The long-awaited Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Exposition Park is gearing up for its official debut, with an opening-night celebration scheduled for Saturday evening. George Lucas and Mellody Hobson will host the event, offering invited guests a preview of the new institution three days before it welcomes the general public on Tuesday.
The celebratory evening is expected to gather artists, filmmakers, philanthropists, and other guests. Museum representatives confirmed that the event will be co-chaired by a notable group, including Julie Bell, Tom Cruise, Guillermo del Toro, Greta Gerwig, Sir Lewis Hamilton, Jensen Huang, JR, Steven Spielberg, and Pharrell Williams.
Founded by Lucas and Hobson, the five-story, 300,000-square-foot museum is dedicated to visual storytelling across a broad spectrum of cultures, centuries, and media. Its collection spans from paintings, illustrations, and photography to comics, murals, and cinema, reflecting a wide artistic scope.
Inside, the museum boasts over 100,000 square feet of exhibition space spread across more than 30 galleries. Its inaugural exhibitions will feature over 1,300 works from the collection, showcasing pieces by artists such as Vincent van Gogh, Frida Kahlo, Norman Rockwell, N.C. Wyeth, Frank Frazetta, Diego Rivera, Gordon Parks, Charles Schulz, Robert Crumb, and Judith F. Baca.
The initial exhibitions trace the extensive history of narrative art, beginning on the first floor with an exploration of heroes, myths, and sacred imagery across millennia. Other galleries delve into themes including love, family, community, fantasy, romance, and adventure.
A significant portion of the museum's offerings is its cinema collection, which includes the complete Lucas Archives from 1971 to 2012. An inaugural exhibition titled “Star Wars in Motion” highlights concept designs, props, and costumes related to vehicles from the first six "Star Wars" films. Among the items on display are Luke Skywalker’s landspeeder and the first physical build of General Grievous’ Wheel Bike.
Lucas stated earlier this month that the museum was created to honor human stories and the artists who illustrate them, noting that the artists in the collection connected modern imaginations with ancient emotions. Hobson added that the aim was to create a museum unlike any other, one where people from all walks of life could see themselves and their world reflected in the diverse stories presented.
The building itself, designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec, features a distinctive curving exterior clad in more than 1,200 individually shaped panels. A central arch, spanning 185 feet, rises above a public plaza, serving as a prominent architectural feature.
Surrounding the museum is a newly developed 13-acre park and gardens, a transformation by landscape architect Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA from what was previously an asphalt parking lot. The grounds now include more than 300 newly planted trees, an amphitheater, a meadow, a hanging garden, and 10 monumental outdoor sculptures, adding significant green space to the area.
Beyond its exhibition spaces, the museum also features two theaters and the Skywalker Grill, a full-service restaurant open to both museum visitors and the general public. Additionally, a research library, which is free to the public, offers an extensive collection. This library includes over 30,000 comic books, select holdings from the Skywalker Ranch Library, approximately 3,000 art books donated by Steve Martin and his wife, Ann Stringfield, and more than 2,900 volumes from the personal library of writer and mythologist Joseph Campbell, whose work museum officials noted had influenced Lucas’ creation of “Star Wars.”
