The Broad Museum opened its doors to a (mostly) warm welcome from the people of Los Angeles on Sunday, Sept. 20. The new museum presents its extensive contemporary art collection, offering free admission to everyone who walks through its doors downtown. Many civic leaders have considered its accessibility to the public a gift, and celebrated the museum’s promise to make Los Angeles a cultural capital of the world at a ribbon-cutting ceremony and dedication last week.

“Tulips,” by Jeff Koons, is the first exhibit to greet patrons entering the The Broad’s gallery. (photos by Jessie Lingenfelter)

More than 2,000 artworks collected over the past five decades are housed or displayed in The Broad, and Joann Heyler, founding director, said the collection will continue to expand. Over 60 artists are currently displayed, including Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Barbara Kruger, John Baldessari, Cindy Sherman, Mark Bradford, Jeff Koons and Kara Walker. One of the more popular displays is Yayoi Kusama’s “Infinity Mirrored Room – The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away,” an experiential mirror-lined chamber housing a hypnotizing LED light display.

The 120,000-square-foot museum on Grand Avenue is a work of art itself, with a distinct matte honeycomb-like design that contrasts the shiny, sleek design of the Walt Disney Concert Hall next door. The $140-million structure, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Gensler, is dubbed “the veil and the vault,” as it merges the two key programs of the building – public exhibition space and storage that will support The Broad Foundation’s lending activities.

Once visitors enter under The Broad’s veil, an open public space leads to narrow routes heading towards the galleries on the second and third floors. Visitors can peek at the vault, housing collections in storage, as they travel upwards on the glass elevator, stairs or escalator. In addition to the inaugural installation of 250 works currently on display, The Broad features a public plaza, 344-car parking garage and will soon welcome Otium, a new restaurant by Bill Chait and Timothy Hollingsworth that will sit adjacent to the museum on Grand Avenue.

After a week of galas and events allowing 5,000 people to preview the museum, it finally opened to the public – but not without complications. Teachers from the Los Angeles Unified School District protested outside the museum in opposition of its founders Eli and Edythe Broad’s support of charter schools. The Broad Foundation has invested $144 million in the expansion of charter schools as an alternative to district-run schools in Los Angeles.

The protesters’ chants did not have much effect on The Broad’s opening day. The line of visitors from all over the state was long as they waited for the doors to open. Though general admission is free to the public, reservations are encouraged to avoid long waits. When the museum opened, more than 120,000 reservations through the end of the year had already been made.

“We want as many people as possible to have access to the museum and the art within,” Broad said. “Where other cities are insular and exclusive, Los Angeles embraces people from all walks of life. This museum’s collection is our gift to [the city].”

After the founder dedicated the museum to the city, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, California Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de Leon, Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis and Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar spoke on The Broad’s role in making the city a cultural capital.

“The idea that this building could be both bold and democratic stands at the very cornerstone of who we are as Angelenos. You see, we can make statements like this but it doesn’t have to be closed off, it isn’t on the hill isolated from the city, it is part of the city – free to its people, accessible. There will be a subway stop literally that comes up right behind this building,” Garcetti said.

De Leon added that the museum opens a window allowing the surrounding neighborhoods to have access to art.

“By building this museum in downtown Los Angeles, you will allow working families who don’t have financial wherewithal to go across town to view art,” de Leon said. “By allowing free admission, you have democratized art for all individuals, regardless of the hue of their skin, their zip codes or even their legal status.”

Eliza Powers, a senior studying art at Stanford University, said seeing the artwork she had previously only seen in books was “surreal.”

“I think this museum represents a person’s or artist’s freedom to make statements in Los Angeles, and appreciate different points of view,” Powers said. “To have this quality of art at public access is incredible, and allows everyone a vision into the artists’ minds.”