The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opens on Sept. 30 in Los Angeles and will mark the occasion by paying tribute to legendary actor Sidney Poitier. The venue’s opulent 10,000 sq. ft. foyer currently will also be named after the iconic Oscar winner. The trailblazing 94-year-old actor earned an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1964 for his performance in Lilies of the Field; the first Black actor to win the honor. Some of his other classic materials include The Defiant Ones, A Raisin in the Sun, In the Heat of the Night, Uptown Saturday Night and Let’s Do It Again.
“It is an incredible honor to name our grand lobby — the nucleus of the Academy Museum — in celebration of Sir Sidney Poitier, whose legacy of humanitarian efforts and groundbreaking artistry continues to inspire us all,” Academy Museum director Bill Kramer told The Hollywood Reporter.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures was constructed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will be devoted to the history, science, and cultural impact of the film industry. It features six floors of exhibitions covering the history of filmmaking. The lobby named after Poitier was made possible through a campaign supported by the likes of Tyler Perry, Oprah Winfrey, and Netflix co-CEO of Ted Sarandos.
“Sidney’s tremendous impact on the motion picture industry, and on audiences around the world, is inseparable from the story of his longstanding, collegial relationship with the Academy. To be honored now as the namesake of the Academy Museum’s lobby, the place of access to everything that lies within, is almost like receiving a second Oscar, for lifetime achievement,” Poitier’s wife, Joanna Shimkus Poitier also told THR.
On Tuesday, Sept.7, Spike Lee will also be featured in a special conversation with Shaka King, director of Judas and the Black Messiah. The event will be live-streamed at 6 p.m. PT. from the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
