Lewis Hamilton’s biggest night of the week had nothing to do with racing. On Saturday 20 September, the seven-time world champion was in Los Angeles as one of the co-chairs of the opening gala for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, the $1.5 billion museum founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson.
Dressed head to toe in black, with stacked rings and sunglasses, Hamilton was at the centre of one of the biggest cultural events of the year.
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A co-chair among Hollywood royalty
Hamilton wasn’t just a guest. The gala’s co-chairs were:
- Steven Spielberg
- Guillermo del Toro
- Greta Gerwig
- Pharrell Williams
- Sir Lewis Hamilton
- Jensen Huang, the Nvidia founder
- Julie Bell, the fantasy artist
- JR, the French street artist
On Instagram, Hamilton called it a privilege to have seen the hard work Lucas and Hobson put into the project. He praised a museum that encourages people to “dream big” and to value their own stories.
His photos show how much he enjoyed it. In one, he grins beside a display of Samuel L. Jackson’s Mace Windu costume from Star Wars. In another, he’s deep in conversation with George Lucas.
A guest list like an awards show
The opening drew a remarkable crowd, including Oprah Winfrey, Leonardo DiCaprio, Harrison Ford, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Francis Ford Coppola and Christopher Nolan. California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also attended.
Queen Latifah opened the night: “Paris has the Louvre, New York has the Met and now L.A. has an artistic equal: the Lucas.”
Inside the Lucas Museum
The museum took more than 20 years to realise and was funded entirely by Lucas and Hobson:
| Location | Exposition Park, Los Angeles |
| Size | 300,000 sq ft, with 30+ galleries |
| Architect | Ma Yansong, MAD Architects |
| Opening exhibitions | 1,300+ works |
| Highlights | Norman Rockwell, Frida Kahlo, Frank Frazetta and the Lucas Archives |
| Public opening | 22 September 2026 |
The building has no straight lines, and its curved form is covered in more than 1,200 panels.
What visitors will find
The Lucas Museum is more than a gallery. It sits on a 13-acre campus in Exposition Park, next to the University of Southern California, where George Lucas studied film. The campus includes:
- A free Research Library, open to students and anyone interested in visual storytelling
- The Skywalker Grill, a restaurant named after the family at the heart of Star Wars
- Landscaped gardens by designer Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA, with monumental outdoor sculptures
The museum’s big idea is to show “art and popular culture side by side as part of one continuous visual tradition.” That means comic-book art, film concept designs and illustration hang in the same spaces as fine art. It’s a museum built around the idea that every kind of storytelling matters.
Members could preview the galleries from 5 September, before the public opening on 22 September. Hamilton and the other co-chairs got the first real look on gala night.
Why it fits Hamilton
Hamilton has long used his profile beyond Formula 1 to champion creativity, access and representation, from fashion to film. He was a producer on Apple’s F1 film with Brad Pitt. Standing alongside Spielberg and del Toro at a museum dedicated to storytelling shows how far his cultural influence now reaches.
FAQ
Was Lewis Hamilton at the Lucas Museum opening?
Yes. He was one of the co-chairs of the opening gala on 20 September 2026.
Who founded the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art?
George Lucas and his wife, Mellody Hobson, who paid the full $1.5 billion cost.
When does the Lucas Museum open to the public?
22 September 2026.
Where is the Lucas Museum?
In Exposition Park, Los Angeles.
Sources: TheWrap; Lucas Museum; Variety.
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