Long Awaited Opening of The Broad Museum Is Here

Sandra Miska

The anticipation is over and the newest American contemporary art museum is in Los Angeles.  The Broad Museum, which is located in the Bunker Hill neighborhood in DTLA, officially opened its doors on Sept. 20.

The Broad Museum opened with a bang, to say the least, with a gala featuring former president Bill Clinton as a keynote speaker and a performance by Chrissie Hynde.  Guests included Reese Witherspoon, Ed Ruscha, Gwyneth Paltrow, Barbara Kruger, Owen Wilson, Jeff Koon and Heidi Klum among others.

This new $140 million contemporary art institute was founded by philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad. Eli Broad is the only person to build two Fortune 500 companies in different industries of homebuilding and insurance.  Forbes ranks him as the 185th wealthiest person in the world.  Broad grew up in Detroit, MI and is an alumnus of Michigan State University, where two schools and another art museum that he and his wife endowed bear the Broad name.

The Broads’ interest in art began in 1973 when the family acquired a drawing done by Van Gogh.  Eli and Edythe Broad established the Broad Art Foundation in 1984 with the goal of making their extensive art collection more accessible to the public.

The Broad Museum was designed by the design studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with the architecture firm Gensler.  It hosts nearly 2,000 works of art from the Broad collection, which boasts an impressive amount of postwar and contemporary works of art, one of the most prominent holdings of its kind in the world.  The building contains two floors of gallery space, as well as the headquarters of The Broad Art Foundation’s worldwide lending library.

Admission to The Broad is free, but visitors are encouraged to reserve timed tickets online.

Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room is a featured part of the inaugural installation at The Broad.  This unique work of art is a mirrored-lined room housing a dazzling LED light display.  Because the chamber can only accommodate one person at a time (for 45 seconds), guests must reserve a second free ticket for it upon arrival to the museum.

The Broad Museum is now open Tuesdays & Wednesdays 11-5, Thursdays & Fridays 11-8, Saturdays 10-8, and Sundays 10-6.