LOS ANGELES, CA.- The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) announced yesterday that it has developed a new membership opportunity, CineClub, to enable the community to convert the energy of its efforts to preserve weekend film programming into much-needed fundraising support. Money raised through CineClub, a $50 add-on to any level of LACMA membership, will help support film events, outreach, and efforts to increase overall awareness for the program. CineClub members will receive priority ticketing, seating, and admission as well as a subscription to a film e-newsletter. Memberships are available at http://www.lacma.org/support/cineclub.aspx, any LACMA Welcome Center, or by calling Membership Services at 323 857-6151.

The CineClub announcement comes on the heels of key donations last week from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and Time Warner Cable, in partnership with Ovation TV, totaling $150,000, to extend film programming at LACMA through next summer. The gifts were a response to the museum’s decision to suspend the weekend portion of the program as part of a larger restructuring to address the program’s lack of donor support and diminishing audiences, and the desire to rebuild a more substantial and sustainable film department as a core curatorial program. The announcement also follows a meeting today between museum leadership and community activists who lobbied to preserve the film program.

In the meeting, LACMA Director Michael Govan encouraged signers of the “Restore LACMA's Film Program” petition, the majority of which are not members of the museum, to follow the example set by corporate donors by deepening their commitment to film programming via CineClub membership. Govan notes, “The creation of CineClub is directly related to the impassioned response of the public regarding film at LACMA. We hope the community will demonstrate its dedication to the program by joining us in this new support endeavor. It is imperative that we have financial support on all levels, from individual memberships to major corporate and private donations, in order to sustain long-term programming.”

In addition to yesterday’s meeting, Govan has recently convened with a wide range of film leaders, including Richard Schickel and Martin Scorsese, as well as key institutions concerned with film, to discuss the expansion and evolution of the program. The fall schedule, as conceived by Ian Birnie, follows, with more titles to be added as the program is confirmed and the connections made by the museum’s advisors solidify.