The Los Angeles art world is still reeling — eight months after the fact — from the news that Ann Philbin , longtime director of the Hammer Museum at UCLA, is retiring at the end of this year. Philbin — who has steered the museum for 25 years — leaves a transformative legacy. When Philbin, 72, took the reins in 1999, the Hammer was a regional university museum with fewer than 50 full-time employees and a $6-million annual operating budget.
It’s now a globally recognized destination for contemporary art with more than 100 full-time employees, a $30-million annual budget and star-studded annual fundraising galas. It’s known for its strong point of view, a risk-taking and feminist-minded institution committed to supporting underrepresented artists of all stripes. The museum’s “Made in L.
A.” biennial, which presented its sixth iteration in October, has become a staple of the West Coast art scene. Along with the Hammer Projects series, it has shined an international spotlight on the city as a leading art hub, illuminating new experimental artists working across painting, sculpture, installation, multimedia, performance and other mediums.
In March 2023, the Hammer debuted a sweeping expansion and renovation project — Philbin’s longtime vision — that had been two decades in the making and cost $90 million. A consummate fundraiser, Philbin successfully realized the $180-million capital campaign for the project, designed by Michael Maltzan Architecture. The Ham.
