Lacma's David Geffen Galleries, Lucas Museum, Meow Wolf Set To Open During Huge Year For Art In L.a.

This twelvemonth marks a veritable museum-palooza arsenic Los Angeles debuts 4 caller awesome arts complexes, pinch 3 successful nan wings apt to unfastened successful beforehand of nan 2028 Summer Olympics.

Immerse yourself successful a psychedelic detonation astatine Meow Wolf, scheme an day liaison pinch Van Gogh astatine LACMA’s caller David Geffen Galleries, inhale nan scent of quality wrong Refik Anadol’s AI arts museum, Dataland, aliases simply geek retired complete George Lucas’ jaw-dropping postulation of “Star Wars” memorabilia.

Whatever your arts craving whitethorn be, this astoundingly rich | caller lineup of caller section museums has you covered.

LACMA’s David Geffen Galleries

The caller David Geffen Galleries, opening successful 2026, are composed wholly of Brutalist concrete.

(Christopher Knight / Los Angeles Times)

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s David Geffen Galleries are set to debut this April to members, earlier opening for wide admittance astatine nan opening of May. The $720-million Geffen Galleries will show 2,500-3,000 objects from LACMA’s collection.

The building, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning designer Peter Zumthor, is described by supporters arsenic a “concrete sculpture” and will big 90 accumulation galleries crossed 110,000 quadrate feet. The Wilshire Boulevard museum’s inaugural accumulation will organize artwork by nan Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans and nan Mediterranean Sea alternatively of by mean aliases period.

“The thought is for you to make your ain way — not to speak astatine you, but to fto you rotation for illustration you would done a parkland aliases a place,” LACMA Director and Chief Executive Michael Govan said successful an interview pinch The Times. “That alteration successful attitude, and really nan building is built, is really exciting.”

Some of nan most-anticipated useful connected show see Georges de La Tour’s “The Magdalen With nan Smoking Flame” (1640), Henri Matisse’s “La Gerbe” (1953) and Vincent Van Gogh’s “Tarascon Stagecoach” (1888).

Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

The gardens astatine nan Lucas Museum, designed by Studio-MLA, connected Monday, May 19, 2025.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

After much than 10 years of anticipation, George Lucas and Mellody Hobson’s depository will unfastened successful Exposition Park this September. With complete 10,000 quadrate feet of galleries, nan depository will characteristic a wide array of artwork and popular civilization ephemera, including Lucas’ individual trove of “Star Wars” movie franchise treasures, “Peanuts” comic strips, “Alice’s Adventures successful Wonderland” illustrations, a Richard Sargent coating and covers of nan Saturday Evening Post.

Lucas donated his postulation to curate nan Lucas Archives, which, successful summation to “Star Wars,” will encompass props and accumulation creation from Lucasfilm projects, specified arsenic nan “Indiana Jones” franchise.

One of nan museum’s defining features is its monolithic green-roof plot designed by Mia Lehrer and her scenery architecture patient Studio-MLA.

“This brings everything together,” Lehrer said successful an interview pinch The Times. “Design, ecology, storytelling, infrastructure, community. It’s nan fullest look of what scenery tin be.”

Meow Wolf

A work-in-progress portion group to beryllium featured successful Meow Wolf L.A. arsenic seen during a locomotion done astatine nan group’s storage successful Santa Fe connected Oct. 15, 2025.

(Gabriela Campos/For The Times)

Meow Wolf’s L.A. location will reimagine a ’90s movie theatre pinch its takeover of nan Cinemark astatine West L.A.’s Howard Hughes intermezo analyzable extracurricular Culver City. Meow Wolf’s sixth imperishable accumulation comes connected nan heels of nan immersive creation creator’s 52,000-square-foot psychedelic creation installation successful Las Vegas, which was disguised arsenic a dystopian market shop called Omega Mart and promptly went viral connected TikTok.

Complete pinch sci-fi elements, a meditative abstraction and a 30-foot-tall mushroom tower, Meow Wolf’s caller location will unfastened astatine nan extremity of 2026. Although organizers person kept overmuch of nan accumulation nether wraps, visitors tin expect to beryllium transfixed by a thoroughly Los Angeles tale.

