It’s been years in the making, but the brand new Orange County Museum of Art is finally open! Originally located near Fashion Island in Newport Beach, in 2008 they had announced they’d be moving to a new location. Fast foward 14 years (including one pandemic), and the new building is situated right in between the OC Performing Arts Center and the South Coast Repertory. It completes the area as a premiere center for all the Arts.
I went to the grand opening kick off celebration and it was really fun. For 24 hours, from 5pm on a Saturday to 5pm the following Sunday, the Museum held hourly events, including DJ sets, a yoga session, free donuts, and even a tea ceremony. I decided to show up around early Sunday morning, just to see what it would be like (video below)
The new building is really spectacular. It was designed by Morphosis Studio. The structure cost about $93 million and features 25,000 square feet of exhibition space, as well as an outdoor plaza.
I highly recommend checking it out if you’re ever down in OC. It’s also conveniently located right across the street from South Coast Plaza, so you can shop and appreciate some fine art all in one go!
It’s really special to have a world class museum right in my neighborhood, so I’m super excited that it’s back and better than ever. More info on the OCMA here.
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