The University of California, Irvine has completed its acquisition of the Orange County Museum of Art, creating a new institution named the UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art.
The new name reflects the Orange County Museum of Art’s legacy, UC Irvine‘s academic and public mission, and the generosity of Jack and Shanaz Langson.
The merger brings together more than 9,000 works of art and links faculty, students, artists and community members in a new model of creative collaboration, UC Irvine said in a statement.
UC Irvine’s chancellor Howard Gillman said: “UC Irvine is committed to ensuring that the region benefits from a world-class art museum that enriches the cultural fabric of Orange County, advances groundbreaking scholarship, nurtures the next generation of creators and thinkers, and inspires curiosity and connection across diverse audiences.”
With the transaction complete, UC Irvine will take on management of the 53,000-square-foot, $98 million museum within the Segerstrom Center for the Arts campus in Costa Mesa.
This opened in 2022, replacing the former Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach and doubling its size.
Museum staff join UC Irvine as employees
As part of the transition, the Orange County Museum of Art staff have joined UC Irvine as employees. Additionally, the university is searching for an executive director to lead the new museum.
As for the UC Irvine Jack and Shanaz Langson Institute and Museum of California Art, this will continue to operate from an on-campus site, and at its Von Karman Avenue venue in Irvine.
Images courtesy of UC Irvine
