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Lacma Cancels Weekend Film Programming

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has offered a weekend series of film retrospectives for decades, but the program has lost $1 million over the last 10 years, according to a Los Angeles Times report, and the museum announced on Tuesday it would pull the plug.

"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," said Lacma director Michael Govan in a statement. "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."

The museum stated that its commitment to film is ongoing and that the change in programming is only part of a needed restructuring. "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 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," said Govan.

As a result of this change and the reduction of program hours, Ian Birnie, who had produced the film programs, will become a consulting curator, and he'll also pursue other professional opportunities.

"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," said Govan in the statement. "My hope is to reemerge with a major commitment to film that helps define Lacma’s curatorial mission."

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