LACMA Art+Film Gala 2026: Everything to Know About Denis Villeneuve and Vija Celmins’ Night

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The LACMA Art+Film Gala 2026 returns on Saturday, November 7, 2026, for its 15th edition, honoring artist Vija Celmins and filmmaker Denis Villeneuve. LACMA trustee Eva Chow and Leonardo DiCaprio co-chair for the 15th consecutive year, and Gucci returns as presenting sponsor, a role it has held since the first gala in 2011. The museum announced the honorees on July 15, 2026.

This year’s gala carries extra weight. It is the first since LACMA opened its David Geffen Galleries this spring, and the Los Angeles Times reported that, if the museum follows its opening-party blueprint, the night could unfold in a tent beside the new building, with cocktails at the base of Peter Zumthor’s concrete structure. LACMA has not confirmed the layout, so expect the format to be revealed closer to the date.

Celmins is the art-world half of the pairing and, for many collectors, the more meaningful one. The museum describes her meticulous renderings of ocean waves, desert floors and night skies; she began painting objects in her Los Angeles studio in the early 1960s before turning to graphite on paper by decade’s end. She has had solo exhibitions at SFMOMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Centre Pompidou and the Fondation Beyeler, and received a MacArthur Fellowship in 1997.

Villeneuve arrives in a big season. LACMA notes that Dune: Part One won six Academy Awards and Dune: Part Two passed $700 million worldwide and won two more; he concludes the trilogy with Dune: Part Three this December and is set to direct the next James Bond film for Amazon MGM Studios. The gala lands weeks before his next release, which makes his speech one to watch.

The pair joins a roster that reads like a syllabus. Past artist honorees include David Hockney, Ed Ruscha, James Turrell, Barbara Kruger, Kehinde Wiley and, last year, Mary Corse; filmmakers include Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Kathryn Bigelow, Guillermo del Toro, George Lucas and Ryan Coogler. LACMA describes the guest list as friends and supporters from art, film, fashion and entertainment.

Seats are priced accordingly. LACMA lists Platinum tables for 10 at $125,000 and Gold tables for eight at $75,000; individual tickets are $15,000 (Platinum) and $10,000 (Gold), sold by email through [email protected]. Proceeds support LACMA’s initiative to make film more central to its curatorial programming, along with exhibitions, acquisitions and education. Honoree speeches and any musical performance have not been announced.

The LACMA Art+Film Gala takes place on Saturday, November 7, 2026, at LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles.

For more of Haute Living’s LACMA coverage, see our report from the 2025 Art+Film Gala and the Dior Cruise 2027 show at LACMA.