Hobson joins a bigger board for LACMA
The Lucas co-founder is added along with Colleen Bell and Robbie Robinson.
While the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is ratcheting up fundraising for its new Peter Zumthor-designed building, it’s also beefing up its board of trustees, adding three members Monday including Mellody Hobson, co-founder of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.
Hobson, president of Ariel Investments, and her husband, filmmaker George Lucas, are guiding the $1-billion Ma Yansong-designed Lucas Museum now under construction and aiming for 2021 completion. Time magazine named her to its “100 Most Influential People in the World” list in 2015.
Philanthropist and Emmy-nominated TV producer Colleen Bell, who served on LACMA’s board from 2011 to 2014, has rejoined it. She also was recently appointed director of the California Film Commission.
The third addition to the LACMA board is Robbie Robinson, a partner at the merchant bank BDT & Co. Since 2017 he has counseled former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama on their “personal endeavors,” the museum said in the announcement.
Fundraising for LACMA’s scaled-back, $650-million building — which won final approval from the county Board of Supervisors in April — stands at $560 million.
“The arrival of our new trustees comes at a pivotal time for the museum, as our building campaign and our community outreach gain momentum,” Director Michael Govan said in a statement. “LACMA’s board members are deeply invested in developing artistic and cultural resources for L.A. County and beyond.”
With the new members, LACMA’s board now has 51 voting trustees along with 13 life trustees, who do not have voting rights.