[category]
[title]
Spring is officially here (though it already feels like summer), wildflowers are in bloom and the city’s best museums are busy prepping a slate of new spring shows. From a Sublime retrospective to tech-savvy tapestries to the long-awaited opening of LACMA’s David Geffen Galleries, here are 12 exhibitions we can’t wait to check out when they open. (And for even more shows that will be opening later this year, check out our guide to the 22 exhibitions we’re most excited about in 2026.)
Psst: You can see nearly all of our picks below without having to pay for admission if you brush up on L.A.’s free museum days first.
“Sublime: Straight From Long Beach”
Grammy Museum, March 27–Sept 7
Any time of year, the distinctly Southern California band Sublime is “well-qualified to represent the L.B.C.”—including in the springtime, when this exhibition at the Grammy Museum opens, exploring the band’s legacy and how their hometown of Long Beach shaped their sound. After skyrocketing to fame in the ’90s for their unique blend of reggae, punk, ska and alt-rock, the trio tragically lost its lead singer, Bradley Nowell, right before the release of their self-titled third album; today, Nowell’s son, Jakob, tours with his dad’s former bandmates. See memorabilia including handwritten lyrics to hits including “Wrong Way,” a bucket hat worn by Nowell, and instruments and equipment used by the band’s original lineup. A special public program is planned for July 30—exactly 30 years to the day the album came out.
“Guillermo Bert: Techno-Empathy”
Museum of Latin American Art, Opening March 29
Chile-born, Los Angeles–based multidisciplinary artist Guillermo Bert combines art, technology and social consciousness in his works, with unexpected and thought-provoking results. He often tackles the themes of consumerism and displacement—think 3-D printed life-size sculptures of workers or laser-engraved portraits of migrants and refugees. In his Encoded Textiles series, which you can see in the exhibition, tapestries sport QR codes woven into them that share Indigenous stories; scan one with your phone, and you’ll be shown a short documentary that gives a glimpse into each weaver’s life, directed by Bert.
“Several Eternities in a Day: Form in the Age of Living Materials”
Hammer Museum, April 5–Aug 23
The multisensory nature of art is explored in this exhibition, which looks at the intertwined relationship between contemporary art and living materials through large-scale installations, painting, mixed-media sculpture, video and sound. Over 20 artists from North, Central and South America have employed mediums like stones, avocado, cacao, achiote, cochineal and clay in their works, inviting visitors to engage their senses of touch, smell and hearing when interacting with the art.
“Free and Queer: Black Californian Roots of Gay Liberation”
California African American Museum, April 7, 2026–Feb 28, 2027
This show aims to give Black queer culture in California—particularly in Los Angeles—the credit it’s due as a part of the decades-long fight for LGBTQ+ rights and recognition. Through historical materials, photographs, film and vintage newspapers, the exhibition recovers a history that’s been largely excluded from the record, introducing visitors to sites, protagonists and allies who played a role in the fight for democracy and free expression.
David Geffen Galleries
LACMA, opening April 19
In the works for well over a decade and under construction since 2020, the David Geffen Galleries, a single-building replacement for LACMA’s eastern campus, will finally welcome museumgoers this spring: The expansion opens to LACMA members on April 19, and two weeks later, on May 4, it’ll open to the public. The Peter Zumthor–designed amoeba-shaped structure will have shopping and restaurant spaces on the ground floor, while its sprawling single floor of galleries—boasting 110,000 square feet of exhibition space—floats above both sides of Wilshire Boulevard. The inaugural installation will boast works spanning the entire range of art history, but they’ll be divided by geography—by the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans and the Mediterranean Sea—rather than time period or medium, in order to emphasize the role of cultural exchange in art. You can get a sneak peek at the pieces as they’re installed on LACMA’s Instagram. Look out for a block party—with free museum admission—on June 20, as well as a parade of mobile art installations and performances to cap off the day..
“Orcas: Our Shared Future”
Natural History Museum, April 26, 2026–April 25, 2027
In a post-Blackfish world, a visit to SeaWorld’s Orca Encounter may not be on your to-do list, but you can explore the world of killer whales guilt-free at the Natural History Museum’s upcoming exhibition, which doesn’t feature live animals but instead looks at the history, culture and science behind these gentle giants. In the underwater-inspired experience, you’ll find life-size orca replicas, educational installations and masks and sculptures by Indigenous artists of the Pacific Northwest Coast, demonstrating the ties between orcas and Northwest Coast First Nations. Note: Tickets for the special exhibition aren’t included in general admission to NHM.
