Need a creative alternative to Black Friday? Look to L.A.'s museum stores

Holiday gift shopping? It’s chaos. The Grove on Black Friday? Good luck finding parking — it’s a two-hour wait just to squeeze into a spot. And big box stores? Just no. If you’re looking for something less stressful and more creative, there’s a better option: Museum Store Sunday, sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday (this year, it falls on Dec. 1).

Since 2017, Museum Store Sunday has grown into a global event, bringing together over 2,100 museum stores worldwide — including 28 right here in L.A. County — for a day of discounts, special events and gifts-with-purchase (the deals are wide-ranging, so check with the stores to find out what they have going on).

“Not only are you buying something special and different, but you’re also supporting an institution, because the money all goes straight back into the museum,” says Maria Kwong, director of retail enterprises at the Japanese American National Museum, or JANM, and a member of the Museum Store Association, the industry group that started the initiative.

Museum stores have come a long way from being mere pit stops for postcards and key chains. Now, they’re vibrant spaces where art, culture and commerce intersect, offering everything from exclusive artist collaborations to playful, meaningful gifts tied to the museum’s exhibitions. Take JANM, for instance, where you can shop for a Godzilla-themed Monopoly set ($45) or a chess set designed by the late L.A.-born artist Isamu Noguchi ($590).

This year, JANM is leveraging Museum Store Sunday by hosting a book launch for “Seattle Samurai: A Cartoonist’s Perspective of the Japanese American Experience,” a tribute to the work of cartoonist Sam Goto written by the artist’s daughter.

At the Broad museum, director of retail operations Rob Hudson says that those who shop at the gift shop can “take home a piece of the museum.” Visitors can find a playful neon light of a smiling character by L.A. artist Kenny Scharf ($399), whose work is featured in the Broad’s collection. Or there’s a Joseph Beuys catalog ($49.95) produced by the Broad for their major exhibition of the famed 20th century German artist’s work, as well as “unlimited edition” items such as a felt postcard ($20).

The Getty is another great stop on your holiday gift hunt. On a recent visit, shoppers admired medieval astrolabes — multifunctional handheld star-based machines that were used by astronomers to determine things like time and latitude — and other astronomical manuscripts in “Lumen: the Art and Science of Light,” a temporary exhibition about early astronomers’ explorations into figuring out how light works. Steps away, a lively crowd explored astronomy-inspired gifts in the dedicated exhibition shop (the Getty has five shops on its campus), including a $50 replica astrolabe to bring the science of the stars home with you.

Other participating member institutions include the Grammy Museum Store, the Library Store and the USC Pacific Asia Museum Shop, the latter of which is offering 20% off to members of any museum on Museum Store Sunday. The Museum of Contemporary Art is promoting their recent collaboration with P.F. Candle Co. and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art will feature 20% off custom prints, which extends to online purchases.