UC Irvine Pursues Management Negotiations with OCMA to 'Run the Museum'

The west facing façade of the Orange County Museum of Art. Photo by Heide Janssen, Culture OC

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In a surprising move, the University of California, Irvine announced today that negotiations were underway with the Orange County Museum of Art that would bring the museum under the university’s stewardship. 

“UC Irvine and the Orange County Museum of Art are exploring a transformative agreement that will open a new chapter for OCMA and establish a new model for public arts engagement, scholarship and access,” said Mike Uhlenkamp, UC Irvine’s assistant vice chancellor for communications and media relations, in a brief written statement.

Reached by phone, Uhlenkamp stressed that negotiations are ongoing and a finished agreement is months away. “The university would run the museum. The details are being worked out. Negotiations are ongoing and a finished agreement is months away with the anticipation to have finalization sometime in the fall.”

Uhlenkamp said that a nonbinding, exploratory letter of intent has been signed, and any agreement would be subject to the approval of the University of California Board of Regents. “This is the very beginning of the partnership. Negotiations began only in the last few weeks.”

The entrance and "stairs to nowhere" at OCMA. Photo by Heide Janssen, Culture OC

OCMA in Transition

Heidi Zuckerman, OCMA’s current CEO and director, is scheduled to leave when her contract ends in December. Uhlenkamp was not sure if the museum’s next director will be appointed by the university or by OCMA’s board of trustees. 

During Zuckerman’s tenure, which began in early 2021, the museum moved into its new $94.5 million, 53,000-square-foot facility in Costa Mesa. It has welcomed more than 500,000 visitors annually free of charge since it opened almost three years ago.

At the same time, initial reviews of the architecture were mixed to caustic, as portions of the interior looked incomplete when it opened on Oct. 8, 2022. Since the halcyon days of the grand opening, the sheen wore off a bit, and key board of trustees members have left, including president Lucy Sun, “Visionary”-level donor Carol Choi, and Segerstrom family heir Anton Segerstrom. 

Some privately questioned the size of Zuckerman’s annual salary, which was $672,449 in 2022, plus $14,261 in other compensation, according to OCMA’s 2022 tax returns. Her salary was reduced to $582,060, plus $8,153 in other compensation, in 2023.

The pending agreement with UC Irvine would provide expertise and, crucially, financial support from the university, according to Uhlenkamp.

“If finalized, the collaboration would secure OCMA’s future by … (providing) the academic depth, programming expertise, financial backing, and institutional infrastructure of the UC Irvine Jack and Shanaz Langson Institute and Museum of California Art,” Uhlenkamp said.

The Status of Langson IMCA Also a Question Mark 

The Langson IMCA’s holdings would presumably be shared with OCMA under such an agreement. They currently include over 4,500 works representing a wide array of genres and mediums that range from late 19th and early 20th century works, including California Impressionism and plein air painting, to modern and contemporary art.

Kim Kanatani, who was hired as the museum director of Langson IMCA in 2019, left that position in September 2024. She was helping the university finalize the location and ground breaking of a permanent building for that museum. The university announced a location on Campus Drive near Jamboree in March 2022; however, construction on that project has not begun. “If the agreement (with OCMA) is finalized, then we will not go forward with those plans,” Uhlenkamp said.

Langson IMCA is currently led by interim museum director Richard Aste.

OCMA and UC Irvine leaders are enthusiastic about the potential partnership.

“OCMA has long contributed to the cultural vibrancy of our region, and UC Irvine is honored to explore this promising partnership,” said UC Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman. “As a university committed to discovery, creativity, and public service, we see great potential in combining our strengths to expand access to the arts, deepen engagement with California’s artistic legacy, and support new generations of creators and scholars.”

“This represents a thoughtful next step in OCMA’s evolution,” said OCMA Board Chair David Emmes II. “Partnering with UC Irvine would offer new opportunities to strengthen our mission, expand educational impact, and position the museum as a lasting and dynamic cultural anchor for the region. We look forward to next steps and the possibilities of this collaboration.”