Culture
Free Your Mind: The Top Free Art Museums And Galleries
introA visit to at least one exhibition is a must for travelling art aficionados, but some of the world’s most famous art institutions aren’t all that affordable. These excellent free art museums and galleries allow you to tick off the culture vulture part of your itinerary, even if you’re on a budget.
0/15
Culture
Free Your Mind: The Top Free Art Museums And Galleries.
v&aVictoria and Albert Museum, London – Not only one of the best free museums, but for many people THE best museum in the world, full stop. The V&A is home to a gigantic collection of decorative art and design, and it’s completely free to view the permanent collection of over 2.3 million objects representing the very best of architecture, fashion, jewellery, ceramics, sculpture and many more art and design disciplines. However, beware the fabulous museum shop – or you’ll end up spending more than you saved. vam.ac.uk [Photo: Randy Connolly/Flickr]
1/15
Culture
Free Your Mind: The Top Free Art Museums And Galleries.
tateTate Modern, London – So many of London’s art museums are free, it’s impossible to choose just one. The modern and contemporary collections of the venerable Tate Britain are presented in the awe-inspiring former Bankside Power Station. The industrial grandeur of its turbine hall was preserved and today provides space for some of the most memorable large-scale sculptures and site-specific installations ever seen. It can be visited free of charge, and the same goes for the Tanks performance art spaces and the permanent collection, presented in adjacent galleries. tate.org.uk [Photo © Iwan Baan]
2/15
Culture
Free Your Mind: The Top Free Art Museums And Galleries.
parisMusée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris – The most popular museums in Paris only offer free entry at certain times (after 6pm at the Musée des Arts et Métiers) or on certain days (first Sunday of the month at Centre Pompidou and the Musée d’Orsay, Bastille Day at the Louvre), but the city of Paris’s Museum of Modern Art is always free – and always worth a visit. Housed in a wing of the Palais de Tokyo, between the Champs-Elysées and the Eiffel Tower, it presents an excellent overview of 20th-– and 21st-century art. mam.paris.fr
3/15
Culture
Free Your Mind: The Top Free Art Museums And Galleries.
romeLa Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano, Rome – Saint Peter’s Basilica isn’t really a museum; to some visitors, the papal basilica is a place of pilgrimage, but to many others, the main attraction are the works of art adorning the awe-inspiring domed structure, particularly Michelangelo’s touching Pietà sculpture. Daily Mass is still held there, but for all intents and purposes, it serves as a museum the rest of the time. All other Vatican museums, including the Sistine Chapel, are free on the last Sunday of the month. vaticanstate.va
4/15
Culture
Free Your Mind: The Top Free Art Museums And Galleries.
madridJuan March Foundation, Madrid – The Spanish capital is home to two of the most famous museums in the world, but both the Reina Sofia Museum and the Prado Museum are only free at certain times. For an always-free art experience, head to this privately financed cultural centre. In its exhibition halls, libraries and events rooms, you will find a rotating programme of visual arts exhibitions, free concerts, talks and debates. The foundation also runs a museum in Cuenca, and another in Palma de Mallorca. march.es [Photo: Wikimedia Commons]
5/15
Culture
Free Your Mind: The Top Free Art Museums And Galleries.
metThe Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York – The world-famous Met, the largest museum in the USA and one of the most important art institutions in the world, doesn’t bill itself as a free museum. Instead there’s a suggested donation, which you probably should pay – but don’t have to if you can’t afford it. This system can theoretically get you into the main building and collections, including the Costume Institute at Met Fifth Avenue, the recently opened modern and contemporary collections at Met Breuer, and the fascinating mix of architectural elements and artwork from medieval European monasteries at Met Cloisters. metmuseum.org [Photo: Timothy Neesam/Flickr]
6/15
Culture
Free Your Mind: The Top Free Art Museums And Galleries.
the broadThe Broad, Los Angeles – LA’s newest contemporary art museum has been a crowd-pleaser ever since it opened in 2015 – and not just because it’s free. Showcasing 250 works of art from a private collection that numbers more than 2,000 significant pieces, in a landmark building contributing to the revitalisation of downtown Los Angeles in general and Grand Avenue in particular, the Broad is eye-catching both inside and out. Highlights include works by 20th-century American artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Jeff Koons, but the undisputed audience favourite is Yayoi Kusama’s dreamy Infinity Mirrored Room. thebroad.org
7/15
Culture
Free Your Mind: The Top Free Art Museums And Galleries.
