The Palm Court Arts Complex is home to the Great Park Gallery and the Great Park Studio. The Palm Court’s re-purposed military structures now form a cultural campus supporting the development of a fresh approach to establishing an interdisciplinary, public arts program.
Learn more about exhibitions at the Irvine Fine Arts Center here.
Learn more about exhibitions at City Hall here.
Thursdays & Fridays: Noon–4 p.m.
Saturdays & Sundays: 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Free Admission
More Than You Can Chew
January 26 – April 20, 2025
Opening Reception Sunday, January 26, 2025 1-3 p.m.
Extending beyond aesthetics and taste, More Than You Can Chew surveys contemporary artworks that examine the cultural, economic, and political foundations which shape our culinary experiences. Acting as conduits for discourse, the artworks included in this exhibition bring new ideas to familiar subjects. Explore the complexities of food through a lens that merges the edible with artistic integrity, showcasing that some of the most simple and familiar things can hold hidden and elaborate meanings.
Image Credit: Eriko Kobayashi, Sunny Side Up, Borosilicate Glass and Flameworking, 2022.
More Than You Can Chew: Art Activities
See art, hear art, make art! Round out your visit to the Great Park Gallery exhibition, More Than You Can Chew, with these free, all-ages events. No advance registration is required to attend. Materials will be provided. Please note that all workshops are drop-in and self-guided; children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult.
Friendly Felt Fruit: Pop Art Soft Sculpture
Sunday, January 26, 2025, 1-3 p.m.
Palm Court Arts Complex
Craft your own soft sculpture of a friendly felt fruit! Investigate the structural properties of fabric and the aesthetics of produce while entering the wonderful world of sculpture—without stone and chisel. Popularized through the 1960’s Pop Art scene, soft sculpture uses techniques such as gluing, weaving, stuffing, or even draping to sculpt soft or pliant materials, like cloth and fiber, into three-dimensional artwork. Materials will be provided, although participants are encouraged to bring clean scrap fabric to upcycle into art! Appropriate for all skill levels and all-abilities friendly.
Wear California on Your Sleeve: DIY Button-making (Plus, Jazz in the Palm Court)
Saturday, February 15, 1-3 p.m.
Palm Court Arts Complex
Pin your art on your sleeve—with quintessential California taste! Cultural influences, agricultural conditions, and culinary innovation have helped to define a distinctive regional cuisine—and have fueled oh-so-Californian food trends that celebrate the diversity of the Golden State’s heritage. Make your own food tribute in this button-making activity. Pull from provided graphics—or draw your own—to create and customize your own micro-composition into wearable art, all while enjoying sounds of Jazz in the Palm Court from 1-3 p.m. Appropriate for all skill levels and all-abilities friendly.
Origami for Breakfast (Plus, Jazz in the Palm Court)
Saturday, April 19, 1-3 p.m.
Palm Court Arts Complex
Sit down for a plate of...origami! Make yourself some paper breakfast in this self-guided, origami open workshop. Instructions for simple origami will be provided. While you are here, enjoy the sounds of Jazz in the Palm Court from 1-3 p.m. Appropriate for all skill levels and all-abilities friendly.
The Great Park Studio is a creative flex space that offers camps and classes, special events, and private rentals. Studio camps and classes cover educational topics such as chess, engineering, science, and more. All current camps and classes can be viewed at yourirvine.org, or browse the current digital edition of Inside Irvine. Special events include enhancement activities that compliment Great Park Gallery exhibitions. Information regarding private rentals at the Studio and Great Park can be viewed here.
Thursdays & Fridays: Noon–4 p.m.
Saturdays & Sundays: 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Free Admission
*Great Park’s Hangar 244 is subject to closures due to private event rentals and/or larger city-wide events. For building closure status, please call 949-724-6599.
In 1993, Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro was designated for closing by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission and all of its activities were to be transferred to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. The station officially closed on July 2, 1999.
Since 2002, the Legacy Project has documented the transformation of the former Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro into the Orange County Great Park. They have created more than 200,000 images and famously turned a giant jet hangar into the world’s largest camera and used it to take the world’s largest picture.
These photos capture the Flying Bull insignia around the military base and its buildings.
A Guide to Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro is a documentary about the history of the region.
This 9-minute archive will take you on a retrospective journey from the early days of the Irvine family’s prodigious ranching and agricultural projects, to the coming of World War II and the subsequent arrival of Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro.
The film screens every 20 minutes in the History Room hallway of Hangar 244.
The Flying Bull
In 1943 Walt Disney designed the El Toro Flying Bull logo for Marine Corps Air Station El Toro. Walt Disney Productions created approximately 1,200 designs during World War II for both American and Allied military units. In 1993, Marine Corps Air Station El Toro was designated for closing by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission and all of its activities were to be transferred to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. The station officially closed on July 2, 1999. These photos, captured by the Legacy Project, document the Flying Bull insignia in various locations of MCAS El Toro.
Opening El Toro
Construction of Marine Corps Air Station El Toro began on August 3, 1942 on land previously owned by the Irvine Company. The runways and taxiways were completed by December 1, 1942 and all squadron hangars were complete by January 15, 1943. These photos, taken by Bob Blankman, a history archivist and member of the first unit stationed at El Toro, capture the building of the base.
Coordinates
Since 2002, the Legacy Project has documented the transformation of the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro into the Orange County Great Park. They have created over 200,000 images and famously turned a giant jet hangar into the world’s largest camera and used it to take the world’s largest picture. This photography collection showcases 18 former MCAS El Toro buildings and sites, accompanied by a large-scale historic map of the base highlighting the coordinates and building numbers represented in each photo. The Legacy Project is comprised of artists Mark Chamberlain, Clayton Spada, Jacques Garnier, Robert Johnson, and Douglas McCulloh.
Life on the Base: MCAS El Toro
The day to day for El Toro service members included the expected activities of life on a military base, however their free time and recreational activities were fun, diverse and similar to Great Park visitors today. The images on display, courtesy of the First American OC Historical Photo Archive and the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum, capture life in the early days of MCAS El Toro. Originally exhibited in the 2023 Great Park Gallery exhibition Life on the Base: MCAS El Toro curated by Cynthia Castaneda.
Pilot Maker: Planes from MCAS El Toro
On display in and around Hangar 244 are two World War II era training planes––a N3N-3 Canary and a SNJ-5 Texan. Both aircraft were used as training planes for service members of MCAS El Toro, while the Texan was used for military operations during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, as well as in numerous other conflicts around the world.
