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article news schedule Dec 5, 2025 visibility 2 link 4 artists, 1 gallery

lucas museum of narrative art pilar tompkins rivas departs 1234765433

Pilar Tompkins Rivas, chief curator and deputy director of curatorial and collections at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, has left her post, as first reported by the Los Angeles Times. Her departure is the latest in a series of leadership exits at the institution, which is set to open on September 22, 2026. The museum was founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, and Rivas was one of six women of color appointed to high-ranking roles in 2020 by then director and CEO Sandra Jackson-Dumont, who left in February. The museum laid off 15 employees in May, and CEO duties are now held on an interim basis by Jim Gianopulos, while Lucas himself oversees curatorial content.

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article news schedule Dec 8, 2025 visibility 3 link 9 artists, 1 gallery

chief curator leaves george lucas museum 2724582

Pilar Tompkins Rivas, chief curator and deputy director of curatorial and collections at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, has left the museum less than a year before its scheduled September 2026 opening. The museum stated it has no immediate plans to replace her, with George Lucas continuing to oversee curatorial direction. This departure follows a series of staffing issues, including the exit of director and CEO Sandra Jackson-Dumont in March 2025, layoffs of 22 staff members in May, and the earlier losses of curator Amanda Hunt and curator-at-large Dan Nadel. The $1-billion museum, first announced in 2017, has faced repeated delays due to the pandemic and supply-chain shortages.

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article news schedule Dec 5, 2025 visibility 3 link 3 artists, 3 galleries

hauser wirth palermo lucas museum morning links 1234765456

Hauser & Wirth is set to open its first Italian location in Palermo, Sicily, after purchasing a major part of the historic Palazzo Forcella De Seta. The neo-gothic palace, which previously hosted Manifesta 12 and housed Galleria Mediterranea, will be renovated with plans for completion by 2030, pending a 60-day public pre-emption period by local government and Italy's Ministry of Culture. Separately, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art announced the departure of chief curator Pilar Tompkins, less than a year after its director and CEO left, amid earlier layoffs; the museum remains on track for a September 2026 opening. Other news includes Laurence Rassel's appointment as director of the Rijksakademie, a record sale of an Elizabethan portrait at Sotheby's, and a Hermès Birkin bag owned by Jane Birkin selling for $2.3 million.

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