Star Wars fans and art lovers line up for new Lucas museum

Living The Los Angeles museum was built by Star Wars creator George Lucas alongside his wife and business partner Mellody Hobson. Lucas Museum of Narrative Art (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images North America/Getty Images via AFP) 23 Sep 2026 03:08PM (Updated: 23 Sep 2026 03:11PM) Star Wars superfans and art lovers alike descended on George Lucas's long-awaited Museum of Narrative Art for its grand opening on Tuesday (Sep 22), lining up to experience the colossal structure that itself recalls a spaceship.The Los Angeles museum built by the 82-year-old Star Wars franchise creator alongside his wife and business partner Mellody Hobson is intended to be a "people's temple of art", according to its creators.The duo stood at the museum's entrance as its first 100 visitors were invited in, shaking hands with each of them as they entered the biomorphic building. George Lucas and his wife, Mellody Hobson, speak at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art before it opens to the public. (Photo: Reuters/Mike Blake) Eric Cheung, a dentist and realtor who arrived in a Star Wars X-wing pilot costume – a get-up featuring a bright orange jumpsuit and distinct combat helmet, like that worn by Luke Skywalker himself – said he was quick to become a museum member and even trained as a volunteer."Each art piece tells a story," he told AFP of the museum's intentions. "Everybody can look at the same thing, and then we can create different stories." Life-size Star Wars characters are displayed at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. (Photo: Reuters/Mike Blake) The museum was built on what used to be a parking lot next to the University of Southern California, the filmmaker's alma mater.For Brenda Chambliss, a resident of the area in South Los Angeles for more than a decade, it "means everything" that Lucas put the museum in the neighborhood.The area can carry a "stigma" tied to crime or poverty, she said, and the "breathtaking" building filled with art is a positive new attraction, not least for its surrounding park that's open to the public without a ticket.HELP LOCAL ARTISTSAt the entrance, visitors are greeted by the yellow Naboo N-1 starfighter from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, but with more than 9,300 square metres of exhibition space, the offerings go far beyond the beloved saga. A visitor takes a photo of Anakin Skywalker's podracer from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. (Photo: AFP/Valerie Macon) Its more-than-30 galleries feature works by artists including Banksy, Frida Kahlo, Jacob Lawrence, Charles White and Robert Colescott; comics by Winsor McCay, Jack Kirby and Frank Frazetta; and illustrations by Norman Rockwell, Jessie Willcox Smith and N.C. Wyeth."I really love that Lucas is using his platform to bring other artists together," Sandi Granados told AFP in the gift shop, where she was purchasing a trippy, colourful print of a Darth Vader flanked by Stormtroopers."It's not just for him," said the 30-year-old cosmetologist who works in the film industry. "He's using his name to help local artists and big artists come together."