Dream of motion picture museum in LA gets closer to reality as AMPAS and LACMA team up

Oct 04, 2011 by Ian Evans

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) may one day be proprietors of an LA museum of motion picture history as the pair have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish an Academy museum in the May Company building, a.k.a. LACMA West.

“It is appropriate and long overdue for the city that is home to the motion picture industry to recognize this art form with a museum of its own. The LACMA Board is delighted to be facilitating this important cultural event, which has special resonance for me, having spent most of my life dedicated to the great art of movies,” said co-chair of the LACMA Board of Trustees Terry Semel. Semel went on to say that, “The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will provide a much needed destination for cultural tourists and Los Angelenos to learn more about cinema, and the setting could not be more ideal, nestled next to the largest encyclopedic art museum in the Western United States.”

Academy President Tom Sherak added that, “The new museum will be a world-class destination that is a tangible representation of the Academy’s mission. And the idea of our museum being part of a larger cultural center for the arts, in this city that we love, was incredibly compelling to the Academy Board.”