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Museum of Art History Exhibition Regeneraciãƒâ³n Santa Cruz Museum of Art History September 6

Bullock Texas State History Museum
Photo: Courtesy Bullock Texas State History Museum

The 10 best Austin museums

Swoop into history and fine art with the all-time Austin museums, from Bob Bullock museum to great Austin art spaces

When it comes to things to practise in Austin, information technology'southward often the killer bars and the best BBQ in Austin that will be pinnacle of mind. But the city is a culture-devourer's delight equally much as it is a playland for foodies and revelers, and the best Austin museums are among the meridian institutions in the country. Whether y'all're looking to take a deep plunge into Texas's history at the Bob Bullock museum or you're upwards for an exploration of pop civilization, there is something for you. And bonus if you brought the petty ones: Some of these bang-up venues feature fun interactive exhibits that brand them among the best things to do in Austin with kids.

All-time Austin museums

one. Blanton Museum of Art

As i of the "foremost university fine art museums in the country … [with] 1 of the largest and most comprehensive" permanent collections of fine art in Central Texas—more than 17,000 works—the Blanton, located well-nigh the iconic UT Tower on the Longhorns' campus, is the spot for museum aficionados (whether local or visiting) in ATX. Not to get besides cliché, but there literally is something for every type of art lover: dazzling interactive installations; a plethora of European, Latin American and Contemporary American paintings; rotating temporary exhibitions (we're getting ane on Andy Warhol'southward ofttimes-overlooked volume fine art in October 2016); and, of course, the massive and immersive "Stacked Waters" slice, a permanent installation past large-scale sculptor Teresita Fernández that encases the museum's unabridged fundamental atrium with an awe-inspiring underwater illusion. With more than than 124,000 square anxiety to explore, the Blanton is one of those museums that 1 tin visit over and over, week after week, twelvemonth after year, and always find more hidden gems to adore and acquire from.

two. Southward Austin Museum of Popular Culture

If yous're lucky plenty to encounter 'em, native Austinites are always ready to hand down insider tidbits of the city's music history past relating countless oral tales, just there's something peculiarly compelling about gleaning details of the city's golden era of music via physical creative works. For that, yous'll desire to make a trip to the South Austin Museum of Pop Culture, which specializes in collecting and displaying music posters dating from the 1960s to present. The gallery also regularly exhibits photography, painting, clips from publications, motion picture/video and other ephemera chronicling the Live Music Capital of the Earth's sonic history. Different aesthetically like pieces at the Mondo Gallery, these works—which since 2004 have grown into an archive of more than iii,000 objects plus up of 10,000 images, photographs, audio and video files—aren't for sale. But information technology's a certified non-profit contributing tens of thousands to the local economic system, so y'all tin can always feel skilful about making a donation while satiating your music-related art fix.

3. Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum

One quality that makes Austin so special is its dedication to preserving dark-green spaces while building upward its bustling metropolis around them. One of those many essential spots is the Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum, located south of the river at the edge of the Barton Hills neighborhood. With rotating exhibitions in its museum space and four acres of beautifully maintained gardens, ponds and dozens of bronze and stone sculptures donated by notable co-namesake Charles Umlauf (his wife Angeline planted the initial flora), anyone looking for a genuine ATX art-meets-nature experience should go far a signal to pop in before or after exploring side by side Zilker Park and Barton Springs Pool. Information technology'due south a perfect spot for an afternoon picnic and/or open-air nap.

4. Harry Ransom Eye

The mission argument of this humanities research library and museum located at the heart of UT Campus reads: "encourages discovery, inspires creativity, and advances understanding of the humanities for a broad and diverse audience through the preservation and sharing of its extraordinary collections." Information technology'due south a mission that has been handily achieved since opening in 1957 via 36 one thousand thousand literary manuscripts, 1 meg rare books, 5 million photographs and more than 100,000 artistic works. A simpler style of putting that mission: the gratis (that'due south right, free) institution is defended to keeping Austin weird by promoting arts of all sorts. Permanent exhibitions include the Gutenberg Bible (1 of v complete copies in the U.S!) and the First Photograph (developed on a pewter plate for a full eight hours by Joseph Nicephore Niepce in mid-19th-century French republic!!), and past showings comprised pieces ranging from the whimsical artwork of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to photographer Eli Reed's intense The Lost Boys of Sudan. Fair warning: the galleries volition be temporarily closed through August 14, 2016 to upgrade the lighting system. In other words, don't miss these works looking more bright than e'er earlier nether state-of-the-art illumination in the near future.

