"The latest shakeup at the forthcoming Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is the departure last week of Pilar Tompkins Rivas, the museum's chief curator and deputy director of Curatorial and Collections, just months after 14% of the museum's full-time staff was laid off. An email from Interim Chief Executive Jim Gianopulos obtained by the stated that there were "no immediate plans" to find a replacement for Tompkins Rivas, and that "curatorial content and direction" would continue to be overseen by George Lucas, the museum's co-founder."
"The news comes just weeks after the institution announced September 22, 2026, as its official opening date, which the museum had pushed back several times, citing pandemic- and supply chain-related delays. It also comes amid a series of staff departures that have raised questions about the museum's leadership and mission. In February, the museum announced that its inaugural Director and CEO Sandra Jackson-Dumont would be stepping down, and in May, the institution laid off 15 full-time and seven part-time employees, mostly from the Learning and Engagement and Museum Services teams. Among them was Bernardo Rondeau, the museum's curator of film programs, who learned of the layoffs while attending the Cannes Film Festival."
Pilar Tompkins Rivas left her position as chief curator and deputy director of Curatorial and Collections at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art last week. Interim Chief Executive Jim Gianopulos communicated that there are "no immediate plans" to appoint a replacement and that George Lucas will continue to oversee curatorial content and direction. The museum set an official opening date of September 22, 2026, after multiple pandemic- and supply chain-related delays. The institution previously announced the departure of inaugural Director and CEO Sandra Jackson-Dumont and implemented layoffs affecting Learning and Engagement and Museum Services staff.
Read at Hyperallergic
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