The Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) announced that its new $93 million building will open to the public on October 8, 2022 in time for the return of the California Biennial 2022 (CB22) exhibition. 

The 53,000-square-foot facility was designed by Los Angeles-based, Pritzker Prize-winning architect Thom Mayne of Morphosis Architects. Breaking ground in September 2019, the new building will sit at the open public plaza at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa and will double the size of the museum’s former location. The California Biennial 2022 will be the inaugural exhibition at OCMA’s new home. 

“It is no coincidence that as we open a building defined by its innovative and forward-thinking design, we are also acknowledging OCMA’s important and pioneering foundation,” says new OCMA CEO and Director Heidi Zuckerman. “California has long been a wellspring of innovation and creativity, and CB22 once again gives us an opportunity to explore the richness of the state’s expansive and diverse creative communities.” 

The new OCMA location will feature 25,000 square feet of flexible exhibition space. Complimenting the gallery spaces are mezzanine and street-front galleries that will house temporary and permanent collection exhibitions spanning a variety of scales and mediums. A spacious roof terrace, equal in size to 70% of the building, serves as an extension of the galleries and offers open-air spaces for gatherings and events.

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A sculptural wing above the lobby atrium will create a prominent location for a 10,000-square-foot education center that can be configured as a black-box theater or a light-filled studio. The grand public stairs on the outside of the building curve toward the entrance and link the museum to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and the adjacent performing arts venues. The structure is wrapped by a distinctive façade of undulating bands of terracotta panels that continue inside the museum. 

Zuckerman has invited experienced, independent curators, Elizabeth Armstrong, Essence Harden, and Gilbert Vicario, to co-curate the California Biennial 2022. 

“I am thrilled to have Liz, Essence, and Gilbert co-curating our first exhibition in the new space,” adds Zuckerman. “Individually, they bring a wealth of knowledge and experience working in the Golden State and they have always championed emerging artists and a wide range of voices, and I look forward to what will unfold collectively.”