karenina" in a more romantic, classic font. At the bottom is a black and white box that reads "The Cinematic Worlds of Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer." In the background of all is a desert scene backdrop.

Throughout the exhibition, there are also nods to the many other collaborators on their teams — painters, model makers, propmasters, and many more — who’ve helped them create worlds for film. The idea, the duo says, was to help people realize how many different jobs are involved in filmmaking.

“Kind of to demystify it,” Greenwood says. “It is a great mystery what we do, but then when you see behind the scenes and it's all nuts and bolts, and a bit of this and a bit of that, and then cutting edge technology, of course, it's all things. And it's there for the taking.”

How to see it?

“Barbie to Anna Karenina: The Cinematic Worlds of Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer” runs from May 23 to Oct. 25 at the Academy Museum in L.A.

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Step into Barbie Land and Beast’s castle at this museum exhibition

What to see and learn

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The message: you can do it too

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