The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is a museum currently under construction by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles, California. Set to open on April 30, 2021, the Academy Museum will be the nation's first large-scale museum entirely dedicated to the art, science, craft, business, and history of film. The permanent and rotating exhibits will provide an immersive experience for visitors to explore the cultural and creative contributions that Hollywood and the film industry have made around the world. The Museum will be established in the historic May Company Building—renamed the Saban Building following a $50 million gift from Cheryl and Haim Saban—on the corner of Wilshire and Fairfax on Los Angeles's Museum Mile. The 300,000 square-foot facility is being designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Renzo Piano with Renzo Piano Building Workshop and Gensler. The project is currently led by Bill Kramer, Director of the Academy Museum, with NBCUniversal's Vice Chairman Ron Meyer as head of the Academy Museum's Board of Trustees. In May 2020, the museum revealed it had purchased the magnificent May Queen dress worn by actress Florence Pugh. The gown is seen to have sold on the A24 Auction platform for $65,000.
Design
Pritzker Prize–winning architect Renzo Piano designed two buildings for the campus: the Saban Building ; and The Sphere, a new structure featuring the 1,000-seat state-of-the-art David Geffen Theater and the Dolby Terrace, which offers a panoramic view of the Hollywood Hills and the iconic Hollywood sign. The museum will include of galleries, two theaters, cutting-edge project spaces, an outdoor piazza, a rooftop terrace with sweeping views of the Hollywood Hills, an active education studio, special event spaces, a restaurant, and store.
Theaters
The David Geffen Theater Located in The Sphere, the 1,000-seat David Geffen Theater will represent the relationship between art and technology. The theater’s programming will include presentations illuminating the art of filmmaking, film premieres from new and established filmmakers, and other high-profile events.
Ted Mann Theater The 288-seat Ted Mann Theater will provide a more intimate space for visitors and will offer special programs and screenings.
Collections
Since the 1930s, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been collecting movie-related materials and is now considered the world's prominent curator of cinema history. The Academy's permanent collection of over 12 million photographs, 230,000 moving image items, 80,000 screenplays, 61,000 posters and over 104,000 pieces of production art will influence the Museum's future exhibitions. Some key objects in the Museum's collection include:
