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Miami Art Museum
Category: Arts & Entertainment Museums Museums [Edit]
101 W Flagler StMiami, FL 33130
(305) 375-3000
- Hours:
Tue-Fri 10 am - 5 pm
Sat-Sun 12 pm - 5 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
29 reviews for Miami Art Museum
Review Highlights
"Just being in the place made me feel good (but probably the..."
(in 3 reviews)
"...is to attend the monthly happy hour known as JAM @ the MAM."
(in 2 reviews)
"...doubt quality exhibitions and I have enjoyed them very much."
(in 3 reviews)
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29 reviews in English
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Review from Jose S.
Miami, FL
7/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
Really enjoyed the art gallery, the permanent gallery is under construction. If your a Miami Dade College student your free w / ID!
Its a small museum but the awesome customer service by the staff is makes the place look huge!!, trust me they will help you all the way if have any questions about an art piece. -
Review from George M.
12/2/2011
Much like Joe Robbie Stadium
you wil always be
Miami Art Museum
just wished I like your collection more
but
Thanks for the Piggy Bank -
Review from Ricardo M.
Miami, FL
8/26/2011
As many others have mentioned, the museum is tiny. Outrageously so. The new space in Museum Park will alleviate the many issues of space. Until then, this is what we have. Their temporary exhibitions are without a doubt quality exhibitions and I have enjoyed them very much. They usually encompass most of the first floor or all of the first floor and tend to be extremely well curated. Their permanent exhibition, unfortunately, is sorely lacking. There's barely any works from artists that would be taught in any Modern Art 101 course, or any objects of substantial artistic significance, which is unacceptable considering this is our city's namesake museum. If the museum is to succeed in its new space, it desperately needs to build its permanent collection.
If you have a student ID, like myself, the museum is free and significantly raises the appeal of the museum. If not, try going on the second Saturday between 1 and 4 pm for free admission. Otherwise, you'll probably be disappointed.
FYI: The Miami Main Library across the courtyard from the museum has, if I am correct , the largest installation by pop artist Ed Ruscha along its walls. Look for the arches along the walls of the first and second floors for his work. Definitely worth a look if you're visiting. -
Review from Ines D.
2/8/2012
Sad excuse for a city museum. MAM is a battle of small town egos. The curatorial choices show no concern for the public and its education. What is purchased and exhibited reflects the collecting and aesthetic parameters of Miami's social climbers. Is there no political leadership that will introduce reforms?
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Review from Patsy K.
6/23/2011
The location is nice...not awesome, just nice because it is in the middle of downtown. so either you like it or you dont.
honestly I went because I saw online it is free for students...super plus! but the normal prices are meh, ok i guess. When we walked in the host the first thing she asked is if we had our student ID's...so that was a plus!
now the bad...When we walaked in the first bitch of a "security" told me to put my phone way! ummmm....i was putting my phone in silent to not bother anybody! and the rest of the visit to the museum me and my friend we felt really unconfortable beause security was really rude and stupid...trust me i know museum ettiquette. omg i felt like i was going to get detention!
the museum is kind of small but not in a bad way. i liked it. sometimes museums are too big...but MAM is just the perfect size. -
Review from Erin V.
Narragansett, RI
3/17/2011 1 Check-in Here
While this museum is small, they are in the process of relocating to a larger spot - and I can't wait to go back when they do!
Really great pieces, a wide, wide range of contemporary art in all different forms. I enjoyed this museum very much, and it is very inexpensive to get in (students get in free!)
One of my favorite things? In the gift shop, there is an art vending machine. You buy a token for $5, then put it in an old school cigarette machine, pick an artist, pull the lever, and get a little tiny (1.5x2 inches maybe?) piece of original art by a local artist. All proceeds go to the new location. Super fun!! -
Review from Sabrina M.
Miami, FL
1/23/2011 1 Check-in Here
I spent a nice day downtown and this was one of my stops. The exhibits are not extensive but at least you don't leave wishing you would have seen the rest.
I'm looking forward to checking out the new location next year. -
Review from Kelly H.
