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SoCal’s most beloved art day is officially back. Museums Free-for-All, the annual region-wide celebration of free arts and culture, returns on Sunday, February 22.
Stretching from Santa Barbara to Orange County, the event invites visitors to explore an extraordinary range of experiences, from world-class art and design to film, science, natural history and cultural heritage. For more than two decades, participating institutions have coordinated this single Sunday each year to encourage curiosity, accessibility and a sense of shared cultural discovery.
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This year’s lineup reads like a greatest-hits list of Southern California museums. Heavyweights like the Getty Center, Getty Villa, LACMA, The Broad, MOCA, the Hammer Museum and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures are joined by beloved neighborhood institutions including Craft Contemporary, the Fowler Museum at UCLA, the Skirball Cultural Center, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes and the Wende Museum. Beyond Los Angeles, venues such as the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and the Long Beach Museum of Art expand the celebration well beyond city limits.
While admission is free, planning ahead is key. Many museums require or recommend reservations, and regular parking fees still apply. The offer covers general admission only and does not include specially ticketed exhibitions, so checking individual museum policies before heading out is strongly advised.
More than just a bargain, Museums Free-for-All has become a cultural ritual for Southern California. It’s a chance to revisit longtime favorites, finally check out a museum you’ve been meaning to see, or build an ambitious, museum-hopping itinerary with friends and family. For one Sunday in February, the region’s cultural landscape opens wide, reinforcing the idea that art, history and discovery are for everyone.
Here's a full list of participating museums:
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures (tickets will be first come first serve all day)
American Museum of Ceramic Art (advanced reservations are required)
Autry Museum of the American West (advanced reservations are required)
Bakersfield Museum of Art
Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College
Bowers Museum
The Broad (advanced reservations are recommended)
California African American Museum
California Botanic Garden (advanced reservations are recommended)
Columbia Space Center
Craft Contemporary
The Forest Lawn
Fowler Museum at UCLA
The Getty Center (timed tickets are required)
The Getty Villa (timed tickets are required for The Getty Villa)
Hammer Museum
Institute of Contemporary Art, LA
La Brea Tar Pits & Museum (advance tickets required)
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
Lincoln Memorial Shrine
Long Beach Museum of Art (advance tickets are recommended)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) (advance tickets are required)
MOCA Grand Avenue and The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA (advance tickets are recommended)
Museum of Tolerance
Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (advanced reservations recommended; Sea Center not included)
Santa Monica History Museum
Skirball Cultural Center (advance tickets recommended for both Noah’s Ark and general admission)
Wende Museum