Academy Museum Announces Major Gift from George Lucas Family Foundation plus the Appointment of its New Director of Education and Public Engagement
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| The Juvenile Oscar® awarded to Shirley Temple for the eight films she made in 1934. Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Gift of Shirley Temple Black and Family, 2013. Photo by Joshua White, JWPictures/©Academy Museum FoundationPage from the script for To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) annotated by Gregory Peck from the Gregory Peck Papers, courtesy of the Margaret Herrick Library |
Kerry Brougher said, “At the Academy Museum, we are committed to helping educate our youngest visitors: the children and teens who will be the next generation of filmmakers, writers, and visual artists. To succeed though we must break down the financial barriers that make it difficult for families, students, and teens to visit cultural institutions. We are deeply grateful to the George Lucas Family Foundation for understanding our mission so well and making it possible for us to waive admission for our youngest audiences, so they can engage with exhibitions and programs that will nurture their creativity and encourage them to tell their own stories.”
Sid Ganis said, “I could not be more honored and humbled by George’s gift to young movie lovers around the world. Education has always been a primary goal of George’s storytelling. Now through his incredible generosity young people from everywhere can experience and learn about the art and the techniques of filmmaking. With the impending openings of the Academy Museum and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Los Angeles will soon have two major new resources for culture and education with a shared focus on the art of storytelling and a dedication to the next generation. We are proud and grateful that the George Lucas Family Foundation is making this tremendous commitment to serving the young people of L.A.”
“Although
not every child who visits the Academy Museum will embark on a career
in filmmaking, each young person deserves to be inspired by the new
perspectives
and ideas that come through their exposure to the arts,” said Brougher.
“As we prepare for these early initiatives, it is a perfect time to
bring Amy Homma, our new Director of Education and Public Engagement,
into the fold. She brings with her a wealth of
experience engaging visitors of all ages.”
Homma will oversee the Museum’s K-12 programming, including the Shirley Temple Education Studio initiatives, as well as public
programs ranging from lectures, symposia, and panels to in-gallery talks and online programming.
She previously served as the Acting
Deputy Director of the Arts & Industries Building at the Smithsonian
Institution, Washington, DC, where she created innovative
pan-institutional and multi-disciplinary public programs, including
a 12-hour conversation series that brought together noted writers,
musicians, scientists, technologists, and other experts in numerous
arenas. She also piloted new technologies and online experiences for
visitors across multiple Smithsonian museums. As Director
of Digital Learning at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, she
created a diverse range of education programs for all ages focused on
learning, collaboration, and experimentation and established an
internationally recognized education studio with distinctive
arts programming, including the museum's signature teen program. She
also initiated a partnership with the National Museum of Natural History
to demonstrate the power of teaching art and science together and
oversaw the development of education efforts for
teachers, families, schools, youth, and adults.
Under
Homma's leadership, the Academy Museum will build meaningful, long-term
connections with local schools and will present public programs that
welcome the broadest audiences in Los Angeles
and beyond. The Museum’s core education initiative will be its teen
program, based in the Shirley Temple Education Studio, serving young
people of all backgrounds across the Greater Los Angeles area. The
program will encourage teens to think critically about
the media that surrounds them and help them to develop the necessary
skills to make their own films and digital productions."Movies, and the magic that surrounds them, offer limitless opportunities to delight, challenge, and educate both children and adults," said Homma. "The Academy Museum’s programming will offer something for everyone. I am delighted to be joining the team and especially grateful to the George Lucas Family Foundation for ensuring a barrier-free experience for our next generation of movie makers and movie lovers."
Additional details about Museum admission, hours, and ticketing will be announced at a later date.
www.academymuseum.org.