6/20/2011 1 Check-in Here
I am being generous with three stars.. But, also..I have been very spoiled with lots of free museums in DC. So, this was meh.. for me. Besides, the place was under construction..or remodel (whatever you want to call it). Not very wide collection of art works, and not too much local artists either. Lots and lots of homeless people hanging outside as well. So, if you don't have much time, you won't miss anything by skipping this place.
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Review from Min T.
Los Angeles, CA
4/28/2009
Eh, don't bother. Yes, the art inside was interesting but there was so little of it! For $8, I really would expect a much better museum. Fortunately, they have a $10 deal that allows you a joint ticket to it and the Historical Museum of Southern Florida next door.
The ground level had an Art-o-Matic machine but I couldn't get close enough to it with all the teenagers surrounding it. I suppose large bags are not allowed and they were waiting for their backpacks to be given back to them. The museum had dumped them all in front of the restrooms.
The ground floor also had a smallish gift shop. There were the usual high-end gifts and things to purchase. There were signs everywhere warning you not to touch anything though. I inquired about postcards of the current exhibitions and the sales clerk said they NEVER get any of that. The only thing you could buy from the current exhibitions would be the catalog book.
I tried to watch some of the film exhibits but they didn't catch my attention. I ended up going upstairs to look at the art which took about 20 or so minutes. Yeah, it was fun and my mind worked furiously thinking of how I could replicate some of the artwork (that is, if I ever wanted to).
No pictures allowed which is understandable.Listed in: Miami Heat
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Review from Whitney R.
Philadelphia, PA
9/9/2009
MAM is a great place to see some very cool and contemporary art. They have a few installations, and there is a reoccurring theme throughout the top floor. Not only is there video art, but sculpture and paintings, some photography. Take the time to sit and watch the videos then you will really appreciate them.
My favorite place is the children's room, where you can make your own art with different colored tape and pencils. Also if you are an art neophyte, you can see a simple video about composition, idea and structure!
I have never been to the JAM at MAM but it sounds awesome. Also if you are a Bank of America customer the MAM is free the first weekend of every month!Listed in: Where to meet for "we met on…
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Review from Larry M.
Austin, TX
4/19/2007
When I attended the University of Miami as a fledgling pre-architecture student with no wheels, hopping on the MetroRail at school (which then, unfortunately NOBODY used), which let me off right at the museum (travel time 18 minutes and cost then, $1), I found solace from being young and dumb and a hick so far from home.
Philip Johnson designed the space, and it's not so much his stance on Post Modern architecture but his choice to create the most soothing long linear fountain that made me forget my woes and focus on the testament to creativity. I'd lay back on the wall of the fountain, stare at the shadows created by the building and go to another place.
A wonderful reprieve in the middle of the city. -
Review from Ranel C.
Fort Lauderdale, FL
6/5/2011
This place was ok. I've mentioned before the museums in NY and maybe I'm a fool for making comparisons but they are my point of reference. However, on a recent trip to the Dallas museum, I saw that I wasn't crazy because theirs is excellent. The Miami Museum is very small and has limited art. They focus a lot on local art which is cool, but you need to compliment that with art from around the world. The problem is the space is too small. Hopefully when they open the new one it will solve this problem. Because honestly, if this is the preeminent museum in Miami (it has the city's name after all) then it is not representative of the art scene here.
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Review from Annette E.
Orlando, FL
7/25/2010 1 Check-in Here
Although it is not quite as large and doesn't have a very extensive permanent collection as other big city museums the MAM gets points for the unique collections it does bring in. This past week I saw a cool exhibit of Miami-based artists of the more abstract persuasion. We were able to tour the whole museum and the gift shop within an hour and a half.
Also, If you are a student, bring that ID because you get in free! -
Review from Christina V.
Hialeah, FL
4/8/2010
Sadly the one reason for anyone coming to the MAM more then once a year was taken away. I was saddened when I found out that the JAM at MAM was over. Not only was it an amazing deal but it got people out and more importantly, into the museum. Though I wont lie... 4 out of 5 times I never actually set foot inside. lol
The actual museum isnt really anything to write home about. The exhibits dont change very often so you could really just pop in tomorrow and know everything about the place for a year or so. I know that had there not been a JAM I would have never entered the MAM. -
Review from Kristen P.
