Breaking Ground At Orange County Museum of Art

The Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) recently broke ground on the museum’s new building at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa. Designed by Morphosis, the global architecture and design firm led by Pritzker Prize-winner Thom Mayne, the new 53,000-square-foot facility—defined by an open and engaging urban presence within Orange County’s largest center for arts and culture—will allow the Museum to expand on their legacy of community enrichment and presentation of modern and contemporary art from artists rooted in Southern California and the Pacific Rim.

The new permanent home for the Museum, which was previously located in Newport Beach, is projected to open in 2021. The Museum has announced, on the occasion of the groundbreaking ceremony, that it has now raised $47 million toward the construction of the new building.

With nearly 25,000 square feet of exhibition galleries—approximately 50 percent more than in the former location in Newport Beach—the new museum building will allow OCMA to organize major special exhibitions of 20th and 21st-century art alongside spacious installations from its world-traveled collection. It will also feature an additional 10,000 square feet for education programs, performances, and public gatherings, and will include administrative offices, a gift shop, and a café.