LA Museums Enter Golden Age
Los Angeles museums are entering a "new golden age," with several major expansions and new institutions on the horizon. The city's cultural infrastructure is set for significant growth, promising new opportunities for art lovers and tourists in the region.
A key project is the new $720 million David Geffen Galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), set to open in April 2026. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Peter Zumthor, the elevated, amoeba-shaped building will span Wilshire Boulevard and add 110,000 square feet of gallery space. This marks the completion of a two-decade transformation of the museum's campus. In Exposition Park, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is scheduled to open on September 22, 2026. The $1 billion museum, founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, is designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects and will house a collection of over 40,000 works, including paintings, comics, and cinematic artifacts. The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County recently opened its NHM Commons in November 2024. This $75-million, 75,000-square-foot expansion and renovation project was designed by Frederick Fisher and Partners and serves as a new wing and community hub with both indoor and outdoor spaces. Adding to the city's diverse cultural landscape, the world's first museum dedicated to AI art, DATALAND, is slated to open in spring 2026. Created by Refik Anadol Studio, it will be located in the Frank Gehry-designed The Grand LA development downtown and will feature immersive, data-driven art experiences. This wave of development also includes recently completed projects and future plans. The Hammer Museum finished a two-decade-long, $180 million transformation in March 2023, which increased its gallery space by 60 percent. Furthermore, The Broad is undergoing a $100 million expansion to be completed before the 2028 Olympics, and the Armenian American Museum in Glendale is expected to be finished in late 2026.
