Los Angeles, Glitz, Glamour and Glory!

Even by Hollywood standards, the opening of the Broad Contemporary Art Museum ("BCAM"), Los Angeles' newest cultural icon, astounded. The stars aligned and the art shined as an incredible sense of civic pride and awe gushed from the lucky 1200 celebrating Renzo Piano's architectural wonder and its more than 200 works of art, including pieces by Richard Serra, Chris Burden, Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and so many others.

In true Hollywood style, the guest list included major celebrities, including Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, but more unusually, included what seemed to be the entire contemporary art world, including many of the most important American artists at work today, such as Richard Serra, Ed Ruscha, Ellsworth Kelly, Charles Ray, Philip Taafe, John Baldessari, Chris Burden, Barbara Kruger, Cindy Sherman and Jeff Koons. Notable architects Renzo Piano, Frank Gehry, and Richard Meier were on hand, as were prominent art collectors and philanthropists from LA and around the world were there, not to mention civic leaders, business and entertainment industry moguls and international museum directors.

There was glamour, glitz, and glory -- the accolades went to Eli Broad for his $50 million donation and contribution to the city's cultural arts, to Renzo Piano for his flawlessly accessible exhibition space, to Nancy Daly Riordan for her compassion and dedication in governing the board through its recent transitions, and to Michael Govan, LACMA's new director, for his tireless and visionary leadership.

What's now clear is that Los Angeles has secured its status as a true cultural capital, together with New York, London and Paris. And if Broad has his way, LA will be the contemporary art capital of the world. Also leading the charge, is Govan's new, energized board of trustees, to whom Broad expects to pass the torch, calling them the leaders of both future generations of the arts and of the business community. The commitment of this so-called new guard, including Chairman Andy Gordon, Willow Bay, David Bohnet, Chris DeWolfe, Victoria Jackson, Bobby Kotick, Michael Lynton, Tony Ressler, Eric Smidt, Donald Tang and Casey Wasserman, has already engaged the next generation of the community and helped the establishment raise over $5 million for BCAM on opening night alone. Not bad for the cultural arts of LA. Not bad at all!