Artist Vija Celmins and filmmaker Denis Villeneuve will be honored at the 2026 LACMA Art+Film Gala, marking the 15th edition of the annual Los Angeles event.
The gala will take place Nov. 7 and will once again be co-chaired by LACMA trustee Eva Chow and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, with Gucci returning as presenting sponsor, a role the fashion house has held since the event launched in 2011.
The benefit brings together figures from the art, film, fashion and entertainment worlds while raising funds for LACMA’s broader mission and its efforts to make film a more integral part of the museum’s programming. Proceeds support exhibitions, acquisitions and educational initiatives exploring the relationship between art and cinema.
Celmins, 87, was born in Riga, Latvia, and is known for her detailed images of the natural world, from ocean surfaces and desert landscapes to expansive night skies. Working across painting, drawing, sculpture and printmaking, she has built a career around close observation and images that move between realism and abstraction. Her work has been exhibited at institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Centre Pompidou.
Villeneuve, 58, was born in Gentilly, Quebec, and has become one of contemporary cinema’s leading filmmakers. The Academy Award-nominated director’s credits include “Sicario,” “Arrival,” “Blade Runner 2049” and the “Dune” films. “Dune: Part Two” surpassed $700 million at the global box office and won two Academy Awards. Villeneuve is set to conclude the trilogy with “Dune: Part Three” in December and will also direct the next James Bond film for Amazon MGM Studios.
