Brian and Eva Sweeney (M.Arch ‘98) of Manhattan Beach are proud founders of the latest nonprofit art space to debut in the Los Angeles area, the El Segundo Museum of Art, which opened to the public in late January.

Brian and Eva Sweeney at the El Segundo Museum of Art (Christina House /LA Times)

The first exhibition on view in the 2,000-square-feet space consists primarily of work from the couple’s own private art collection, featuring 19th century artists like Corot and Gustave Courbet along with more recent work by Christo, Andreas Gursky and young German artists.

This project draws on Eva’s professional strengths. Before marrying Brian Sweeney, she was co-founder of the Los Angeles architecture Bau10, having left her native Germany to pursue a graduate degree at SCI-Arc. Eva designed the museum space with an emphasis on both sustainability and beauty. She also brought on board fellow SCI-Arc alum John Milander, AIA (M.Arch '02), who served as the architect on the project.

Los Angeles Times’ Jori Finkel writes: "The plan for the nonprofit space—the Sweeneys call it a 'laboratory'—is to invite local teachers to use the exhibitions as they see fit during the week, and to keep public hours Friday through Sunday." Read the full article here.

EasyReader and Daily Breeze also covered the story .