The program for Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Art+Film gala is nearly set in stone.
On Nov. 1, the museum will honor filmmaker Ryan Coogler and artist Mary Corse in front of a fashionable room thanks to the return of presenting sponsor Gucci. Also back this year for the 14th installment are Eva Chow and Leonardo DiCaprio who will serve as the evening’s co-chairs.
“Mary Corse has continually expanded the possibilities of painting in her exquisite works, which invite us to think deeply about the nature of perception,” offered LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg director Michael Govan. “Ryan Coogler’s films do something equally transformative. Through masterful storytelling and visual innovation, he reframes history, redefines narratives, and opens new worlds of possibility. Both artists challenge us to see differently whether through a shift in light or a shift in narrative and that is at the heart of what museums aspire to do.”
Artist Mary Corse.
Photo Credit: Indah Datou
The shine for Coogler comes on the heels of his critically and commercially successful vampire film Sinners from Warner Bros. Pictures. His other credits include the Black Panther franchise, Creed and Fruitvale Station. Corse has been a key member of L.A.’s art scene since the 1960s, and has been closely associated with the light and space movement. Recent exhibitions include Mary Corse: A Survey in Light at the Whitney Museum of American Art and LACMA. She has works in the permanent collections of LACMA, Dia Art Foundation, the Whitney, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Centre Pompidou.
LACMA has other reasons to raise glasses this fall: The Art+Film gala will take place against the backdrop of the museum’s nearly completed David Geffen Galleries. Designed by architect Peter Zumthor, the crown jewel is expected to open in April 2026. Proceeds from Art+Film are funneled into LACMA’s efforts to make film more central to its curatorial programming as well as the general mission of the institution.
