LOS ANGELES, CA.- The Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Autry Museum of the American West will announce an unprecedented new partnership at a January 9 program with Michael Govan, LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director, and W. Richard West, Jr., President and CEO of the Autry Museum of the American West. The two directors will discuss an evolving and collaborative approach for museums in the 21st century. This new LACMA-Autry partnership allows both museums to expand their programming content through the sharing of collections, joint programs, exhibitions, publications, and more. Via this new model, LACMA and the Autry can now extensively explore the art of the American West past and present in photography, paintings, sculpture, and other holdings, as well as the artistic and cultural connections between the American Southwest, Mexico, and Latin America through contemporary art as well as traditional media of ceramics, weaving, and more.

As part of the dialogue on January 9, both directors will discuss the future of museums in an ever-changing world.

“The partnership with the Autry Museum is an exciting opportunity for two Los Angeles institutions to combine efforts in telling a broader view of art history through our permanent collections and programming. The idea is to treat our collections as one, and for our curators to work together accordingly,” said Michael Govan, LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director. “This exchange of works and ideas will allow both museums to bolster exhibition content especially in the areas of the historical and contemporary American West, and the exploration of indigenous cultures across the Americas. We also look forward to learning from the Autry’s management of a new state-of-the-art collections, research, and educational facility anticipated to open to the public next year."

W. Richard West, Jr., President and CEO of the Autry said, “Gone is the era when museums could stand alone, separate and apart from each other. Los Angeles is increasingly making a mark for itself both on the strength of its cultural institutions, as well as the degree to which these institutions foster sharing and collaboration. Our partnership, we believe, is an important evolutionary step in that progression. More immediately, I know the Autry and the Autry community will be tremendously enriched and enlivened by way of this deepened association with LACMA.”