LACMA Extends Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs Exhibition Through November 20

    LOS ANGELES, Nov. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The touring exhibition, Tutankhamun
 and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs will extend its run at the Los Angeles
 County Museum of Art (LACMA) through November 20, 2005 to accommodate the
 overwhelming demand for tickets.  The exhibition, which is organized by
 National Geographic, AEG Exhibitions and Arts and Exhibitions International,
 with cooperation from the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, and
 sponsored by Northern Trust, was originally scheduled to close on November 15,
 2005.
     "It is a privilege to have the King Tut exhibition here in Los Angeles,"
 said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.  "Los Angeles is home to some of the most
 unique and beautiful cultures.  It is only fitting that such a unique
 exhibition comes to such a unique city."
     With more than 850,000 tickets sold since the exhibition opened on
 June 16, 2005, Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs has become the
 second most popular exhibition in LACMA's history, exceeded only by the 1978
 visit of Treasures of Tutankhamun.
     "LACMA has enjoyed the opportunity to reach a fantastic new audience
 through the exhibition, Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs," said
 LACMA President Melody Kanschat.  "Forty-three percent of King Tut visitors
 had not been to the museum previously and 24% visited more than two years ago.
 We continue to welcome viewers both fresh and familiar during King Tut's
 extended stay."
     "We are very excited that the first tour stop has been such a success.  We
 look forward to the extension as a way for even more Californians to see this
 priceless exhibition," said William A. Osborn of Northern Trust Corporation,
 presenting sponsor of the exhibition.
     Exhibition tickets are available every day beginning at 8 a.m. through
 November 20, and there are extended viewing hours every evening.  To assist
 patrons in the ticketing process, a real-time ticket availability calendar is
 available at www.KingTut.org, which helps purchasers find the next available
 time slot.
 
     TICKET AND TOUR INFORMATION
     Visitors to Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs can view more
 than 130 artifacts from the tombs of King Tut, several of his relatives and
 his 18th Dynasty (1555 B.C. to 1305 B.C.) contemporaries.  All of the
 treasures in the exhibition are between 3,300 and 3,500 years old.
     After the exhibition ends its run in Los Angeles on November 20, 2005, it
 will travel to the Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale (opens December 15, 2005);
 The Field Museum, Chicago (opens May 26, 2006) and The Franklin Institute,
 Philadelphia (opens February 3, 2007).
     Treasures from Tutankhamun's tomb were last displayed in the United States
 during a seven-city tour from 1976 to 1979, which included LACMA and The Field
 Museum and set traveling exhibition attendance records with some eight million
 visitors.
     Tickets to Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs are still
 available for many fall dates.  School group rates start at $6, and individual
 tickets range from $15 to $30.  Exhibition hours begin at 8 a.m. seven days a
 week, with extended hours every evening. A children's activity center ("The
 Pharaoh's World") is available free of charge to all LACMA visitors during the
 exhibition's run.  For information on tickets, please call 1-877-TUT-TKTS or
 1-866-LAGROUP, or visit www.ticketmaster.com or www.KingTut.org.  For more
 information on the exhibition, please visit www.nationalgeographic.com/tut or
 www.KingTut.org or www.lacma.org.
 
     ABOUT LACMA
     The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, LACMA, is the premiere encyclopedic
 visual arts museum in the western United States.  Established in 1965 as an
 independent institution, the museum has assembled a collection of
 approximately 100,000 works from around the world spanning the history of art
 from ancient times to the present.  Through its far-reaching collections and
 extensive public programming, the museum is both a resource to and a
 reflection of Southern California's many cultural communities and heritages.
 The museum draws hundreds of thousands of visitors annually and has more than
 75,000 members.  It is accredited through the American Association of Museums.
     Location: LACMA is located at 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA
 90036.  Pay parking is available in the lots at Wilshire Boulevard and
 Spaulding Avenue, and on Ogden Drive.
 
      CONTACT:
      Laura Calliari, GolinHarris
      213-623-4200 ext. 774
      lcalliari@golinharris.com
 
 

SOURCE  AEG Exhibitions