LACMA Hosts a Weekend of Art, Performance, and Interactive Events

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) offered a rich lineup of events during the weekend starting September 17, 2026, inviting visitors to explore art, performance, and play. The weekend was part of the ongoing Third Weekends series, designed to engage audiences with the museum’s exhibitions and cultural programs.

On Friday, the program began with a discussion in the Collecting Impressionism galleries. Designer and stylist OLIMA joined curators David Bardeen and Clarissa Esguerra to explore the exhibition’s costumes and fashion depictions, marking the first event in the Queering the Collection series. Following this, attendees enjoyed a free Jazz at LACMA concert featuring the 17 Big Band, setting a lively tone for the evening.

Later on Friday night, LACMA Live premiered an original performance titled The Space Between Labels by Native Voices, the nation’s leading Native American theater company. This performance responded to the reimagined installation of LACMA’s permanent collection in the David Geffen Galleries. A second performance of this production was scheduled for Saturday.

Saturday’s activities emphasized interactive play, including sessions of Chess at LACMA and Mahjong Night, offering visitors opportunities to engage socially and intellectually within the museum space.

Sunday featured a walkthrough of the exhibition Between Panic and Paradise with artist Eileen Cowin. Additionally, visitors could participate in the Lion Dance celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival or attend a screening of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. This film screening was part of a seasonal program inspired by the new David Geffen Galleries, which explore networks of exchange around oceans and seas.

Throughout the weekend, visitors had access to all current exhibitions, daily docent-led tours, and family-friendly activities at the W.M. Keck Education Center. Among the highlighted exhibitions were Fashioning Chinese Women: Empire to Modernity, running through October 12, 2026, and Eileen Cowin: Between Panic and Paradise, on view until January 3, 2027.

Looking ahead, LACMA announced that on Monday, September 21, The Genesis Talks would return with a conversation between Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill and LACMA director Michael Govan. They planned to discuss the intersections between game design and museum practices, continuing the museum’s commitment to innovative cultural dialogue.