The Broad facts for kids
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The Broad museum, 2017
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| Established | September 20, 2015 |
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| Location | 221 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Type | Art museum |
| Collection size | Almost 2,000 |
| Founder | Eli Broad and Edythe Broad |
| Public transit access |  Los Angeles Metro Rail E Line A Lineat Grand Avenue Arts/Bunker Hill |
The Broad (pronounced "brode") is a cool contemporary art museum in Downtown Los Angeles. It's located on Grand Avenue. The museum is named after Eli and Edythe Broad. They are philanthropists who helped pay for the building. The building cost about $140 million.
The Broad is special because it offers free general admission. This means you can see its main art collection without buying a ticket! However, some special events or exhibits might have a cost. The museum first opened its doors on September 20, 2015.
Contents
Building the Broad Museum
Choosing a Location
For many years, Eli and Edythe Broad thought about where to build their art museum. They looked at different places around Los Angeles. In 2008, they considered Beverly Hills. Then, in 2010, they thought about a spot near West Los Angeles College. They even looked at a location in Santa Monica.
Deciding on Downtown LA
In August 2010, the Broads officially announced their decision. They would build the museum in Downtown Los Angeles. They made a deal to lease the land for 99 years. This agreement also helped fund affordable housing nearby. It also helped pay for the museum's outdoor plaza and underground parking.
Designing the Museum
In 2010, several famous architects were asked to share their ideas. These included Rem Koolhaas, Herzog & de Meuron, and SANAA. In the end, the team of Diller Scofidio + Renfro from New York was chosen. They designed the museum, which is about 120,000 square feet. This space includes areas for art, offices, and a parking garage.
Opening Day
Before the official opening, Eli and Edythe Broad held a special preview. In February 2015, about 3,500 people got to see the new building. The museum officially opened on September 20, 2015. Many famous people attended the opening, like Bill Clinton and Reese Witherspoon.
The Museum's Design
Unique Architecture
The Broad museum building was designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro. They worked with Gensler and Leslie E. Robertson Associates. The building cost around $140 million. It sits next to the famous Walt Disney Concert Hall. The museum's design looks very different from the concert hall.
The design is called "the veil and the vault." Imagine a "veil" wrapping around the building. This veil is made of 2,500 special concrete panels. It lets natural light into the museum. Inside this veil is the "vault." This is a solid concrete area. It holds the museum's art storage, labs, and offices.
Inside the Museum
The museum has three floors. There are two floors dedicated to showing art. The third floor has a huge, open gallery space. It's about 35,000 square feet (3,300 m2) and has no columns. The first floor has 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2) of exhibition space. The roof has many skylights. These let in soft, natural sunlight.
When you enter, there's no traditional front desk. Instead, staff members use mobile devices to greet visitors. A long escalator, about 105 feet, takes you from the lobby to the exhibition spaces. There's also a glass elevator.
Future Plans
In 2024, The Broad announced plans for a big addition. They want to add a 55,000-square-foot space behind the current building. This new part would increase the gallery space by 70 percent! It would connect to the original museum on the third floor.
Public Plaza
Next to the museum is a public plaza. It's about 24,000 square feet (2,200 m2) in size. The museum helps manage and take care of this plaza. It was designed by the same architects as the museum. The plaza features a grove of 100-year-old olive trees. It's a nice outdoor space for visitors.
The Art Collection
The Broad museum has a collection of almost 2,000 pieces of contemporary art. It features works by about 200 different artists. You can see art by famous names like Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons, Ed Ruscha, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol. One famous piece is Warhol's "Single Elvis" from 1963.
Some other amazing artworks include:
- Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirrored Room – The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away (2013). This is a very popular, immersive experience.
- Ragnar Kjartansson's The Visitors (2012). This is a large video installation with nine screens.
- Julie Mehretu's Beloved (Cairo) (2013). This is a huge painting, 24 feet wide.
- The museum also has the largest collection of works by Cindy Sherman in the world. There are 129 pieces!
The museum building also serves as the main place for the Broad Art Foundation. This foundation lends out contemporary artworks to other museums.
Exhibitions at The Broad
The very first exhibition at The Broad showed over 250 paintings, sculptures, and photographs. All these works came from the museum's own collection. It featured art by more than 60 artists. Some of these artists included Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Damien Hirst, Jasper Johns, and Takashi Murakami.
Dining at The Broad
The museum has a restaurant called Otium. The name "Otium" is Latin for "leisure time." It's located right on the museum's plaza. The restaurant was developed by Eli Broad and features a well-known chef, Timothy Hollingsworth.
Outside the restaurant, there's a huge photo mural. It's called Isolated Elements, 2015 by artist Damien Hirst. It's nearly 84 feet tall and 32 feet wide! The mural is based on one of Hirst's earlier sculptures.
How The Broad is Managed
Funding the Museum
The Broad museum has a large amount of money set aside to help it run. This is called an endowment. As of 2014, it was $200 million. This makes it one of the best-funded museums in Los Angeles. The museum's yearly budget is about $16 million. This money helps keep general admission free for everyone. However, special temporary exhibits might have a fee.
Museum Leadership
The museum is overseen by a Board of Governors. This board includes Eli and Edythe Broad, who founded the museum. The director of the museum is art historian Joanne Heyler.
Visitor Numbers
In its first year, The Broad welcomed 753,000 visitors. This was a huge number! By 2019, more than 900,000 people visited the museum. It shows how popular The Broad has become.
