The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opens to the public on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, at One Lucas Plaza in Exposition Park, Los Angeles. Founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, the ~300,000-square-foot building by Ma Yansong of MAD (with Stantec) houses more than 100,000 square feet of gallery space across 30-plus galleries, the Lucas Archives, a free research library, and the Skywalker Grill restaurant. This ADVANCE Art guide locks the public date, architecture facts, and what the inaugural programme actually includes—sourced from the museum’s own press materials.
Public open date, previews, and opening night
Official press confirms member preview days 5–11 September 2026, a Neighbourhood Preview Day on 13 September, and Opening Night on 19 September (co-chairs named in the museum release include Julie Bell, Tom Cruise, Greta Gerwig, Jensen Huang, JR, Steven Spielberg, Guillermo del Toro, and Pharrell Williams). The public spike is 22 September 2026. Timed-entry tickets are required; check lucasmuseum.org/plan-your-visit for current adult/senior/child pricing rather than relying on secondary round-ups.
Architecture: Ma Yansong, Studio-MLA, Stantec
Ma Yansong’s MAD design lifts at the centre and touches the park lightly, creating a sheltered plaza under a central arch spanning about 185 feet, with an elliptical oculus four storeys up. The exterior uses more than 1,200 uniquely shaped fibreglass-reinforced polymer panels. Landscape architect Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA designed the surrounding 13-acre Park and Gardens—replacing asphalt parking with drought-tolerant plantings, 300+ new trees, meadow, amphitheatre, and waterfall fountain. Stantec is credited as the collaborative delivery partner on the building. For travel planning, the address is One Lucas Plaza, 3800 S Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90037.
What is inside on day one
Inaugural exhibitions unfold through 100,000 square feet and 1,300+ works tracing visual storytelling from cave painting to comics, illustration, murals, and cinema. Signature names in the museum’s own materials include Artemisia Gentileschi, Norman Rockwell, Frida Kahlo, Robert Colescott, Frank Frazetta, and Robert Crumb, plus the complete Lucas Archives (1971–2012). A Cinema gallery installation titled Star Wars in Motion draws on those archives for land vehicles from the first six films. Two continuous-programme theatres—the Robert Flaherty Theater and the Slavko Vorkapich Theater—treat film as drop-in gallery experience rather than a single screening slot.
People also ask: is the park free?
Yes, per the museum’s visit guidance: the surrounding Park and Gardens are free and open from early morning until sunset, while gallery admission uses timed tickets. The Research Library is described as free to all visitors. Skywalker Grill (Rockwell Group design; Rhubarb Hospitality) sits atop the building and is intended to stay open beyond gallery hours for lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch.
How this fits Sunday Profile’s Art exhibitions cluster
If you are already tracking autumn museum spikes, pair this Exposition Park open with our live guides to Brancusi at MoMA (https://www.thesundayprofile.com/brancusi-moma-2026) (public from 25 October 2026) and Willem de Kooning at the Rijksmuseum (https://www.thesundayprofile.com/de-kooning-rijksmuseum-2026) (from 9 October 2026). Those pieces cover New York and Amsterdam calendars; this one covers the Los Angeles narrative-art campus opening 22 September.
Sources and caveats
Primary facts on founding, square footage, gallery count, MAD/Studio-MLA/Stantec credits, Lucas Archives, and the 22 September public open come from the Lucas Museum press release “Lucas Museum of Narrative Art Opens to the Public on September 22, 2026.” Architectural photography and completion coverage in ArchDaily / Architectural Record align on the MAD exterior and public date. Ticket prices and last-entry rules change—confirm on the museum’s Plan Your Visit page before you buy. No invented muhurat-style museum hours beyond what the press kit states.