The University of California, Irvine has officially completed its acquisition of the Orange County Museum of Art, creating a new combined institution that will operate under the name UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art. The merger brings together two significant cultural institutions and their substantial art collections under the university's oversight.
As part of the acquisition agreement, UCI has merged OCMA with the existing UC Irvine Jack and Shanaz Langson Institute and Museum of California Art, known as Langson IMCA. The university will now oversee OCMA's impressive 53,000-square-foot facility, which cost $98 million to construct and opened in 2022. The museum is located within the Segerstrom Center for the Arts campus in Costa Mesa, California, a neighboring city to Irvine.
The merger significantly expands the combined institution's art collection, bringing together approximately 13,500 works of art. At the time of the acquisition, OCMA's modern and contemporary art collection contained 4,500 objects. These works will now be integrated with roughly 9,000 pieces from the Irvine Museum Collection and the Gerald Buck Collection, which was bequeathed to the university in 2017.
The Langson IMCA will continue its academic mission, supporting research initiatives, student training programs, and integration across various academic disciplines from its on-campus location. The institute will also maintain its regular exhibition programming at its Von Karman Avenue location in Irvine. Both institutions plan to continue their previously scheduled programming through 2026, ensuring continuity for visitors and the community.
Following the completion of the acquisition, all OCMA staff members have become UC Irvine employees. The transition comes after the departure of OCMA's CEO and director Heidi Zuckerman earlier this year. The university is currently conducting a national search to find an executive director who will lead the newly formed UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art. In the interim, Richard Aste, who previously served as director of the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas, from 2016 to 2023, has been serving as the Langson IMCA's interim director since 2024.
The merger discussions first became public in June, shortly after Zuckerman announced her plans to leave her position. Notably, the acquisition occurred despite no apparent financial difficulties or other operational issues at OCMA. A transitional online platform has been established to provide visitors with information about exhibitions and resources at both locations, featuring links to both institutions' websites.
UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman emphasized the university's commitment to the region's cultural landscape in an official statement. "UC Irvine is committed to ensuring that the region benefits from a world-class art museum that enriches the cultural fabric of Orange County, advances groundbreaking scholarship, nurtures the next generation of creators and thinkers, and inspires curiosity and connection across diverse audiences," Gillman said. The acquisition positions UC Irvine as a major player in Southern California's art and cultural scene while providing enhanced educational opportunities for students and expanded cultural resources for the broader Orange County community.
