Dodgers win electrifies LACMA's starry Art + Film gala with Cynthia Erivo, George Lucas, more

When Los Angeles County Museum of Art manager Michael Govan archetypal stepped up to the podium astatine the museum’s star-packed 14th yearly Art + Film Gala, the Dodgers were down 1 tally to the Toronto Blue Jays successful the eighth inning of the last crippled of the World Series.

There was nary elephantine surface successful the monolithic structure wherever a decadent meal was being served Saturday nighttime successful solemnisation of honorees creator Mary Corse and manager Ryan Coogler. Instead guests successful elaborate gowns and tuxedos discreetly glanced astatine their phones propped connected tables and astatine the basal of angiosperm vases crossed the star-packed venue. This became evident erstwhile Miguel Rojas deed a game-tying location tally astatine the apical of the ninth inning and the full country erupted successful cheers.

Michael Govan, CEO of LACMA, wearing Gucci, speaks onstage during the 2025 LACMA Art+Film Gala.

(Amy Sussman / Getty Images for LACMA)

When Govan returned to the signifier to statesman the well-deserved tributes to the creator and filmmaker of the hour, the crippled had been won, the effusive cheering had died down, and the phones had been respectfully enactment away.

“Go Dodgers!” Govan said, earlier joking that LACMA had engineered the triumph for this peculiar evening. The country was juiced.

It made Los Angeles consciousness similar the halfway of the beingness for a fewer hours and was fitting for an lawsuit that famously brings unneurotic the city’s duplicate taste bedrocks of creation and cinema, creating a rarefied abstraction wherever the 2 worlds premix and mingle successful enactment of a shared imaginativeness of recognizing L.A.’s immeasurable contributions to the planetary taste conversation.

“This is simply a solemnisation that tin lone hap successful L.A. — wherever art, movie and creativity are profoundly intertwined,” Govan said. “I ever accidental this is the astir originative spot connected Earth.”

The lawsuit raised a grounds $6.5 cardinal successful enactment of the depository and its programs. Co-chairs Leonardo DiCaprio and LACMA trustee Eva Chow hosted a cocktail enactment and meal that drew celebrities including Dustin Hoffman, Cynthia Erivo, Cindy Crawford, Queen Latifah, Angela Bassett, Lorde, Demi Moore, Hannah Einbinder, Charlie Hunnam and Elle Fanning alongside section elected officials and appointees including U.S. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles); L.A. County Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Lindsey Horvath; L.A. Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky; West Hollywood Councilmember John M. Erickson, and Kristin Sakoda, manager of the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.

Sakoda said she thoroughly enjoyed the festivities “as typical of the incredibly divers civilization of Los Angeles and however that speaks to our full nation.”

A peculiar motion of gratitude went to erstwhile gala honorees successful attendance including artists Mark Bradford, James Turrell, Catherine Opie, Betye Saar, Judy Baca, George Lucas and Park Chan-Wook. Leaders from galore different section arts institutions besides showed up including the Hammer Museum’s director, Zoe Ryan; California African American Museum Director Cameron Shaw; and MOCA’s interim Director Ann Goldstein.

Rising successful the inheritance was LACMA’s caller David Geffen Galleries, the 110,000-square-foot Peter Zumthor-designed gathering scheduled to unfastened successful April arsenic the caller location for the museum’s 150,000-object imperishable collection.

“Every time I’m successful that small gathering down installing thousands of artworks,” Govan said to cheers. “I can’t hold for radical to rediscover our imperishable collection, from aged favorites to caller acquisitions. It’s a monumental acquisition to L.A., and successful summation to L.A. County and the public, I would similar to convey the idiosyncratic whose generosity brought america to this landmark moment, Mr. David Geffen.”

Geffen sat successful a oversea of achromatic ties and glittering gowns, adjacent Disney CEO Bob Iger and DiCaprio — who had been filmed earlier successful the week successful attendance astatine Game 5 of the World Series astatine Dodger Stadium.

Govan besides gave a peculiar acknowledgment to erstwhile LACMA committee co-chair, Elaine Wynn, who died earlier this twelvemonth and was 1 of the museum’s astir steadfast champions. Wynn contributed $50 cardinal to the caller gathering — 1 of the archetypal large gifts successful enactment of the effort. Govan noted that the bluish fractional of the gathering volition beryllium named the Elaine Wynn wing.

Honoree Ryan Coogler, wearing Gucci, speaks onstage during the 2025 LACMA Art+Film Gala.

(Amy Sussman / Getty Images for LACMA)

Left unmentioned was the information that earlier successful the week LACMA’s employees announced they are forming a union, LACMA United, representing much than 300 workers from crossed each departments, including curators, educators, impermanent relations associates and others. One idiosyncratic told The Times determination were nary plans to show astatine the gala, which raises much-needed funds for the museum.

The assemblage sat rapt arsenic the night’s guests of honor, Corse and Coogler, humbly spoke of their journeys successful their respective creation forms, with Govan introducing them arsenic “artists whose superb groundbreaking enactment challenges america to spot the satellite differently.”

The nighttime concluded with an enthusiastic show by Doja Cat connected an outdoor signifier successful the shadiness of the David Geffen Galleries, the lights girding its monolithic factual underbelly similar stars successful the sky.

“It was a beauteous evening of assemblage coming unneurotic astir thing that reminds america of our shared humanity astatine a clip erstwhile we request it,” said Yaroslavsky with a grin arsenic the evening coiled down.