LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Mayor Eric Garcetti wasted no time today in making
another pitch to George Lucas to bring his museum — which would showcase the
filmmaker’s art collection — to Los Angeles, now that plans for building it in
Chicago have been abandoned
When news came in May that San Francisco was being explored as an
alternative site for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art — which faced delays
and legal opposition in Chicago — Garcetti said Los Angeles also would love to
have the museum.
Garcetti reiterated that today, saying “The Lucas Museum of Narrative
Art would be perfect for Los Angeles.”
“Tens of millions of people visit our city every year — and L.A. has
unquestioned stature as a world arts capital, thanks to institutions like the
Broad, the Getty, MOCA and LACMA,” Garcetti said. “We would welcome the
opportunity to be a permanent home for this incredible collection, which would
become part of a museum culture that is unrivaled in the United States.
David Perry, a spokesman for the museum, said Los Angeles was being
considered as a potential location, along with San Francisco.
Garcetti in 2014 wrote a letter to Lucas suggesting Exposition Park,
which contains the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, as a site for the
Lucas museum.
Councilman Curren Price, who represents the area, joined Garcetti today
in issuing a statement, saying “A museum of this caliber is worthy of a world-
class home and that is just what Los Angeles offers.”
Price said the museum “would enhance an already thriving museum campus
at Expo Park, and enrich the lives of Angelenos of all ages,” adding that his
district “welcomes the Lucas Museum and this investment in South L.A. with
open arms.”
The museum will feature pieces from Lucas‘s art collection, which
includes works by Norman Rockwell, N.C. Wyeth and Maxfield Parrish, as well as
exhibitions centered around “narrative art” used in storytelling, usually in
popular mediums such as film and illustrated books.
Here is what Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel had to say about Lucas’ decision:
STATEMENT FROM MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL ON THE LUCAS MUSEUM OF NARRATIVE ART
“Two years ago to the day, George Lucas and Mellody Hobson announced that they had chosen Chicago as the site of their incredible legacy investment. The opportunity for a City to gain a brand new museum is rare, and this particular opportunity – a gift worth approximately $1.5 billion – would have been the largest philanthropic contribution in Chicago’s history.
Unfortunately, time has run out and the moment we’ve consistently warned about has arrived – Chicago’s loss will be another city’s gain. This missed opportunity has not only cost us what will be a world-class cultural institution, it has cost thousands of jobs for Chicago workers, millions of dollars in economic investment and countless educational opportunities for Chicago’s youth.
Despite widespread support of the project from Chicago’s cultural, business, labor, faith and community leaders and the public, a legal challenge filed by Friends of the Parks threatened to derail this once-in-a-generation opportunity.
We tried to find common ground to resolve the lawsuit – the sole barrier preventing the start of the museum’s construction. But despite our best efforts to negotiate a common solution that would keep