L.A. Magazine Heralds Joanne Helyer ’86 as One of “11 Women Who Are Making L.A. a Better Place”

As The Broad museum’s founding director in Los Angeles, Joanne Helyer ’86 is used to making news about the art she spent decades curating as the head of the Broad Art Foundation. But this time, Los Angeles Magazine puts the spotlight on Helyer herself as one of “11 Women Who Are Making L.A. at Better Place.” The recognition comes as The Broad marks its two year anniversary in downtown L.A., and salutes Helyer’s vision and success in engaging the broader culture and audiences who have enjoyed the nearly 2,000-piece collection of contemporary art. During its first year, The Broad saw more than 800,000 visitors, a figure that is double what was predicted.  The museum was built to showcase the collections of billionaire philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad, which are considered some of the most prominent holdings of postwar and contemporary art worldwide. Helyer has noted that museum-goers continue to be particularly spellbound by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s startling Infinity Mirrored Room – The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away, 2013. The installation, which is described as a mirror-lined chamber populated with a dazzling and seemingly vast array of LED lights, continues to create lines of visitors who are intrigued by its “disorienting sense of limitless space.”

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