After years of anticipation, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is almost ready to welcome the world — but first, it welcomed its neighbors.

Entertainment Affair attended the museum’s Neighborhood Preview Day on Sunday, September 13, getting an early look inside the highly anticipated new cultural destination ahead of its official opening on September 22.

Located in Los Angeles’ Exposition Park, the Lucas Museum welcomed thousands of neighborhood residents, community organizations, local business owners and civic leaders for a day centered on the South Los Angeles community that surrounds its new home.

The celebration began with a performance by the Inner City Youth Orchestra, followed by remarks from museum founders George Lucas and Mellody Hobson and Lucas Museum CEO Tracey Bates. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, former Los Angeles Mayor and Ambassador Eric Garcetti, and LA Commons Founder and Executive Director Karen Mack also participated in the program.

The ceremony concluded with a performance by the Drummers of Compton in the museum’s plaza before guests continued exploring the campus.

Designed by Ma Yansong of MAD, the futuristic building immediately establishes itself as one of the most distinctive additions to the Los Angeles cultural landscape. Inside, approximately 100,000 square feet of exhibition space are dedicated to the museum’s expansive approach to narrative art and the many ways images have been used to tell stories across generations.

The experience extends beyond the galleries. The museum sits within a new 13-acre campus featuring gardens and green spaces designed by Mia Lehrer and Studio-MLA, creating an outdoor gathering place that connects the building with the surrounding Exposition Park community.

That connection was at the heart of Sunday’s preview. Community organizations participating in the event included LA Trade Technical College, Brotherhood Crusade, Community Coalition, LA Promise Fund, LA Commons, Move LA, SAJE, YWCA and several others with deep ties to South Los Angeles.

The museum is also extending that relationship beyond opening day through its LM37 pass. Residents of the surrounding 90037 ZIP code can receive free admission to the museum, along with access to exhibitions, gardens, public spaces and select special programming.

Founded by Lucas and Hobson, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art approaches storytelling on an enormous scale, bringing together works spanning different cultures, periods and mediums to explore how images shape the stories we tell — and how those stories shape us.

For Los Angeles, the opening represents the arrival of a major new cultural institution. But Neighborhood Preview Day made clear that before becoming a destination for visitors from around the world, the Lucas Museum wanted the community surrounding it to experience what has been taking shape in their backyard.

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art officially opens to the public September 22, 2026, at Exposition Park in Los Angeles.