The Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) in Costa Mesa, California, is set to offer free admission to all, thanks to a $2.5 million gift from Lugano Diamonds, a Newport Beach–based jewelry retailer.
Once the museum reopens on October 8, 2022, following an expansion, it won’t charge for entry for a decade. The new $93 million museum is centered around hybrid indoor-outdoor spaces. It boasts a 53,000-square-foot facility, with an open plaza that includes an additional 25,000 square feet of exhibition space. A spacious roof terrace, equal in size to 70 percent of the building’s footprint, will offer additional space that can be arranged as needed for installations and events. The new facility is the latest in a larger arts campus, with the Segerstrom Concert Hall located next door.
“Our goal is to remove as many barriers of entry as possible, and to connect as many people as we can to art and artists,” said OCMA director Heidi Zuckerman in a statement. These efforts, according to Zuckerman, “will be a wonderful way to throw open our doors next year.”
In June of this year, OCMA announced that it would host the 2022 iteration of the California Biennial. Following a Covid-related delay, the 2022 edition of the biennial will be the museum’s inaugural exhibition. Phoenix Art Museum curator Gilbert Vicario and independent curators Elizabeth Armstrong and Essence Harden are set to organize the show.
Idit Ferder, cofounder and COO of Lugano Diamonds, said, “OCMA is entering a new era with Heidi Zuckerman’s leadership and this magnificent new building. It is an honor to help welcome people to OCMA’s stellar collection, exhibitions, and programs.”