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.
This matters because the Lucas Museum, with its focus on narrative art, has been a high-profile project in the Los Angeles art world, making notable acquisitions of works by Robert Colescott, Norman Rockwell, and Frida Kahlo. The ongoing leadership instability—with only two of Jackson-Dumont’s original six hires remaining—raises questions about the museum’s operational readiness and curatorial direction ahead of its long-awaited opening. The departures of other key figures like Amanda Hunt and Dan Nadel further underscore the challenges facing the institution as it prepares to welcome the public.