“It’s cool that we’re creating a communicative astir a pilgrimage, because L.A. is that for truthful galore artists, particularly group progressive successful storytelling,” Shakti Howeth, Meow Wolf‘s imaginative director, told The Times. “It’s 1 of those places that’s built connected layers and layers of dreams, and we’re really exploring that here. Not only dreams but surgery dreams — nan compost that tin hap erstwhile you digest surgery dreams.”

Refik Anadol’s Dataland

Refik Anadol’s Infinity Room is meant to beryllium a multisensory experience.

(Dataland)

Opening this outpouring astatine nan Frank Gehry-designed Grand L.A., Dataland dubs itself nan world’s first depository of AI arts. Turkish American creator Refik Anadol designed his ain AI model, named nan Large Nature Model, which only sources worldly pinch support from original creators, making it what Anadol calls “ethical” AI. Partners see nan Smithsonian and nan Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

“I’m calling this caller creation shape not AR, not VR, not XR — truthful we are still uncovering a sanction for it. The champion sanction truthful far, and group emotion it, is generative reality,” Anadol told The Times.

Dataland will characteristic 5 galleries, including nan Infinity Room, which Anadol first created successful 2014 arsenic a student astatine UCLA. In different exhibit, he trained an AI exemplary connected half a cardinal scents and built a instrumentality to push those scents into nan assemblage to create a wholly immersive viewing experience.

Opening Later

The Armenian American Museum and Cultural Center of California

Slated to complete building successful downtown Glendale successful precocious 2026, nan 51,000-square-foot Armenian American Museum has been successful nan useful for much than a decade. With a $67-million budget, nan depository will see imperishable and impermanent exhibitions, arsenic good arsenic an auditorium, learning center, archives postulation and a objection kitchen.

The depository is an inaugural of nan Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee Western US, and readying began arsenic nan group prepared to people nan the 100th day of nan Armenian Genocide successful 2015. The depository is adorned pinch nan 36 letters of nan Armenian alphabet and a solid hazarashen skylight, inspired by accepted roofs successful homes crossed nan Armenian Highlands.

“The Armenian American Museum was erstwhile an idea, past a vision, and coming is rising earlier our eyes,” depository Executive Chairman Berdj Karapetian said successful a statement. “This advancement is nan consequence of an bonzer corporate effort by Armenians and non-Armenians present successful California, crossed nan United States and astir nan world.”

The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center

The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center successful Los Angeles is simply a awesome description of nan California Science Center.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

A coagulated opening day has not yet been announced, but nan $400-million Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center astatine nan California Science Center successful Exposition Park is busily preparing for liftoff. Construction connected nan building began successful 2022. The shiny caller building will beryllium location to nan Korean Air Aviation Gallery, Kent Kresa Space Gallery and nan Samuel Oschin Shuttle Gallery, which will big nan Space Shuttle Endeavour.

Endeavour will beryllium displayed successful motorboat position, making it nan tallest authentic spacecraft displayed vertically successful nan world, pinch a tallness of 20 stories. One of 3 surviving abstraction shuttles, Endeavour made 25 successful missions into space.

The halfway is besides expected to person 20 planes and jets, including a Boeing 747, a mock formation platform and a brace of introductory films produced by J.J. Abrams’ institution Bad Robot, 1 of which will extremity pinch a simulated launch.

“It is an astonishing experience, and we want to really build it up,” Jeffrey N. Rudolph, president and main executive of nan California Science Center, told The Times. “It’s not conscionable astir nan hardware but astir nan group and nan acquisition aspects.”

The Broad Expansion

Exterior rendering of nan early Broad description from Hope Street.

(The Broad. © Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R))

Opening successful 2028, nan Broad description will incorporate 70% much assemblage space, 2 outdoor courtyards, a unrecorded programming abstraction and views of nan museum’s creation retention vault. First announced successful 2024, nan $100-million summation is slated for completion earlier nan 2028 Summer Olympics.

Located successful downtown L.A., nan description was deemed basal aft nan depository importantly exceeded visitant projections. The caller building will invert nan existing Broad museum’s architectural design, pinch a smooth, grey building attached to nan original construction.

“The thought is that it adds caller facets to nan visitor’s travel done nan expanded Broad,” said Joanne Heyler, founding head and president of nan Broad, successful an question and reply pinch The Times. “In a way, nan existing building is ever benignant of talking to you. And location will beryllium a akin point happening pinch nan description , but conscionable a somewhat different conversation, for illustration you’re listening to its sibling.”