Interview: Academy Museum's Amy Homma Excited For The Museum's Opening

The highly anticipated opening of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will finally be happening when the Academy Museum open its doors to the general public September 30, 2021. Located at the corner of Fairfax Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard, the former site of the May Company Department store, the Academy Museum has added a spherical extension designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano with the Renzo Piano Building Workshop. The 300,000 square foot Academy Museum houses more than 50,000 square feet of gallery space, offices, two movie theatres, and a 10,000 square foot grand lobby just named in honor of Sir Sidney Poitier.

Had to chance to extract some preview details of the Academy Museum from Amy Homma, the Academy Museum's Senior Director of Education and Public Engagement.

Thank you for taking the time for this interview, Amy!

At what point of completion was the Museum's construction when you first joined the Academy Museum staff in March of 2019?

I knew when I started that I was joining a team of creative museum professionals dedicated to bringing an amazing experience forward. I also knew that the experience we all were working to create was part of a massive architectural construction plan, so bumps in the road were of no surprise! When I started, the building was an active hard hat construction site - wires hanging from ceilings, scaffolding up everywhere - you seriously had to strap on your hard toe boots and watch your step! It has been amazing to see our beautiful building and campus come together into what we see today. It is absolutely stunning, down to every detail.

When is the official opening date for the Museum?

September 30, 2021

When did the Museum staff start working onsite at 6067 Wilshire Blvd.?

I have to shout out the amazing staff at the Academy Museum! We are a flexible, resilient, creative, energetic bunch. We had been working across the street from our museum in an office building and moved into the museum offices literally a few months before the pandemic hit. When we all started working remotely, we truly showed up for each other in incredibly supportive ways. As a parent, I started sharing activities to do at home with kids with colleagues with children and we all started a mini movie club where we watched films that were going to be included in our exhibitions. We would watch the film together and then discuss, and it is one of my most beloved memories of those early quarantine weeks. Films, regardless of hardships, have such a gorgeous way of building community. Can't wait to see that take place in real life! In person! When we open on September 30th.

What are the initial installations first dayers will see?

The inaugural exhibitions will be Stories of Cinema, Path to Cinema: Highlights from the Richard Balzer Collection, Backdrop: An Invisible Art, and Hayao Miyazaki.

What are you looking forward to with the Academy Museum finally opening its doors?

I am excited for visitors of all ages to experience the breadth and depth that our exhibitions offer. There truly is something interesting to learn, no matter your taste! I think a beautiful aspect of our museum is that we will encourage repeat visitors in party by creating dynamic and fun education programs to amplify the stories being told in our galleries. Imagine film artists and Academy Members doing live demonstrations! Teaching skills in our education studio! All of that plus more when we open.

Will you be allowing walk-ins? Or only timed admission tickets bought in advance?

Visitors should register for tickets online in advance on the museums' website.

I saw the nominated songs shown before the Oscar telecast. All the songs were staged on the Academy Museum's new spherical rooftop with an amazing view. How many will your rooftop hold for your Academy events?
The capacity for all events on the Dolby Family Terrace is 420 standing and 600 seated.

How many seats does your spanking new indoor theatres hold?

The Academy Museum's David Geffen Theater has 1,000 seats and the Ted Mann Theater has 288 seats.

What lessons have you brought to the Academy Museum that you learned from your experience as Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building's acting deputy director back in 2017-18?

I cherish my nearly ten years working in Washington, DC at Smithsonian museums. It created a solid foundation of collaboration in my work as a museum educator. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing audiences connect the dots with their learning to prove how truly interdisciplinary we all are when it comes to developing curiosities and taking them into paths of developing skills, techniques, and knowledge! Film education and exploring film history as an educator was a natural next step for me since the art form is unbelievably collaborative. I am so excited to show all of the artistry that is brought to film, including all Academy branches!

Thank you again, Amy! I look forward touring the Museum when it opens.

For Academy Museum of Motion Pictures tickets or membership info, log onto www.academymuseum.org

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