“Inventing America: The Comic Book Revolution”
The Skirball Cultural Center, May 20, 2026–Feb 28, 2027
The Skirball’s Jack Kirby exhibition may be over, but in its place you’ll find this look at how comics came to dominate pop culture. Many of the creators of the medium were immigrants and outsiders—including Jewish Americans—who poured their experiences with struggle, aspiration and reinvention into their work. From the Great Depression through Y2K, comics reflected the national moment and actually helped shape American identity. On display will be original artwork and rare artifacts relating to beloved comic book characters, from Black Panther and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Little Lulu and Archie.
The two other concurrent special exhibitions are worth checking out as well: “Outsiders, Outcasts, Rebels, and Weirdos: Punk Culture 1976–86,” which marks the 50th anniversary of punk in the U.S. with a look back at the role Jewish punk musicians played, and “Robert Russell and Lisa Edelstein: A Palace in Time,” displaying new paintings that make up a portrait of Jewish life by actor-artist Edelstein and her husband.
“Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind”
The Broad, May 23–Oct 11
The inimitable artist, musician and activist—and John Lennon’s other half—is the subject of the Broad’s highly anticipated upcoming show, Ono’s first-ever solo museum exhibition in Southern California. Organized in collaboration with the Tate Modern in London, “Music of the Mind” will allow visitors to directly interact with works from the artist’s seven-decade long career, reflecting Ono’s belief that art can both be made and live within the mind. In conjunction with the show, the museum will transform the olive trees on the outdoor East West Bank Plaza into Wish Trees for Los Angeles, where visitors can tie their own wishes on the branches. Many of the works invite audience engagement, in fact, all working toward a common goal of peace and connection. Also on display will be Acorn Event (1968) and Bed Peace (1969) anti-war works of activism Ono and Lennon worked on together. Ticket info is still to come, so you’ll want to keep an eye on the museum’s website.
“Zhang Enli”
Hauser & Wirth West Hollywood, May 28–Aug 22
Chinese artist Zhang Enli is known for his paintings that capture everyday objects in imaginative ways, but in his first West Coast solo exhibition, held at the West Hollywood location of gallery Hauser & Wirth, a new series of his abstract portraits will be on display. Enli draws from both Eastern and Western traditions to capture the essence of his subjects rather than obvious depictions.
“Life, Liberty, and Los Angeles”
Autry Museum of the American West, May 30, 2026–Jan 31, 2027
This L.A.-centric exhibition looks at the Declaration of Independence’s promise of life, liberty and happiness, and how that promise has been fulfilled—or not—throughout the city’s development. Told via the stories of diverse Angelenos alongside historical and contemporary objects, media and art, the show “invites you to step into a conversation that has been shaping Los Angeles for over two hundred years.” Also of note this upcoming year at the Autry is “Native Skate,” which opens September 18 and traces both skateboarding’s Southern California origins and the importance of the sport in Indigenous communities, especially among Native youth.
“Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon”
Academy Museum, May 31, 2026–Feb 28, 2027
Just in time for silver screen starlet Marilyn Monroe’s 100th birthday, the Academy Museum will present a centennial celebration dedicated to the woman and her work, offering “unique insight into her agency in becoming a Hollywood icon.” In addition to posters, portraits, letters and rarely seen personal items, highlights from the exhibition include two screen-worn costumes from Some Like It Hot and the rarely exhibited famous pink dress Monroe wore in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
Dataland
Opening in spring 2026
Though originally scheduled to open in 2025, Dataland—the world’s first museum of AI Arts—is slated to debut this spring in the Frank Gehry-designed Grand L.A. (across the street from the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which Anadol blanketed in projections back in 2018). And while the concept of AI art can be contentious to say the least, the artwork filling this project from Refik Anadol Studios decidedly won’t be of the AI “slop” variety. Rather, the museum aims to merge real human imagination with machine creativity and capabilities.
For about a decade, Turkish American media artist Anadol and his wife and studio cofounder, Efsun Erkılıç, have been translating troves of data into morphing images and rippling particles. Inside the space, you’ll find five galleries of installations, including floor-to-ceiling projections in a rainforest-inspired Infinity Room that we dare you not to be wowed by—the multisensory experience will even be complemented by AI-generated scents.