The theme for Art Museum Day 2018 is Hyperconnected Museums, a recognition of the many ways in which museums serve as central points of connectivity within their communities, both online and in person. Art museums are often anchors for public spaces and neighborhoods, and they partner with school systems and civic organizations in ways that make their towns, cities, and regions better places for everyone who lives and works there. Hyperconnected Museums also serve as engines for the creative economy, tapping the human creativity embedded in works of art—whether thousands of years old or as recent as 2018—to inspire new ideas and ways of thinking.

Laguna Art Museum provides a diverse range of exhibitions, educational programs, lectures, concerts, and films as a cultural and social center. In addition to free admission and the film screening on May 17, the museum opens for free during the monthly First Thursdays Art Walk in Laguna Beach and offers free annual memberships to college students.