The Broad Contemporary Art Museum

The Broad Contemporary Art Museum
Name	The Broad Contemporary Art Museum
Location	Downtown Los Angeles, California, United States
Established	2015
Type	Contemporary art museum
Founder	Eli Broad
Architect	Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Gensler
Director	Joanne Heyler
Collection	Broad Art Foundation

The Broad Contemporary Art Museum is a contemporary art museum in Downtown Los Angeles founded by philanthropist Eli Broad and opened in 2015. Located adjacent to the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, the institution is part of a larger cultural complex that includes connections to Frank Gehry, Renzo Piano, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The museum houses the Broad collection, emphasizing postwar and contemporary artworks by major figures such as Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Robert Rauschenberg, and Cindy Sherman, while engaging with institutions including the Whitney Museum of American Art, Tate Modern, and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

History

The Broad Contemporary Art Museum traces origins to the private collecting activities of Eli Broad and Edythe Broad in the 1970s and 1980s, with early acquisitions of work by Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, Bruce Nauman, and Donald Judd. The Broad Art Foundation, established by Eli Broad in 1984, facilitated loans to institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art (New York), supporting collaborations with curators from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Hammer Museum, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). Planning for a dedicated building began in the 2000s with partnerships involving the City of Los Angeles, the Walt Disney Concert Hall planners, and architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Gensler. Groundbreaking occurred amid civic debates involving Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and cultural stakeholders, culminating in the museum's public opening in 2015 with exhibitions curated by figures from the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Institute of Contemporary Art.

Architecture and Design

The museum's design was executed by the architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Gensler, reflecting precedents in projects by Renzo Piano Building Workshop and references to works by Frank Gehry. The structure incorporates a honeycomb "veil" and an inner "vault" concept, echoing engineering practices from Arup Group and fabrication methods used in the Centre Pompidou and MAXXI National Museum. The Broad's site planning engaged the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Walt Disney Concert Hall plaza, invoking urban design dialogues with the Grand Avenue Project and the Broadway Theater District. Materials and systems reference precedents such as the Getty Center, the Salk Institute, and the Sears Tower in considerations of daylighting, climate control, and seismic performance overseen by structural engineers from firms like WSP Global and mechanical engineers aligned with standards from the American Institute of Architects.

Collection and Exhibitions

The Broad's permanent collection emphasizes postwar and contemporary art with significant holdings by Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Ed Ruscha, Takashi Murakami, Damien Hirst, Yayoi Kusama, John Baldessari, Kerry James Marshall, Judy Chicago, and Barbara Kruger. The institution stages monographic presentations and thematic exhibitions collaborating with curators from the Tate Modern, the Centre Pompidou, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and the National Gallery of Canada. Special projects have included installations by James Turrell, commissions by Olafur Eliasson, and retrospectives engaging loans from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Art Institute of Chicago. The Broad also organizes traveling exhibitions and partnerships with biennials and triennials such as the Venice Biennale, the São Paulo Art Biennial, and the Whitney Biennial, and participates in acquisition exchanges with collections including the Broad Art Foundation and the Ludwig Museum.

Programs and Education

Educational programming at the museum includes docent tours, school partnerships with the University of Southern California, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the California Institute of the Arts, as well as internships and fellowships linked to the Getty Research Institute and the Smithsonian Institution. Public programs feature artist talks with figures like Glenn Ligon, Shirin Neshat, and Barbara Kruger; panel discussions involving curators from the Brooklyn Museum and the Hammer Museum; and community initiatives with the Los Angeles Unified School District and local arts nonprofits such as the Craft Contemporary and P.S. ARTS. Research collaborations have been established with conservation departments at the J. Paul Getty Museum and publishing projects with academic presses connected to Columbia University and Yale University.

Visitor Information

Situated on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles near the Walt Disney Concert Hall and adjacent to MOCA Grand Avenue, the museum is accessible via Metro B Line and Metro D Line stations, regional bus services such as Metrolink, and active transportation routes linked to Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Visitor amenities include a bookstore sourcing publications from Taschen, Phaidon Press, and the Getty Publications, as well as a café collaborating with local vendors from the Grand Central Market. Ticketing policies, hours, and accessibility information coordinate with city regulations and standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act and partnerships with hospitality providers including The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles and Waldorf Astoria Los Angeles.

Reception and Criticism

Critical reception has linked the museum to debates about private collecting and public access raised in discussions involving Philanthropy Roundtable, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and art critics writing for Artforum and Art in America. Scholars and commentators have compared the Broad's model to those of The Broad Institute and philanthropic initiatives by collectors like Saul Steinberg and David Geffen, while critics have also referenced institutional critiques associated with Hans Haacke and policy debates in municipal planning documented by the Los Angeles Department of City Planning. Reviews have alternately praised the collection's depth and accessibility and questioned the influence of private capital on cultural production, invoking conversations about provenance, deaccessioning, and curatorial independence discussed at conferences held by organizations such as the International Council of Museums and the College Art Association.

Category:Museums in Los Angeles