5. The Contemporary Austin

With the Contemporary Austin, there'due south more than meets eye. For starters, it's one establishment with 2 locations: The Jones Center downtown, and the 14-acre Laguna Gloria site merely a fleck further northwest. The quondam is airtight until November 2016 for renovations, but typically hosts various gimmicky exhibits and the building itself—outfitted with a projector screen visible from the street at night—functions as a standalone architectural installation piece. The latter houses an art school, the installation-ready Gatehouse Gallery and the recently expanded Betty and Marcus Sculpture Park, which to appointment has featured pieces by many acclaimed artists including John Grade, Charles Long, Paul McCarthy, Jim Lambie and Monika Sosnowska, amidst others. If you're looking to explore an authentic link between "contemporary fine art and the fabric of [Austin] city life" with roots dating back more than a century, the Contemporary belongs near the top of your listing.

6. Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum

What'due south so special about a library full of the 36th POTUS'due south things? It's not just any hodgepodge drove; the 30-acre site and its ten-story building located side by side to the football stadium on UT Campus houses and displays more than 54,000 objects from all over the world—ranging from Middle Eastern antiquities to Oval Part furniture—donated by the President and Mrs. (Lady Bird) Johnson, their friends and assembly. Aslope an additional 45 million pages of documents, 650,000 photos and 5,000 recordings, the collection doesn't just portray a presidency, information technology provides a detailed snapshot of U.S. culture and politics in the 1960s. If you're planning a visit, make sure to bank check the website for special exhibitions—the contempo "Ladies and Gentlemen … the Beatles!" run was a smash for history and music buffs akin!

7. Bullock Texas History Museum

Austinites are proud people, but Texans every bit a larger grouping are even prouder. Case-in-indicate: the Bob Bullock Texas Country History Museum, where iii floors of the Lonely Star Land'south history—the Story of Texas, as they phone call information technology—come up to life with a plethora of continually updated artifacts ranging in scope from the 17th-century French shipwreck La Belle, to the Civil War and surrounding eras, to the Golden Age of NASA's mission control operations out of Houston. Depending on when you're in boondocks, you lot might also catch Costless Offset Sundays (free admission every get-go Sunday of the month), Music Under the Stars (free outdoor concerts in July) or Spooktacular (an annual Halloween-themed science issue). And if you need a relaxing pause afterwards cramming your brain with all that Texas lore, there's always a variety of feature films showing in the fastened IMAX theater. With its close proximity to the State Capitol edifice and UT Campus, the Bob Bullock museum makes for a no-brainer tour add together-on.

eight. Mexic-Arte Museum

If you've been to Austin, you lot've probably tasted the Tex-Mex (if not, what the heck were you doing?!), only there'due south so much more to know about the capital metropolis's connection to Mexican, Latino and Latin American art and civilization, both historical and contemporary. The best place to offset: downtown's Mexic-Arte museum, where celebrating that deep-seated link—through exhibitions spanning photography, painting, sculpture and generally every artistic medium imaginable, depending on the creative person and era—is largely the goal. The museum hosts about 75,000 visitors per year—if you're in the area, make sure y'all're one of 'em!

9. Mondo

If you're all virtually pop-culture collectibles, visiting Mondo Gallery is a must for your ATX museum calendar. Located just north of University of Texas campus, Mondo creates and displays express-edition screen-printed posters for handpicked classic and contemporary films, TV shows and comics, its ain versions of vinyl movie soundtracks (oh, you don't have that clear, 180-gram Back to the Future II score?), VHS re-issues, plus various toys and wearing apparel. Better yet, most of these items, often part of temporary exhibits that run a few weeks at a fourth dimension, are for sale. Can't make upwardly your mind most a purchase on the spot? No worries—their website stocks most of these treasures (while supplies last).

Thinkery

10. Thinkery

Sure, the centrally located Thinkery is technically a destination for the immature'uns—there are endless hours' worth of interactive science-steeped exhibits to explore on each visit. But the fun extends to the adult world, too: Approximately every half-dozen weeks, the museum closes its door to kids for 1 night and opens upwardly exclusively for patrons ages 21 and up to eat and drink (yeah, they have alcoholic libations at a greenbacks bar) while exploring dissimilar science- and/or fine art-related programs each fourth dimension. Past sessions included "Murder in the Museum" (a Clue-similar workshop with a forensics focus), "Come to Your Senses" (an exploration of the human senses), and "Science of Sex (you get the idea). More info on specific dates/times is available at thinkeryaustin.org. Lesser line: In the spirit of Austin's dedication to diverseness and compassionate inclusion, the Thinkery offers fascinating hands-on adventures for people of all ages and stripes, all the fourth dimension!

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Source: https://www.timeout.com/austin/things-to-do/best-austin-museums

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