Hello Summer 2026!

Summer 2026 Newsletter
New exhibitions, member benefits, and exciting events all summer long.

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Positive Fragmentation: From the Collection of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation
June 26 2026 – September 27, 2026 

Scott Carrillo Azevedo: The American Home—The Broken Promise
May 16 – August 9, 2026

Imagine This: LBUSD Elementary Exhibition
May 31 – August 31, 2026

• June 26 – Sept. 27, 2026:  Positive Fragmentation: From the Collection of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation
• July 5 & Aug 2, 11a–1p: Downtown Draws @ LBMA Downtown // FREE for all
• July 16 & Aug 20, 5p–9p: Sunsets at LBMA @ LBMA Ocean // FREE for all // Sunsets at LBMA are made possible through the generous support of Jordan D. Schnitzer and The Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation.
• July 31, Aug 28, Sept 25, 1030a–11a: Stroller Tours @ LBMA Ocean

When planning a charitable legacy, many people think first of cash or personal property. However, retirement accounts such as traditional IRAs and 401(k)s can be among the most tax-efficient assets to leave to charity.

Unlike many other assets, retirement accounts are generally subject to income tax when inherited by family members. Depending on their circumstances, your heirs may owe taxes on distributions they receive from these accounts. By contrast, qualified charitable organizations such as the Long Beach Museum of Art pay no income tax on gifts they receive.

As a result, some donors choose to leave retirement assets to charity and preserve other assets—such as cash, real estate, or investment accounts—for family members. This approach can help maximize the value ultimately received by both loved ones and charitable organizations.

One of the simplest ways to make this type of gift is by naming the Museum as a beneficiary of all or a portion of an IRA, 401(k), or other qualified retirement plan. Updating a beneficiary designation is often easier than changing a will or trust and can usually be completed directly through your plan administrator.

As with any estate planning decision, we encourage you to consult your attorney, tax advisor, or financial planner to determine the approach that best meets your goals.

Your thoughtful planning can help ensure that art continues to educate, inspire, and enrich our community for generations to come. 

For assistance, please contact: Iris Quiroz, Director of Institutional Development at irisq@lbma.org or 

(562)439 2119 ext. 336.

— Donita Joseph, CPA, MBT, LBMA Advisory Board

June 21 – September 22, 2026
The Long Beach Museum of Art (LBMA) Refer-a-Friend Summer Campaign runs from June 21 to September 22, 2026. Active members who refer a friend for any membership level receive a complimentary glass of sparkling wine, dessert at Claire’s Café, or will enjoy a two-month extension of membership! 

Share your love of art with a friend!

How to Redeem
Where: Visit Hartman Pavilion Front Desk, 2300 E Ocean Blvd. Long Beach, CA

How: Have your referred friend mention your name at the time of purchase to claim. Contact: Membership and Visitor Services Manager, Karen Steffani at karens@lbma.org

Summer Perks
For referrers: Choice of a complimentary drink/dessert or extended membership for two months. (Choose one.)

For New Members: Instant perks include free admission to both museum campuses, VIP exhibition opening invitations, two day passes, one pre-selected gift-shop item, and a 10% discount at the Museum Store.

Ongoing Non-Member Perk
Enjoy 50% off museum admission when you dine at Claire’s at the Museum, simply present your Claire’s dine-in receipt at the front desk.

Museum Hours: LBMA Ocean Thursday-Sunday 11:00AM–5:00PM.
LBMA Downtown Thursday-Sunday 11:00am–4:00PM

Check www.lbma.org for current exhibitions

As summer 2026 arrives, the Long Beach Museum of Art is pleased to present Positive Fragmentation: From the Collection of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation. Continuing our valued partnership with the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation of Portland, Oregon, this dynamic exhibition brings together more than 180 prints by leading contemporary women artists who explore fragmentation as both a visual language and a means of reimagining history, identity, and cultural experience.

Originally organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts in 2022, the exhibition showcases works by renowned artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Julie Mehretu, Wangechi Mutu, Betye Saar, Wendy Red Star, Mickalene Thomas, Kara Walker, and Lorna Simpson, among others. 

These artists utilize printmaking, collage, assemblage, and layered imagery to challenge traditional narratives and present new perspectives on contemporary life.

The exhibition reflects the museum’s longstanding commitment to promoting the voices of women artists and expanding the narratives in art history. Its title is inspired by feminist scholar Lucy Lippard’s concept of “positive fragmentation,” which highlights the transformative potential of dismantling dominant narratives and reassembling them into new meanings. For these artists, fragmentation serves as an empowering act that creates space for new voices, histories, and perspectives.

The Long Beach Museum of Art is proud to present this timely exhibition, which celebrates the vital contributions of women artists to contemporary art and reaffirms the museum’s commitment to dialogue, inclusion, and artistic innovation.

Generous support from Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation, Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation, BCM Foundation, Bess J. Hodges Foundation, and RVCA Artist Network Program.

— Paul Loya, Deputy Director of Exhibitions and Collections

LBMA, with the support from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), increased public accessibility to artwork by women in its collection through digitization efforts in 2023. Since the Museum’s founding in the 1950s, works by women artists across a wide variety of media have been collected and exhibited through both group and solo exhibitions. The upcoming exhibition, Positive Fragmentation from the Collection of Jordan D. Schnitzer and his Family Foundation, continues this tradition by presenting women artists creating multiples that explore collagist ideas of fragmentation. 

LBMA’s permanent collection also holds examples of collage and multiples, including works by artist and activist June Wayne (1918–2011), who had a solo exhibition of lithographs at LBMA in 1959. Wayne was also the founder of Tamarind Lithography Workshop, Inc., established in Los Angeles in the 1960s, which contributed to the resurgence of lithography as a fine art medium. She additionally participated in the successful effort to persuade the Los Angeles City Council to withdraw a resolution declaring modern artists “tools of the Kremlin”. Wayne’s lithographs, including Tower of Babel (1959), demonstrate how fragmentation can create multiple viewpoints. 

Interplanetary Icon #9 (1990) by Junko Chodos is a photographic collage composed of fragmented organic and mechanical forms. The work merges two worlds—the reality of machines and living organisms—with the imaginative possibilities of an interplanetary realm that feels both futuristic and unfamiliar. As a mixed-media collage, the work creates a strong sense of three-dimensionality. Although produced in 1990, Interplanetary Icon #9 took on additional resonance when it was included in Chodos’ 2001 LBMA solo exhibition, which coincidentally opened near the events of “9/11”. Fragmentation is a recurring element throughout Chodos’ work, and viewed in the context of that historical moment, the fractured imagery acquired new and unexpected significance. 

Long Beach artist Jennifer Bartlett (1941–2022) created several works in her In the Garden series, from which LBMA holds In the Garden #189 (1980) in its permanent collection. The composition is divided in half, pairing a dark abstract shape of equal size alongside an image of a garden. This duality creates a sense of mystery and unease. Additional examples of Bartlett’s work will be on view in the exhibition Positive Fragmentation: From the Collection of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation, opening June 26, 2026, and continuing through September 27, 2026. 

For more works by women artists in the permanent collection, explore the Museum’ s collections database at https://webkiosk.lbma.org

— Sue Ann Robinson, Curator Emerita