In 2004 LACMA embarked on its multiphase Transformation. This ambitious capital campaign aims to expand, upgrade, and unify the museum’s twenty-acre campus through the addition of new buildings, beautifully reinstalled permanent collection galleries, and the addition of monumental, destination artworks. With addition of two major buildings for art, a restaurant, and major large-scale artworks by Chris Burden, Barbara Kruger, and Robert Irwin, the Transformation has already resulted in an attendance increase from 600,000 in 2005 to nearly 1,000,000 in 2011. As this capital campaign continues, LACMA is emboldening its status as an international destination and essential gathering-place for the diverse audiences of Los Angeles.
Support the Transformation campaign.
The Future
Many dramatic milestones in LACMA’s ongoing Transformation are still to come. With the creation of a new subway stop at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue planned for 2019, LACMA’s accessibility and visibility will increase dramatically. Plans for a possible Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in the former May Company building (currently known as LACMA West) will also result in more and more audiences making the museums at Wilshire and Fairfax a can’t-miss destination.
Essential goals for the next phase of the Transformation include addressing infrastructural issues on the east side of its campus, continuing to add monumental outdoor artworks by artists such as Jeff Koons and James Turrell, as well as increasing the museum’s endowment so that it will best serve generations to come.
History of the campaign to date:
Phase II: 2008–Present
The middle phase of the campaign saw the completion of Pritzker Prize-wining architect Renzo Piano’s plans for the center of campus as well as the continued installation of monumental artworks and reinstallation of permanent galleries.
Milestones of Phase II include:
- The Lynda and Stewart Resnick Exhibition Pavilion (opened October 2010), a 45,000 square-foot, open-plan building designed to adapt to a rotating slate of special exhibitions
- The rehabilitation of the surrounding park, as part of the Kelly and Robert Day Gardens, which include the expansion of Robert Irwin’s installation of palm trees (opened October 2010)
- Ray’s and Stark Bar (opened March 2011) , a new restaurant and bar located at the center of campus and featuring a farm-to-table menu and seasonal cocktails
- Reinstalled galleries for art from the Pacific Islands (2008), Korean art (2009), ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern art (2010), European art (2011), Chinese art (2011), and South and Southeast Asian art (2012)
- The installation of Michael Heizer’s experiential earthwork, Levitated Mass—a 456-foot-long slot carved into the earth, over which is placed a 340-ton megalith (2011–2012)
Phase I: 2004–2008
The first phase of the campaign began the unification and expansion of the museum, with emphasis on creating a new center for the campus. In February 2008 LACMA opened this phase to the public, including:
- The Broad Contemporary Art Museum, adding 60,000 square feet of gallery space almost entirely devoted to the display of art
- The new open-air BP Grand Entrance, an 8,100 square-foot pavilion topped with solar panels capable of generating more than 100,000 watts of electricity
- The Jeanne and Anthony Pritzker Family Foundation Parking Garage, adding 700 parking spaces underground
- Additional campus improvements including the creation of the Dona S. and Dwight M. Kendall Concourse and the reimagined David Bohnett Foundation Atrium in the Ahmanson Building, linking the east and west sides of campus
- Reinstalled permanent collections for modern art, American art, and Latin American art—the latter partly including a provocative gallery design by artist Jorge Pardo (opened July 2008)
Four monumental artworks also made their debut at LACMA as part of Phase I:
- Chris Burden’s Urban Light, a monumental sculpture prominently placed on Wilshire Boulevard at the new entrance to the museum
- A palm garden created by Robert Irwin, featuring a variety of species of palms from around the world, planted around LACMA’s campus
- Barbara Kruger’s Untitled (Shafted), a three-story artwork installed inside of the massive glass-enclosed elevator shaft at the core of BCAM
- Tony Smith’s Smoke, a complex geometric sculpture installed in the Ahmanson Building
