The University of California, Irvine operates multiple art gallery and museum spaces, the majority focused for at least part of each year on undergraduate and graduate exhibitions. Until May 2026, the Langson Institute & Museum of California Art was housed in an office tower near John Wayne Airport, and focused on 20th and 21st century paintings, drawings, and sculptures with ties to California – one primary gallery space hosted several-month rotating exhibitions of abstract, impressionist, minimalist, assemblage, and other styles of art. On one prior visit, we saw impressionist paintings of south Orange County and San Diego County in “Common Ground: Early 20th-Century Artist Communities in Southern California,” as well as reading and craft rooms. Friendly staff assisted visitors and offered access to free art postcards at the entrance and exit.
Admission and parking (validated) were free at the prior location, the Airport Tower, which had notably been home to The Irvine Museum in earlier years. Following UCI’s acquisition of the Orange County Museum of Art, the Langson and OCMA collections were merged, and the Airport Tower museum was closed. Press & Moka Coffeehouse continues to operate immediately outside with drinks and light lunch fare.
