The recent departure of Pilar Tompkins Rivas from the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has caused quite a stir in the art world. Tompkins Rivas, who served as the museum’s chief curator and deputy director of Curatorial and Collections, left the institution just months after a significant portion of the museum’s staff was laid off.
In an email sent by Interim Chief Executive Jim Gianopulos, it was stated that there are no immediate plans to find a replacement for Tompkins Rivas. Instead, the curatorial content and direction will be overseen by George Lucas, the museum’s co-founder. The museum did not respond to inquiries from Hyperallergic, and Tompkins Rivas declined to comment on her departure.
The news of Tompkins Rivas’s exit comes shortly after the museum announced its official opening date as September 22, 2026. This date has been pushed back multiple times due to pandemic- and supply chain-related delays. The departure also follows a series of other staff departures that have raised concerns about the museum’s leadership and mission.
Before joining the Lucas Museum in 2020, Tompkins Rivas made a name for herself as the director and chief curator of the Vincent Price Art Museum (VPAM) at East Los Angeles College. During her tenure at VPAM, she organized several acclaimed exhibitions that put the museum on the map as a vibrant hub for contemporary art.
Colleagues and artists have expressed shock and sadness over Tompkins Rivas’s sudden departure. Many have praised her visionary curatorial work and her dedication to promoting underrepresented artists. The sudden exit of Tompkins Rivas, a Mexican American woman, has also raised concerns about diversity and representation within the museum’s leadership.
The departure of Tompkins Rivas is just the latest in a series of upheavals at the Lucas Museum, raising questions about the institution’s commitment to educational programming and serving the surrounding community. With the dismantling of the educational department, it remains unclear how the museum will fulfill its mission to serve local schools and residents in the South LA area.
Overall, Tompkins Rivas’s departure has sparked discussions about the future of the Lucas Museum and the challenges it faces in maintaining its commitment to diversity, representation, and community engagement. Only time will tell how the museum navigates these challenges and moves forward under new leadership.