Alexandria, VA
3/5/2010
I walked into MAM this morning on my downtown stroll -- and was pleasantly surprised.
A few of the exhibits were under construction but the open exhibits were great. I loved the variety of forms and the themes for every room. Most of the pieces are really cool, innovative and thought-provoking.
If you're a student and are in the downtown area, you need to stop in and check out MAM (you get free admission!). -
Review from Adriana D.
Miami, FL
5/22/2009
It had been a few months since I'd made it out to JAM and it seems everyone else decided to come back along with me. This was one of the most populated JAMs I've been to and that, paired with the mugginess and rain, and the fact that MAM did not stock up adequately for the turnout, well, made for an interesting time.
The art, on the other hand, I enjoyed more then most prior JAM's I've been too. Very diverse and varied with a mix of sculpture, video installations, photography, (and some very strange loose leaf paper watercolor dodads), it kept things interesting and balanced - whereas previously they've had too much of one thing or the other. One of the things I like most about MAM is the fact that they change things up fairly often making it worthwhile to come every couple of months at least.
I love MAM and I think JAM is a great way to get people out and exposed to a bit more culture. At $10 for entry and a donation bar (which most people ignore), it's definitely worth the cost of admission...if, however, you plan on going more than a couple of times a year, you should look into membership because it's more affordable then you think (and helps support arts in the city!) -
Review from Jordan N.
2/10/2006
This place is located in a huge plaza that has outdoor al fresco tables, a cafe, Miami's large downtown library, and the historical museum of South Florida. The MetroRail station was also just a block away. Just being in the place made me feel good (but probably the nice weather helped).
As for their exhibits, I wasn't very impressed. The work of art here were the unconventional kinds, but it didn't impress me. Hopefully when they move to a bigger location, the exhibitions would also be better.
The thing that really holds it up at four stars were the student exhibitions I saw showcasing the talents of the high school students in Miami's Architecture and Design school. Their talent blew me out of my mind, it was great!
Oh, and on Sundays it's free. -
Review from Stumbalina b.
San Francisco, CA
2/7/2009
You won't need to set aside much time to visit this museum. For an art museum in the downtown "cultural center" of a large city, I was sadly disappointed. There were only 3 exhibits, one of which was a high school student art show. There was some good work there, but it didn't seem to be a fitting environment.
I saw a film exhibit upstairs. Some of the volumes to the sound pieces were turned up so high that you could hear them through the walls in adjacent rooms, which was jarring when the collision occurred during films with ambient noise or silence. The $10 entrance fee is a bit steep for what the museum has to offer, but the air conditioning is pretty good. My visit lasted only two hours, and much of that time was spent seated watching long films. -
Review from Emily V.
Miami, FL
5/16/2009 2 photos
I fully took advantage of International Museum Day. I was able to get into this museum and the historical museum next door for free. Parking was a flat rate of $5 in the Cultural Center Parking Garage so we just walked over the bridge to the museums.
I have only been in the museum once prior to this time, but it was so long ago I didn't remember anything.
So, some of the pieces were strange and I didn't understand where the artist was coming from. There was a collection upstairs on different faiths, and though I am not very religious, I decided to check it out anyway.
I really, really enjoyed all the pieces from this collection. I truly thought it made you see the artist's point of view and what their beliefs are. I was surprised to see there were so many about African deities and how they were incorporated into Western beliefs. It was just truly a great collection.
The funny thing is I went with my boyfriend who HATES museums. He went to both and really liked them. -
Review from Mark N.
Absecon, NJ
1/29/2011
This is a rather small art museum for such a large, cosmopolitan,world class city as Miami , but I really like the collection and the focus on very contemporary stuff and also the focus on Latin American artists that comes from this being Miami.. Easy to get to via the free train that goes around downtown area (Metromover), which you can connect to from Metrorail if convenient, and combine with visits to other points of interest.. I visited in Nov 2010. Apparently a much bigger, fancier museum will open in 2013, assuming their funding stays on track. But in any case, the current museum was very interesting for me, and I will be coming back to the MAM when next in Miami.
