Lucas Museum of Narrative Art to open in Los Angeles

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is set to open in Los Angeles on September 22. Funded by approximately $1 billion of George Lucas’s own money, the project comes after a 16-year journey that included abandoned plans to build the institution in San Francisco and Chicago.

Designed by architect Ma Yansong of MAD studio, the 28,000-square-meter facility in Exposition Park features a futuristic design described as a cloud. The museum aims to elevate all forms of visual storytelling to equal status, ranging from Impressionist masterpieces and reproductions of the Sistine Chapel to comic book illustrations, manga, and “Star Wars” concept art.

The collection includes over 1,200 objects from Lucas’s private archives, spanning art, costumes, and movie props. The museum will house approximately 30 to 35 galleries covering themes such as adventure, maternity, and children's illustration. Lucas described the institution as a “temple of folk art,” emphasizing the power of narrative art to create shared belief systems within society.