When Hopkins took over the leadership at the Hammer, his fascination was for 20th century art. “The majority of exhibitions were contemporary exhibitions, such as ‘Sexual Politics’ and ‘Sunshine & Noir: Art in L.A. 1960-1997,’” he says. The Wight Art Gallery at UCLA had already pioneered exhibitions of contemporary art in Los Angeles, and Hopkins credits Frederick Wight, then chair of the UCLA art department, for bringing many groundbreaking shows to the city. In the late 1950s and into the 1960s, Wight—for whom the on-campus gallery is named—brought in exhibitions of Picasso, Matisse, Hans Hoffman and Arthur Dove.

After Hopkins retired from the Hammer in 1998, the museum hired Ann Philbin, who had been the director of the Drawing Center in New York. Philbin brought with her a new vision that has established the Hammer as one of the most exciting museums in the city, gaining national attention for its shows—among them “Lee Bontecou: A Retrospective” and “THING: New Sculpture from Los Angeles”—while serving a university population. “We are continually strengthening our efforts to make the Hammer Museum an exciting resource for UCLA students through new collaborations with different departments on campus,” says Philbin. “This season we’re hosting several symposia organized by faculty of the Department of Art, and we look forward to a close collaboration with the UCLA Film & Television Archive when the new Billy Wilder Theater opens at the Hammer this December.”

Come September, there will be another reason to celebrate—the opening of the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Center on campus, a striking project designed by Richard Meier & Partners Architects. The Center will be home to the Department of Art, Department of Design | Media Arts, and the New Wight Gallery, all of which were displaced when the old facility was closed for seismic upgrading in the wake of the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The plaza is graced by a torqued ellipse sculpture, “T.E.U.C.L.A.,” by noted artist Richard Serra.

In addition to structural upgrades, the new facility incorporates interactive multimedia technology, updated classrooms, studio space, and galleries for student exhibitions and public presentations. The opening celebration will be marked by exhibitions by the distinguished faculty of the Department of Art and the Department of Design | Media Arts. Michael Darling of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, is curating the exhibition for the Department of Art; Christiane Paul of the Whitney Museum will curate the works for D | MA.

“The Broad Art Center will bring new vitality to our already dynamic visual arts programs,” says Waterman. “As we look to the future, we prepare ourselves to raise the arts at UCLA to an even higher level of achievement.”