LOS ANGELES, CA.- In February 2008, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) launches the first phase of Transformation, its comprehensive expansion and renovation project, designed by the internationally acclaimed Renzo Piano Building Workshop. This ambitious ten-year initiative will dramatically transform LACMA’s six-building, twenty-acre campus, laying a strong foundation for future growth of the Museum. When complete, Transformation will unify the LACMA campus into a dynamic whole and significantly improve the experience of the Museum, as visitors move effortlessly through galleries, gardens, and plazas to explore the collections and educational resources.

The highlight of the February inauguration will be the opening of the Broad Contemporary Art Museum (BCAM) at LACMA, a new building with 60,000 square feet of gallery space specifically designed to exhibit modern and contemporary art. Named in honor of LACMA Trustee and benefactor Eli Broad and his wife, Edythe, BCAM is a central component of LACMA’s mission to integrate contemporary art fully into the Museum’s collecting strategy, exhibitions, and public programs, exploring the interplay of the art of our time with that of the past. In fact, LACMA is the first major encyclopedic museum to make contemporary art one of its principal areas of activity, a fitting role for a museum in Los Angeles, which in recent years has emerged as a world capital of contemporary art.

Also opening in February is the BP Grand Entrance. This 8,100 square-foot, open-air pavilion serves as the Museum’s main entrance, orientation space, and public art plaza. Here, Chris Burden’s Urban Light, an installation of more than 200 street lamps from all over Los Angeles, powered by solar panels installed atop the building, will illuminate the entry, providing visitors with one of their first experiences of contemporary art at the Museum.

Along with BCAM and the BP Grand Entrance, the initial stage of Transformation includes the creation of new exhibition galleries, public spaces, and gardens. Key elements include:

· The Dona S. and Dwight M. Kendall Concourse, a covered walkway linking the western and eastern sections of the 1/3-mile-long campus;

· Renovation of the Ahmanson Building, featuring reinstallations and revitalizations of galleries, major refurbishments to the central atrium, and the addition of a grand staircase that will reorganize the flow of visitors through the building;

· A new parking garage on two underground levels allowing for the expansion of Hancock Park and connected green spaces above ground; and

· Public plazas opening onto Wilshire Boulevard to the south and Hancock Park to the north.

In addition to creating new and improved facilities, the Museum will undertake a significant reorganization and reinstallation of major areas of its renowned collection to reflect the strong ties of Los Angeles residents to both Latin America and Asia. In a departure from the traditional Euro-centric installation of an encyclopedic museum, LACMA’s collection will be installed so that Latin America and Asia also provide historical lenses through which human creativity may be viewed. Visitors may also choose to traverse time from contemporary art back to ancient art, completing the journey at the end of the Hancock Park campus at the La Brea Tar Pits.

Beyond the creation of BCAM, major art spaces being created in this first stage include:

· The Art of the Americas Building, formerly the Modern and Contemporary Building, with galleries for art from North, Central, and South America;

· Masterpiece in Focus Gallery, located on the Atrium level of the Ahmanson Building, with rotating highlights from the permanent collection;

· Increased display areas for African art and modern art in the Ahmanson Building; and

· Various artworks and artist-designed installations sited outdoors across the campus, including works by Robert Irwin and Chris Burden.

Phase Two
The second phase of Transformation will complete the unification of LACMA’s vast campus. It is scheduled to include expanded facilities for special exhibitions as well as the complete rehabilitation of LACMA West, the 1939, 300,000-square-foot former May Company building, which will be used to create galleries, public amenities, administrative offices, and space for additional educational and public programming. LACMA will work with artists from around the world, including Jorge Pardo and James Turrell, to develop the architectural concepts that will inform many of the designs.
The anticipated components include:

· Construction of a free-standing, single story, 244-by-230-foot glass building with exhibition galleries, located directly behind BCAM; this light-filled building will feature an open floor plan;

· Additional artworks and artist-designed outdoor installations sited across the campus, creating a park-like atmosphere; Robert Irwin’s installation of palm trees will be interspersed around BCAM, the special exhibition pavilion, and the other buildings on LACMA’s campus;

· The following improvements to LACMA West:
· Up to 20,000 square feet of additional gallery space;
· Expansion of the Boone Children’s Gallery, with associated workshops and programs tailored for children, young people, and families;

· A video and new-media lab;

· Reconfigured spaces for LACMA’s library and study collections, with a goal of enhancing accessibility and use by students, scholars, and the public;

· Curatorial and administrative offices; and
· Public amenities such as a restaurant, retail space, and bookstore.

Phase Three
While still in the planning period, it is anticipated that the third stage of Transformation will include re-envisioning and possibly rehabilitating the buildings located on the eastern portion of the campus. Planners are working with Trustees and executive staff to explore the use of these structures for innovative displays of the permanent collection. The work that will already have been completed will enable collection installations to remain on view during this third stage.

Fundraising: LACMA has raised nearly $200 million for the initial phase of Transformation, exceeding its original goal of $150 million. Principal gifts have come from Eli and Edythe Broad, with $60 million; Lynda and Stewart Resnick, with $25 million; and BP Foundation, with $25 million. Other significant gifts include: $15 million from the County of Los Angeles, $5 million from the Riordans, and $1.6 million from The Ahmanson Foundation.