Kellee Johnson

3 out of 5 stars★★★☆☆

Calling this an art "museum" is a streeeeetch. I'm not one to criticize art, and I can appreciate the offerings of classes, lectures, etc. However, to save others time, money, and effort, I have to leave an honest review about what is actually offered for anyone including this as a travel excursion. I had factored in 2-3 hours on our itinerary to explore the "museum", and we left in less than 20 minutes. I visited the area from a few hours away as a weekend trip with a friend. We were really excited to visit the art museum. The first thing I noticed is that the area gets sketchy in comparison to coming from St. Michael's, 20 minutes away, but the building has beautiful, tall glass doors that provide false optimism about what lies inside. You walk into the building. Nice entryway, with a lovely front desk girl, who was very polite. She explains that you can start in the room on the first floor and then head upstairs. We walk past what ends up being the actual only real installation, which is a series of strings nailed to the wall to mimic string instruments. Okay, that’s cool. Then we go into the one gallery room, where there are 20 or 30 pictures on the wall, as you would expect in an art gallery. The photos are very basic. That's okay. Art is subjective, so we think, "Oh, well, I'm sure something amazing must be waiting for us upstairs." We head upstairs, where we were greeted with a long hallway and, I kid you not, about five pieces of artwork. These include a ball of string named Medusa and multiple pieces of wood arranged in squares that mimicked what you would think if I ran to my car, ripped open an Amazon box, brought it inside, and nailed it to the wall. Laughable. I looked at my friend and said, "I think we're being punked." On the opposite side of this long hallway were several doors that you would think would lead to a gallery or unique installations. However, the rooms look like classrooms or storage. Nothing close to a “museum” and certainly nothing to look at or study. We looked around and made sure we weren't missing anything and left. To think that this is advertised as a museum is, at best, laughable, at worst, a fraud. All I could think about was the amount of taxpayer money that is going into keeping this building going. If you called it an art center, a community center, I would think that was a stretch, but at least it would better reflect a building where some art classes take place sometimes. To call this a museum is a misrepresentation. While it's great that it's free of charge, it honestly feels more like they should have paid us for the wasted time and gas money we spent to get there. The absurdity of the experience became a highlight of the trip, so I’m not steering you away if you’re looking for some comic relief or have free time without expectations. But if you desire an actual cultural experience, you’re better off skipping.

Tamara Wolfe

5 out of 5 stars★★★★★

Beautiful exhibition. Staff were so welcoming! I didn't take pictures of the KIN exhibit it was spiritual it was so moving. The book was available to take home. As a genealogist it speaks so much to me.

Nicole Montgomery

5 out of 5 stars★★★★★

Rented space for my daughter's 9th birthday party. Fabulous staff, nice space, fun activity, low-stress party! Big hit with the kids and their parents! A real find! I can't comment on the rest of the building as it was under renovation at that time, but I'm sure had it been complete it would have been a nice bonus to our event. A talented artist artists named Theresa guided the kids on painting the subject matter of the birthday girl's choosing. She made it easy to follow, there were plenty of materials on hand, and she was excellent with the kids. I hadn't even known this space was available to rent for an event and I am so glad someone told me! We had a fabulous time. The staff and coordinators were very in touch for planning and questions and were extremely accommodating. There was a deposit for renting the space and then I think it was $5 per person who would be painting (for the materials). They gave them real canvas to use, painters pencils, provided paint brush and paints, and smocks as well. They also provided space for food setup, provided the flatware, and did the cleanup. We had to provide food but they had a small fridge and freezer for cake and ice cream storage. When some of the kids were done with their painting and the others were not she provided paper and things for freestyle drawing to occupy the kids while the others finished up without any cost. So worth it!

Elissa H

4 out of 5 stars★★★★☆

BLUF: I recommend. The parking is all street parking. I do NOT recommend bringing walking babies, toddlers, or kindergarten aged kids here. There are too many temptations to touch things that are NOT touchable. Parents save your sanity and leave young kids with a babysitter! I had a wonderful time going through this smaller but packed art museum. My husband and kids were bored after running through it HOWEVER they aren't ones to stop and stare at art. For anyone looking for a unique place to hold a wedding or mature birthday party and NOT decorating, this would be a very good place, except for the street parking. It's a big issue to me. LoL If you plan to take your kids and they aren't big art fans, I'd check the website to see when the museum is offering kid friendly classes. That may make the trip a bit more enjoyable for them. I know my kids wouldn't mind coming back but only if they can touch something or do an art class. Bottom line, I recommend.

Steve McCoy

5 out of 5 stars★★★★★

Very cool small (and admission free!) museum. Exhibits change frequently so always worth a visit!