sydneyMuseum of Contemporary Art, Sydney – We may be guilty of recommending a visit to Sydney’s MCA solely for the spectacular harbour view from its rooftop terrace, but the art inside is equally attractive. In fact, the duo of heritage sandstone building and modern extension – located on the site where the First Fleet landed, changing the history of the continent forever – is brimming with art most visitors will be unfamiliar with. 4,000 works by contemporary Australian creatives, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, are waiting to be discovered, free of charge. mca.com.au [Photo: roaming-the-planet/Flickr]
8/15
Culture
Free Your Mind: The Top Free Art Museums And Galleries.
white rabbitThe White Rabbit Gallery, Sydney – Elsewhere in Sydney, be prepared to fall down the rabbit hole at an idiosyncratic space dedicated entirely to Chinese art of the 21st century. The private collection from which the gallery draws encompasses around 2,000 works by over 500 artists and continues to grow. Much like Alice’s adventures in Wonderland, the visit is completely free – and you can even top it off with a little tea party at the White Rabbit Tea House with its truly impressive menu of Chinese and Taiwanese teas. whiterabbitcollection.org
9/15
Culture
Free Your Mind: The Top Free Art Museums And Galleries.
melbourneNational Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne – The oldest art gallery in Australia holds the region’s most significant collection of more than 70,000 works of art. General entry to both of NGV’s Melbourne sites is free. At NGV International, that means a vast permanent collection ranging from antiquities and old masters to celebrated works of modern European art, but also applied arts and design. At the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, it means Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian art from the colonial period to the present. ngv.vic.gov.au [Installation view of Yusuke Komuta’s “Color Unfolds” (2013). Photo by Nobutada Omote]
10/15
Culture
Free Your Mind: The Top Free Art Museums And Galleries.
power stationPower Station of Art, Shanghai – As its name would indicate, this former power station on the Huangpu River is now fuelling the local contemporary art scene. The industrial chimney atop the building now doubles as a giant thermometer, announcing the daily temperature to the city. Entry to the first state-operated museum of its kind for mainland China is free, except for the massively popular special exhibitions, often featuring loans from some of the most important museums on the world. From November, the PSA will host the 11th Shanghai Biennale. powerstationofart.org
11/15
Culture
Free Your Mind: The Top Free Art Museums And Galleries.
scanScai The Bathhouse, Tokyo – No prizes for guessing the former function this 200-year-old house once served. Today, it presents the work of Japanese artists alongside their contemporary international counterparts, serving as an important import-export hub of sorts. Although the plain white walls, concrete floors and natural skylight are reminiscent of art galleries the world over, several architectural details recall the building’s past. It’s not the only art gallery in the Yanaka district, either, so it’s worth exploring further to find more free art nearby. scaithebathhouse.com
12/15
Culture
Free Your Mind: The Top Free Art Museums And Galleries.
bogotaMuseos y Colecciones del Banco de la República, Bogotá – The museums showcasing the collection of the Bank of the Republic of Colombia are all free, but the biggest attraction for most visitors from abroad is the Museo Botero, located in an old mansion in the capital city. Although it wasn’t his home town, Colombian artist Fernando Botero donated more than 200 pieces of his own work and from his personal art collection to be exhibited here. That is why, in addition to Botero’s voluptuous painted or sculpted figures, the museum also features the likes of Picasso, Renoir and Matisse. banrepcultural.org [Photo: Luis Felipe Padilla Moreno/Flickr]
13/15
Culture
Free Your Mind: The Top Free Art Museums And Galleries.
chileMuseo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Santiago de Chile – The Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts (MNBA), the oldest museum of its kind in South America, is housed in the Palace of the Fine Arts, built to commemorate the centenary of Chilean independence. The entry fee was only recently abolished, in order to give more locals and visitors the opportunity to admire the collection of Chilean and South American Art on display in the Beaux-Arts palace. mnba.cl [Photo: Wikimedia Commons]
14/15
Culture
Free Your Mind: The Top Free Art Museums And Galleries.
poll15/15
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.