LOS ANGELES, CA.- As of this fall, LACMA will be changing its overall approach to film programming, ending its weekend film program by November in order to reconsider the nature, scale, and scope of our film programs. My hope is to engage in a full discussion among the staff and the Board about developing and increasing our commitment to film as central to our curatorial programming.

As part of that, and for the present, we will certainly place greater emphasis on artist-created films reflecting the museum’s growing relationship with contemporary artists and the contemporary art world. We will also continue to plan art exhibition-oriented festivals that will be presented in the context of the museum’s overall curatorial program. These films will be presented in the Bing Theater occasionally throughout the year. Additionally, the museum will continue its weekly Tuesday matinee program, which presents Hollywood film classics at a discounted price for seniors.

As a result of this programmatic change and the reduction of program hours, Ian Birnie’s responsibilities at LACMA have been restructured: he will become a consulting curator, charged with advancing LACMA’s ongoing discussion about the type of film program the museum should envision in the future. He will also be pursuing other professional opportunities. Ian has done a marvelous job on ever-smaller budgets to produce respected film programs for LACMA.

Curators from Contemporary Art, Modern Art, and Photography will take an expanded role in many of the upcoming programming decisions, and in the selection of artist-created films. And we will continue exhibition-related film programs across disciplines and presented in conjunction with LACMA’s special exhibition offerings.

As we scale back our budgets, this is a good time to slow programs and spend more time thinking about how to build a more sustainable long-term foundation for the presentation of film at LACMA. My hope is to reemerge with a major commitment to film that helps define LACMA’s curatorial mission.