Listed in: cool places in Peninsular…
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Review from Aaron Z.
San Francisco, CA
1/15/2009
Where to start on the MAM??....Here goes....
The Miami Art Museum itself is a nice museum. I've been going regularly for about a year, and have seen all special exhibitions displayed in that time. It's not the MoMA or the Louvre or any other internationally recognized museum. It's a small, decent, cheap museum, which for Miami, is still saying a lot.
What makes this place great isn't the art. It's all the free booze!!! It's insane. I don't think I've ever been there without a Grolsch in my hand. JAM @ MAM (3rd Thurs of the month) is great, but it only starts there. Film fests, lectures, guest speakers, new paintings....whatever the reason, they're throwing beer at you. Become a member. Soooo worth it. -
Review from Martin O.
12/7/2007
The Killing Machine exhibit is described as phantasmagorical or hallucinatory. I thought it reminded me of themes from Silence of the Lambs to The Last Picture Show. If you liked either of those movies, then you might want to check out this exchibit at the Miami Art Musuem across from the Miami Library in downtown Miami.
The Miami Art Museum plans to eventually relocate to a newly constructed building on the water between the American Airlines Arena and the Carnival Performing Arts Center. This will be great for the downtown Miami area! -
Review from Michelle G.
WALL STREET, NY
1/14/2009
I have been a member of the museum for about two years now and have really enjoyed it. They have a monthly happy hour called the Jam at the MAM where the fresh out of work can enjoy a bit of art, drinks, snacks and music from 5-8:30pm. Actually it is a great mix of young, old, professional, students and full time art enthusiast. The art is rotating about every couple months so you get to see a little peek into something new and different often.
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Review from barry i.
North Lauderdale, FL
5/16/2011
A few days ago,I revisited this art museum that emphasizes second half of the Twentieth Century Art and Contemporary Art.i saw a nice selection of works from their permanent collection,including paintings by;Kehinde Wiley,Frank Stella,Adolph Gottlieb,Helen Frankenthaler,and Gene Davis.I also saw fine creations by;Henry Bertoia,Mark Boulos(video-"All That is Solid Melts")and Joseph Cornell.I appreciated their "Wilderness"exhibit with fine creations by;Fernando Ortega("Hummingbird") and David Brooks("Stillife With Stampede and Guano").Although limited in scope,I like this art museum very much and appreciate the pride the staff takes in this art museum.The"Wilderness"exhibit ends on June 26,2011.
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Review from Shawn W.
Atlanta, GA
12/30/2008
"Is it art or not?" If it is worth the price of admission to you to confront this question, by all means pencil the Miami Art Museum into your calendar. I find the question "Is it GOOD art or not?" far better. As I walked through the museum yesterday, I thought about what other reviewers had written and wondered aloud if I was in the right museum. The collection I viewed here is so anti-commercial it cannot possibly be of general interest to the public, so attendance is s-p-a-r-s-e. What we saw was far, far too abstract for kids on field trips, for example, and probably for 95% of commercial galleries I have visited (i.e., galleries selling investment quality art, or pieces to be displayed at home or in office, and paid for with the buyer's own money).
This very nice-looking and well-located museum has a small collection of highly conceptual pieces. Most of what we viewed fell into the "emperor's new clothes" category. We viewed all the still pieces in about 15-20 minutes. Form your own opinion by checking the museum website before you plunk down your $8.00 pp admission.
