George Lucas has been an instrumental figure in arts and cinema for years, and now his work will culminate in a colossal museum that just broke ground. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will be located in Exposition Park in Los Angeles not far from Lucas’ alma mater. The stunning museum design looks like something out of a Lucas film and will celebrate visual storytelling about all mediums. Lucas himself will donate a large portion of the museum’s exhibits.
Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco were in the running for the museum, but LA was ultimately chosen for its proximity to UCLA, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and other prominent buildings.
Renowned architect Ma Yansong of MAD Architects designed the futuristic building, with the design described as “mysterious” and “surreal.” The focus was to make it appear as if the building was a spaceship that just landed into the park. Inside, guests will see a “cave-like” space with large skylights that will allow plenty of light. Upstairs and on the first floor, guests will be angle to mingle and feel enveloped in this tribute to narrative art. The surrounding nature will make the space serene and inspire creativity with its amazing views as the building sprawls across 11 acres.
Total floor space for the museum will measure 300,000 square feet, with 5 level and be 115 feet high. In addition to the museum’s exhibits, guests will also be able to enjoy a library, offices and two theaters. Lucas says that “the ultimate and all meaning of this museum lies in inspiring people’s imagination and allowing people to embrace all possibilities of art creation.” The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is scheduled to open in 2021. The collection will be broken into several categories:
The History of Narrative Art: Paintings by beloved artists Edgar Degas, Winslow Homer and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. A children’s art section includes familiar names like E.H. Shepherd, Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac. Comic art will feature Robert Crumb, Charles Schulz, Winsor McCay and more. Even photography will be showcased with the work of Dorothea Lange, Gordon Parks, and Rene Burri.
The Art of Cinema: Explores all of the elements that help make visual storytelling, such as storyboards, set design, prop design, costuming, makeup, animation and more. Projects featured include Metropolis, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Citizen Kane and others.
Digital Art: Features technology and media from visionaries like Pixar, Andy Warhol and Zaha Hadid.
In addition to all of the exhibits, The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will also include education and programming with temporary exhibits, daily film screenings, public lectures, hands-on workshops, classes, and more.
