(Left) Vija Celmins, photo by Laurie Lambrecht; (right) Denis Villeneuve, photo by Ethan Benavidez.
The black-tie fundraiser, one of Los Angeles’ highest-profile cultural events, will once again be co-chaired by LACMA trustee Eva Chow and actor Leonardo DiCaprio. Luxury fashion house Gucci returns as presenting sponsor, continuing a partnership that has supported the gala since its debut in 2011.
LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director Michael Govan said the museum selected two figures whose work has transformed the visual arts in different ways.
“Whether in painting, drawing, printmaking, or other media, Vija Celmins’s exacting renderings of the natural world blend realism and imagination,” Govan said in a statement. He described Villeneuve as a filmmaker whose meticulously crafted worlds have reshaped contemporary cinema through both intimate dramas and large-scale blockbusters.
Celmins, born in 1938, is widely regarded as one of the most influential artists of her generation. Her painstaking depictions of ocean surfaces, desert floors, spider webs and star-filled skies have earned international acclaim for their precision and quiet intensity. Over a career spanning more than six decades, she has exhibited at institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Menil Collection in Houston and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She received a MacArthur Fellowship in 1997 and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters the previous year.
Villeneuve has become one of Hollywood’s most celebrated directors through visually ambitious films including Prisoners, Sicario, Arrival and Blade Runner 2049. His adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune earned six Academy Awards for Dune: Part One, while Dune: Part Two grossed more than $700 million worldwide and won two Oscars. Villeneuve is currently preparing Dune: Part Three, slated for release in December, and is also attached to direct the next James Bond film for Amazon MGM Studios.
Chow said the gala continues to celebrate the intersection of art and cinema while raising critical support for the museum.
“I’m excited to bring together an amazing group of people once again to recognize the incredible work of Vija Celmins and Denis Villeneuve,” she said, adding that Gucci’s continued sponsorship has been essential to the event’s success.
Since its inception, the Art+Film Gala has become one of the museum’s most important fundraising events. Proceeds support LACMA’s film initiatives while also helping fund exhibitions, acquisitions and educational programming that explore the relationship between visual art and filmmaking.
The 2026 Art+Film Gala will take place at LACMA on Nov. 7. Information on tickets and table sales is available through the museum.
