Jenny Yurshansky at Skirball – What We Carry Visit Guide

Jenny Yurshansky brings What We Carry to the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles on October 22, with free Thursday admission. The exhibition connects family heirlooms with immigration stories, pairing 3D-printed replicas of personal keepsakes with objects from the museum collection.

For an opening-day visit, the practical detail is the noon start. The museum’s weekday hours run from 12 to 5 p.m., with box-office check-in ending at 4.30 p.m. Free entry provides a useful opportunity, but it should still leave enough time to examine the work.

Jenny Yurshansky builds the exhibition from family objects

The official exhibition page describes workshops held at the Skirball between January and July 2026. Participants shared family histories and the keepsakes connected to them. Jenny Yurshansky gives those personal objects a place alongside institutional holdings.

Vicki Phung Smith organized the presentation as curator. Jenny Yurshansky draws on her own family’s experience as Soviet Jewish refugees. Born stateless in Rome after her parents fled Moldova, the artist approaches belonging through research and the objects people retain.

A replica creates a different encounter from an heirloom held in a drawer. It makes the form available while separating it from the private object itself. That distance raises a useful question for a visitor: how much meaning comes from an object’s shape, and how much arrives through its history?

Begin with one object rather than a general theme

Family history can become an abstraction when an exhibition presents many stories together. Start with one item and read its accompanying information. Notice its scale and the features that remain recognizable after reproduction.

For a shared visit, each person could choose one object before comparing notes. The selections may differ, which can make the conversation more useful than trying to agree on a single favorite at the start.

Then compare it with a neighboring museum object. The exhibition’s premise gives both kinds of material attention. A visitor can examine what changes when an everyday possession enters a setting normally used to preserve public collections.

This is a suggested way to look, rather than a claim about the exact sequence of the installation. The exhibition materials establish the pairing; an individual route can begin with whichever object holds attention long enough to invite a closer reading.

Thursday admission changes the cost of the visit

General admission normally costs $20. The published reduced rate is $15 for seniors, full-time students with ID and children aged 2–17. Members and children under 2 enter free, while Thursday admission is free to everyone.

October 22 falls on a Thursday, so opening day uses that free-entry policy. Reservations remain recommended. Free admission should not be read as a promise of unlimited capacity or a guarantee of access to every separately timed activity.

Choose the intended visit category before completing a booking. A general museum visit and an activity with its own time slot do not necessarily use the same reservation. That distinction matters particularly for families trying to fit several parts of the center into one afternoon.

Noah’s Ark requires its own timed entry

The visitor information distinguishes general exhibition access from boarding Noah’s Ark. The latter requires a separate timed ticket, which also includes general admission. Its published sessions last 90 minutes.

The Bloom Garden forms another part of the site’s visitor offer. Combining several activities can make sense, but the exhibition should not become a corridor between bookings. Keep a clear interval for What We Carry if it is the reason for traveling.

A family with younger children may prefer to book the timed activity first, then organize the exhibition visit around it. An adult visiting primarily for art may want the reverse. The same destination can support different afternoons without requiring one fixed itinerary.

Plan arrival around the actual museum hours

The Skirball sits at 2701 North Sepulveda Boulevard, with free parking listed by the center. That removes one cost, but it does not remove travel time. Check the route and expected arrival before choosing an entry window.

For opening Thursday, arriving close to noon leaves the full afternoon available. The weekend opens earlier, at 10 a.m., while closing time remains 5 p.m. The museum closes on Mondays and lists additional holiday closures on its visit page.

Those differences matter when carrying a plan beyond opening week. A saved itinerary should retain the day of the week as well as the date. Confirm the hours again before a later trip, especially around holidays.

Return to the first Jenny Yurshansky object that held your attention

The relationship between an object and its story may change after reading another family’s account. Return to the first item before leaving. A feature that initially seemed ordinary may now connect with a larger question about what people preserve.

There is no need to identify a universal meaning for every possession. A family object can remain specific to the people who kept it. The exhibition’s interest lies partly in allowing those differences to stand beside one another.

RUNWAY’s cultural travel coverage connects exhibitions with practical access and attentive looking. Here, free opening-day admission makes the first decision easy; the next is which object deserves more time. Our editorial background appears at About RUNWAY Magazine.