After moving to LA in 2021, I was wandering my new neighborhood when I discovered a massive construction site. The natural next step was to research what was being built, which led me down the rabbit hole of the long journey to find the Lucas Museum’s home. The long battles with San Francisco and then Chicago, putting up a billion dollars, and donating his own personal collection: you could tell this was a project that George Lucas (and his wife, Mellody Hobson) was not going to give up on.
Beyond all this, at the core of this institution is gratitude for storytellers, and more specifically, illustrators: those who dare to share their work and their perspective on their times. At a time when AI creations are taking the internet by storm (creations ultimately built on the history of human achievement), it felt necessary to have such a breathtaking building be the home of human ideas and creation.
Ever since that day in 2021, I have carefully followed the progress of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and patiently waited for an announcement of its opening day. As soon as it was announced for September 2026, I circled the date and waited for ticket sales to open. Even better, I was able to sign up for a Founding Membership, which came with a “pre-opening” visit, so I jumped at the chance to visit on September 5th.Enriching is the first word that comes to mind; then comes disbelief. Before you even begin exploring the sprawling galleries, you are met with a structure straight out of sci-fi. The inspiration? A cloud, which makes more sense the more you look at it. Once you enter the galleries, you’re taken through the history of narrative through illustration (and, of course, a splash of Star Wars throughout).
Below are just a handful of pictures I took of the museum’s exterior.