Weird and wonderful, a billion-dollar museum lands in Los Angeles

By the Editorial Team · Saturday, September 26, 2026

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opened in South Los Angeles, featuring a 300,000-square-foot building designed by Ma Yansong that houses George Lucas and Mellody Hobson’s extensive collection of over 40,000 works focused on narrative and popular art forms. By showcasing diverse media like comic art, anime, and film design alongside traditional paintings, the museum aims to redefine cultural spaces and attract global audiences interested in storytelling through visual art.

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opened this week in Exposition Park, South Los Angeles, introducing a striking new landmark to the city’s cultural landscape. Designed by Chinese architect Ma Yansong, the 300,000-square-foot building features a distinctive white, fluid form that contrasts sharply with its urban surroundings. The museum sits on the former site of a gated asphalt parking lot near the University of Southern California campus, where filmmaker George Lucas once studied film.

The museum is dedicated to the extensive art collection of George Lucas and his wife, businesswoman Mellody Hobson, whose investment in the project is estimated to exceed $1 billion. The collection spans more than 40,000 works, focusing on artists and mediums frequently overlooked by traditional art institutions. It includes comic art, graphic novels, anime, film production design, and illustrations from golden-age American magazines, as well as figurative paintings by artists such as Frida Kahlo and Thomas Hart Benton.

Within the museum, over 80,000 square feet are dedicated to exhibition space on the fourth floor. Highlights include a "Star Wars" display featuring Luke Skywalker’s X-34 Landspeeder from the fictional planet Tatooine. The galleries feature diverse thematic rooms touching on subjects like motherhood and love, alongside Norman Rockwell prints and manga art. The museum’s design integrates bridge-like viewing platforms providing panoramic views to visitors, offering a visual break from the galleries.

Additional amenities include two advanced movie theaters, a cafe, and a shop located in the building’s podium. The rooftop features a landscaped garden with colorful plantings, winding pathways, sweeping city views, and a restaurant. A separate pavilion houses a library furnished in the Arts and Crafts style, along with a student center. Notably, a yellow Naboo N-1 Starfighter from the "Star Wars" universe is suspended from the lobby ceiling of this pavilion.

The Lucas Museum represents Ma Yansong’s first major cultural commission in the United States. Known for his biomorphic mega-structures such as the Harbin Opera House and the Ordos Museum in China, Ma’s design for the museum incorporates dramatic, flowing lines that have won both praise and questions about circulation within the galleries.

Lucas and Hobson initially proposed the museum in 2010, first considering a site at the Presidio in San Francisco before ultimately selecting the current location in Los Angeles. The museum aims to serve as a "cathedral" for narrative art, spotlighting popular visual storytelling forms that Lucas felt were underrepresented in established modern art museums. As it embarks on its mission, the Lucas Museum is poised to become a unique destination for both art enthusiasts and fans of visual narrative worldwide.

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