LACMA Closes Early for Its Art+Film Gala Honoring Denis Villeneuve and Vija Celmins, With Rosé Performing

The museum's 15th annual fundraiser, co-chaired by Eva Chow and Leonardo DiCaprio, follows last year's record $6.5 million night, with tables selling for up to $125,000.

By Herald Staff · Nov. 7, 2026, 2:30 PM ET

Rows of ornate vintage street lamps glow amber at blue hour on a wide paved plaza, framed by tall palm trees against an indigo and magenta sky, with distant city lights on the horizon. — LACMA's 15th Art+Film Gala takes over the museum's Wilshire Boulevard campus Saturday night; the museum closes to the public at 1 p.m.

MID-WILSHIRE — The Los Angeles County Museum of Art closes its doors to the public at 1 p.m. Saturday so it can turn its Wilshire Boulevard campus into one of the city's most expensive nights out: the 15th annual Art+Film Gala, honoring artist Vija Celmins and "Dune" director Denis Villeneuve, with K-pop star Rosé as the evening's musical guest, according to LACMA.

LACMA trustee Eva Chow and actor Leonardo DiCaprio return as co-chairs, as they have for every edition since the gala began. Gucci is again the presenting sponsor, a role it has held since the first gala in 2011, the museum said when it announced the honorees in July. Audi is providing transportation and additional support.

Two Honorees, One Idea

The gala was built to pull Los Angeles' art and movie worlds, long kept in separate rooms, closer together, and each year it pairs one figure from each. "This year, we are honoring two icons of visual creativity," LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director Michael Govan said in a statement reported by The Hollywood Reporter. "Whether in painting, drawing, printmaking or other media, Vija Celmins' exacting renderings of the natural world blend realism and imagination, resulting in sublimely beautiful works. Likewise, Denis Villeneuve's meticulously crafted worlds give his films an unforgettable visual impact."

Celmins, born in 1938, has deep Los Angeles roots. She began in the early 1960s by painting everyday objects in her L.A. studio before turning to photographs clipped from magazines and history books, and by the end of that decade had set aside paint for graphite on paper, according to a Circuit Report summary of the museum's materials. Her ocean surfaces, desert floors and night skies have been the subject of solo shows at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Centre Pompidou, among others, and she received a MacArthur Fellowship in 1997.

Villeneuve arrives at a busy moment. The Canadian filmmaker behind "Arrival," "Sicario," "Prisoners" and "Blade Runner 2049" is weeks from the Dec. 18 Warner Bros. release of "Dune: Part Three," which closes out his trilogy, and he is set to direct the next James Bond film for Amazon MGM Studios, The Hollywood Reporter noted. "Dune: Part One" won six Academy Awards, and "Dune: Part Two" passed $700 million worldwide and won two more.

Rosé Takes the Stage

LACMA named Rosé as the musical guest on Oct. 13. Born Roseanne Park, the singer debuted with Blackpink in 2016 and released her studio album "Rosie" in 2024. Her single "APT." with Bruno Mars was the bestselling global single last year, the Los Angeles Times reported, and it was the first track by a female K-pop artist to reach the Billboard Hot 100's Top 10.

"The LACMA Art+Film Gala celebrates creative icons and the connections between all forms of creativity, all around the world," Chow said in a statement when the booking was announced. "As a global pop superstar, Rosé will amplify the spirit of the evening with her incomparable talent and style."

What the Money Pays For

Proceeds go to LACMA's effort to make film more central to its curatorial programming, along with exhibitions, acquisitions, education and screenings, the museum says. Last year's gala, which honored artist Mary Corse and filmmaker Ryan Coogler with Doja Cat performing, raised a record $6.5 million, according to the Times.

Seats are priced accordingly. Platinum tables for 10 cost $125,000 and Gold tables for eight cost $75,000, with individual tickets at $15,000 and $10,000, the Circuit Report listed from the museum's ticketing details. Past honorees include Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Kathryn Bigelow, Guillermo del Toro, David Hockney, Ed Ruscha and Kehinde Wiley, LACMA said.

For Everyone Else

The early closure affects only Saturday afternoon and evening. Anyone planning a museum visit this weekend should check lacma.org for regular hours; LACMA is closed Wednesdays. Drivers near Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue may want to allow extra time Saturday evening as guests arrive. Whether this year's gala tops last year's record will be clear once the museum reports its total.

Original reporting by The Los Angeles Herald, drawing on LACMA, the Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter and The Circuit Report, as linked above.