Jenny Yurshansky: What We Carry Opens at Skirball

When: Thursday, October 22, 2026, 12 PM to 5 PM Where: Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles Admission: Check the Skirball's page for current pricing

The Skirball Cultural Center opens a new exhibition on October 22. What We Carry is the work of artist Jenny Yurshansky, and it asks a simple, tender question: what do we hold onto, and what holds onto us? If you are sorting through things to do in Los Angeles this fall, this is a quieter, more reflective pick than most.

What the exhibition is about

Yurshansky's work is shaped by her family's experience as Soviet Jewish refugees. What We Carry looks at how immigration and displacement leave their mark on people, both personally and collectively. It treats everyday objects, and even the body, as carriers of stories, including the ones one generation tried to keep from the next.

The project grew out of community storytelling. Between January and July 2026, Yurshansky ran a series of workshops at the Skirball and invited people from across Los Angeles to share their family histories and the heirlooms tied to them. Those keepsakes became the raw material for the show.

What you will see

The exhibition pairs 3D-printed sculptural replicas of those personal keepsakes with objects from the Skirball's own museum collection. Placing a family's mementos next to museum pieces is the point: both are handled with the same care and given the same weight. The result looks for connections between past and present, and leaves room for memories that are joyful, painful, shared and unspoken.

Planning your visit

Opening day runs from noon to 5 PM, so you can drop in during the afternoon and take your time. The Skirball sits on Sepulveda Boulevard in the Sepulveda Pass area, and parking is typically available on site. Confirm hours, pricing and any opening-day programming on the museum's official exhibition page before you go, since details can shift.

Plan on an hour or more if you like to read the object labels. The show rewards slow looking, and the stories attached to each piece are half the experience.

Keep exploring

Opening day is a good anchor for a full cultural afternoon. If you are putting together a list of upcoming events Los Angeles has to offer this month, browse more in arts and culture and the rest of the OTBLA event listings.

What We Carry is a reminder that a museum is not only a place for old things behind glass. Here, the objects on view belong to ordinary families, and they get to sit beside the collection as equals.