Skirball Cultural Center expands with opening of Ahmanson Hall
By Daily Bruin Staff
May 15, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 PRIYA SHARMA/Daily Bruin Skirball Cultural Center’s
Ahmanson Hall opened as part of its five-year anniversary.
By Ally Dixon
Daily Bruin Contributor
From a distance, the pyramidal rooftop of the Skirball Cultural
Center’s newest addition, Ahmanson Hall, looks like an
extremely modern tent city tucked in the hills of Santa Monica.
This is no accident. Tents have a special meaning for the
Skirball, representing both the original form of housing used in
many cultures, as well as the Skirball’s first act of finding
permanent homes for each of the people living in tents on the
center’s site before its construction began. The
center’s architecture is a symbol of its commitment to
helping all members of the Los Angeles community.
Because the people of Los Angeles have embraced the Skirball
since its opening, and continue to visit it in increasing numbers,
it was necessary to open the spectacular multi-purpose tent-shaped
Ahmanson Hall as part of the center’s five-year anniversary
celebration in April.
Uri Hershcher, who gave the dedication speech for the new hall,
spoke of the Skirball’s historic relationship to tents.
When the Skirball Center opened its doors in 1996, its mission
was to interpret and nurture the Jewish experience, as well as to
strengthen American society. Its mission has changed over the last
five years, however, and the center’s experiences have helped
it modify its goals.
According to its current mission statement, which was developed
by Hershcher, the Skirball Cultural Center is now dedicated to
exploring the connections between Jewish heritage and American
democratic ideals. At the same time, however, the museum offers
inspiration to all cultures and ethnicities.
With its purpose, the Skirball’s campus continues to
evolve. Lori Starr, vice president of external affairs at the
Skirball said that the new hall was added to compensate for the
large numbers of visitors and fulfill the need for more space. The
23,500 square foot architectural marvel at the northern end of the
campus, Ahmanson Hall was named for the foundation that sponsored
its construction and dedicated to former UCLA chancellor and civic
leader, Franklin Murphy (1916-1994).
Murphy was a critical supporter of the Skirball Center from its
conception in the early 1980s.
Designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie, who also did the
other buildings on the campus, Starr said that the Ahmanson echoes
many of the design elements present in other Skirball structures.
Its innovative versatility makes it stand out not only among the
campus edifices, but also among the most cutting-edge architecture
in Los Angeles.
What makes the Ahmanson so unique, Starr said, is its ability to
transform itself to suit many types of venues. The airy, sunlit
atmosphere of the hall makes it ideal for afternoon concerts,
lectures and weddings, but at the same time the Ahmanson can be
completely darkened to show films and artificially illuminated for
theatrical performances.
Yatrika Shah-Rais, director of musical programming for the
Skirball, said she is excited about the new hall because of the
opportunities it will provide in terms of seating capacity and
types of programs.
“The Ahmanson will allow us to accommodate two times as
many people as before,” she said. “Obviously this will
help us attract bigger name artists, but also where we used to have
to have two performances because of so much interest, now we can
fit everyone in the first time, which gives us greater scheduling
flexibility.”
The successful music series “World Mosaic” has
attracted a following which continues to grow, thus a space larger
than the 300-seat Magnin auditorium was needed for the shows,
making the Ahmanson an ideal venue. Events such as this will be
enhanced by Ahmanson Hall’s advanced acoustical system, as
well as the seating configuration.
Paralleling the growth of the performing arts at the Skirball is
the recognition it is receiving in terms of becoming one of the
major cultural centers of Los Angeles, Starr said. This is not only
evidenced in the construction of the Ahmanson, but also in the
selection of the Skirball as the site to host the fifth annual City
of Los Angeles exhibition.
Starr said COLA is a municipal program that awards 10
outstanding local artists $10,000 each and features their art in a
large scale exhibit. This year’s artists include three UCLA
professors Robert Nakamura, Jennifer Steinkamp and Bruce
Yonemoto.
Curator Barbara Gilbert said that programs like the “World
Mosaic” series and the COLA show will bring a new and diverse
audience to the Skirball.
“We want to be good neighbors at the Skirball and this is
a good opportunity to branch out to new groups, especially young
people, as well as exposing our members to new audiences,”
she said. “We are also happy about establishing a
relationship with these talented artists.”
Through major exhibitions and popular events, the Skirball has
earned its place on the cultural map of Los Angeles. Starr looks
forward to continued growth at the Skirball.
“We’ve carved a niche with certain kinds of broad
programming that aren’t done anywhere else in Los
Angeles,” she said. “The family audience is a very
important one and the popularity of our festivals and
children-oriented events has proven to us that there is a need to
go ahead with projects like the Ahmanson.”
CENTER: The Skirball Cultural Center is located
at 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. in Los Angeles. For more information
call (310) 440-4500 or visit www.skirball.org.
