LACMA Debuts Its First Ever Kickstarter Campaign With Hopes Of Shipping An Egg-Shaped Museum From Guatemala

Regardless of whether you think it's hokey or cool, mimetic architecture (buildings shaped like things) has left a mark on L.A.'s past. Think of the former, hot dog-shaped Tail O’ the Pup stand, or the doughnut-shaped portal at The Donut Hole in La Puente.

Now, an egg-shaped edifice may be on the horizon for us. LACMA has announced plans to ship in an egg-shaped museum from Guatemala City, and the museum is embarking on their first-ever Kickstarter campaign to make it happen.

Let's backtrack a bit. Nuevo Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (NuMu), founded in 2012, is Guatemala’s first and only contemporary art museum. Repurposed from a 2.5 x 2-meter kiosk, it also happens to be the world’s smallest contemporary art museum (two meters is roughly equivalent to six feet, for reference). Oh yeah, it's shaped like an egg, too, because the former kiosk earned its keep by selling eggs. According to LACMA, handlers have turned "the micro-museum into an international creative hub that organizes public programs and provides resources to emerging artists, while exhibiting work by established artists from all over Latin America."

Now, LACMA wants to bring a replica of the museum to L.A. as part of the Getty-funded Pacific Standard Time: Los Angeles/Latin America, a "far-reaching and ambitious exploration of Latin American and Latino art in dialogue with Los Angeles" that's taking place across multiple arts institutions in Southern California this fall, reports the L.A. Times.

The idea is that a replica of the egg building will be built, and that this facsimile will be transported 3,000 miles from Comalapa, Guatemala to Oaxaca, Mexico to Laredo, Texas and finally Los Angeles (other cities are also on the tour). Once in L.A., this replica NuMu will be open to the public from September 2017 to February 2018. It's slated to host exhibitions by artists Joaquín Orellana and Regina José Galindo, as well as a package of public programming. Planners also promise free food and meet-and-greets with artists.

To make everything happen, LACMA has turned to Kickstarterfor the first time ever. As to why the museum is crowd-funding the project, the reasons vary, according to organizers. For one thing, planners believe that this method falls in line with the NuMu ethos; the modest museum is an "artist-led project that relies entirely on the generous contributions of individuals and organizations," LACMA says on the Kickstarter page. Planners add that much of the funding will go towards the transportation of the egg, which will be besieged with matters of, among other things, insurance and permitting.

You may be asking: why not just fly it straight to Los Angeles? Or, better yet, build the replica out here, instead of trekking it through three countries. First of all, you're being a total joykill right now. Secondly, planners say that the nomadic nature of this project highlights the idea of the museum as "gathering places and creative incubators" that "bring together people of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds to share stories and exchange ideas."

Planners are hoping to raise $75,000 by July 7 (it's gotten about $5,000 at the time of publication). And if you need extra incentive to donate, take note that your kindness will be reciprocated with some egg-inspired goods. A donation of $25 or more, for example, will get you a package that features an "egg-squisite" postcard, as well as a digital map showing you the current location of the NuMu replica. Fifty dollars or more will see the addition of an "egg-cellent" t-shirt. Pony up $500 and you'll be the happy recipient of an "egg-stremely" limited art print. The donation tiers range from $5 to $10,000. (Author's note: these puns are a bit egg-cessive, no?).