By SDCN Staff
Los Angeles, California–The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, is scheduled to open to the public on September 22, 2026.
The new cultural institution—designed by Ma Yansong of MAD, with gardens designed by Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA—is in Los Angeles’s Exposition Park.
The museum seeks to explore how stories connect people and capture the human experience, The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art stated in a news release.
“Stories are mythology, and when illustrated, they help humans understand the mysteries of life,” said George Lucas, co-founder of the museum. The museum was built on the belief that illustrated storytelling is a universal language.
“This is a museum of the people’s art—the images are illustrations of beliefs we live with every day. For that reason, this art belongs to everyone,” said Lucas Museum co-founder Mellody Hobson. “Our hope is that as people move through the galleries, they will see themselves, and their humanity, reflected back.”
The museum’s permanent collection holds more than 40,000 works, representing one of the most significant collections of narrative art. The building’s thirty-five galleries occupy 100,000 square feet. Galleries are named to reflect the human experience—love, family, community, play, work, sports, childhood, adventure, and more. They will display familiar pieces by beloved illustrators; mural paintings of the 20th and 21st centuries; comic art, of which the museum has deep and extensive holdings; children’s book illustrations; science-fiction illustrations; and the fantastic visions captured in 20th-century culture. They will also display cinematic artifacts, including movie posters, and feature documentaries that showcase artists and filmmakers.
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is dedicated to illustrated storytelling. The collection features works by artists such as Norman Rockwell, Kadir Nelson, Jessie Willcox Smith, N. C. Wyeth, Beatrix Potter, Judith F. Baca, Frida Kahlo, and Maxfield Parrish; comic art legends such as Winsor McCay, Jack Kirby, Frank Frazetta, Alison Bechdel, Chris Ware, and Robert Crumb; and photographers Gordon Parks, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Dorothea Lange. The museum also houses the Lucas Archives, containing models, props, concept art, and costumes from Lucas’s filmmaking career.
In advance of the museum’s opening, the public is encouraged to sign up for exclusive news and access at lucasmuseum.org and follow the museum on Instagram, Facebook, and X.
