Dear fellow LACMA Lover,

Thank you for joining nearly 2000 concerned citizens who have signed the petition urging the Los Angeles County Supervisors to reconsider their approval of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for LACMA's redevelopment plan.

We’re pleased to share with you this Larchmont Buzz feature, explaining more about the Save LACMA nonprofit’s proposed ballot measure. This measure would give voters like you the chance to hold the museum’s billionaire board accountable, requiring them to operate prudently, transparently and without selling off art work to pay for overpriced, ill-conceived building projects like the current plan.

Please contribute towards Save LACMA’s ballot measure campaign as you’re able, and spread the word to everyone you know who loves LACMA. We’re hopeful that the next week will see funds secured to give voters a chance to save our beloved museum!

You might have heard that LACMA is being torn down right now, and felt sick and hopeless. Well, don’t give up just yet. Yes, there is a giant hole in the Ahmanson Building, right alongside “Urban Light,” where you can’t miss it. But don't be fooled by the deliberately misleading appearance of a wrecking crew! As The Architect's Newspaper and Curbed LA report, it’s only abatement.

And here’s something which has us scratching our heads. In November, we shared an essay in the Occidental College newspaper, in which a recent LACMA intern blew the whistle on the privatization of this ostensibly public encyclopedic museum, and gave us a weather report from the besieged staff. We highlighted the quote "I learned underground information about how LACMA runs like a unilateral business. My boss told me only the Board of Trustees and the director Michael Govan had a say in LACMA’s reconstruction."

But this week, when we went to share the link again on Twitter, we discovered that the entire essay had been mysteriously removed from the internet. LACMA’s public relations people have a reputation for working hard to protect the museum’s brand by hook or by crook, something which has become increasingly difficult as Angelenos learn about the plans to destroy the institution and respond with anger and disbelief. We don’t know why this essay is no longer online—we have asked the authors, and received no response—but we’re glad that the Internet Archive captured it for posterity. It’s worth reading, and sharing.

Please keep sharing the petition link with your friends who love LACMA and want it to remain at the heart of our city's culture and community. And stay tuned for updates as we have them.

Yours for Los Angeles,
Kim Cooper & Richard Schave
The LACMA Lovers League