One piece was a collection of used FedEx boxes concentrated in the center of the gallery in a stack on the floor. Another artist had a glass-encased ledger of the monetary value of all the elements (minerals) in his body in pounds sterling and next to it, the preposterous figure of "L12,499.11" written in large black letters nearby on the white wall. Elsewhere in another gallery were several headless mannequins seated on bicycles, sporting African-appearing clothes. In one corner of a gallery was huge a pile of white wrapped candies; museum patrons being allowed one for the taking (they were mints). Cater-corner was a pile of silver plated grains of rice; these and the candy were the works of two separate artists. My impression was that the creators of at least three or four of these still pieces were lazy and had to spend more of their time explaining the relevance of their work afterwards, or its connection to a "theme" than on execution. We saw only one painting/collage, which required substantial work.
The most concrete pieces in the museum were photographs (such as a series of black and white photos of a strip mine--the photos were printed using the mined material). Of the still pieces we looked at, the photos were the most easily explained.
Upstairs was a series of short films we weren't in the mood for; one was a multi-channel video of four young women smoking cigarettes, running simultaneously, in film noirish settings. Though this was somewhat amusing, I asked myself if I was being put on. (Hope no field trips are scheduled for awhile!)
Conceierge was friendly and helpful; she validated our parking ticket, saving us $6.00, gave us a restaurant tip that turned out to be great,
and sold us a deeply-discounted admission to the historical and anthropological museum next door. Staff, four stars; collection, one
star. -
Review from Dan B.
12/16/2007
I took the metro rail to get down here. It was a very fun experience. I'm by no means an art expert, but I know what I like. I had fun here and enjoyed the classy art. The architecture of the building was unique and postmodern. I saw the Killing Machine exhibit and it made me feel extremely surreal. I would like to go back for sure.
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Review from Mark M.
Burlington, VT
1/30/2009
this museum will soon be located in museum park/bicentenial park on biscayne bay. it will be located in a building by the Basel-based archtiectural firm of Herzog & De Meuron. If you are not familiar with their work they designed the Olympic Stadium (Bird's Nest) at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games. they also did the DeYong Museum in Golden Gate Park in SFO, a bunch of projects in Europe, a condo tower in NYC and a parking garage in SoBe.
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Review from Eddy D.
9/18/2008
This is slightly bias since I am a member to the museum. The exhibits do change from time to time. The shadows and illusions exhibit up right not is one of the more mind provoking collections. The room with the green lazars is very cool, they used to let you walk through them but just like with anything, you give people space to make bad decisions and away they go. The main reason I am a member of the museum is to attend the monthly happy hour known as JAM @ the MAM. This has become a huge event with hundreds of guests and always a good time. There's a $10 charge for nonmembers, but if you plan on attending often I would recommend becoming a member. There are 2 donation bars to lighten bar traffic and usually decent catering. If you want to get some food you'll need to keep your eyes peeled for the folks bringing the food from across the courtyard. It's a cool young atmosphere with a wide variety of regulars. As for parking I'm not sure I work in the area and just take the metro mover to Government Center which is reachable by every loop, and walk south one block. There's a JAM today and I'm looking forward to having a gin and tonic.
Listed in: The Places I Go Out
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Review from Nicole L.
8/18/2008
This part of the city was pretty dead on Saturday. The museum was also empty we had the museum to ourselves. There were more security guards than visitors.The museum is small the first floor and a second floor with 4-5 sections and seems to cater to more modern art than anything. There was an exhibition by Sean Duffy - a jeep and some gas cans turned into speakers playing beach boys type of music. I see the point but it wasn't very inspiring. and the other called Shadows, Disappearance and Illusions. I especially like the sun rise - the very first exhibition when you walk in. The entire room was illuminated by bright neon lights emulating the sun and the rays. It made me feel like I was sitting at the hill top of Rio de Janeiro listening to Jobim's Felicade while the sun rises. A little far fetched? Imagination goes a long way when you are inspired by a film like the Black Orpheus. The part where the children believed that Orpheus' guitar and song brought the sun out! Ok ok let me get back to the review. There was also a particularly deep one - with a film playing seemingly a film of a guy with president lincoln's head mask he was climbing through a tunnel and walking with shoes made out of tissue boxes. Right next to it are the props of the outfit, mask, the tunnel and tissue box. The exhibition was quite haunting with an oldies playing in the background. It was trying to represent the absence or the gap between the prop and the film that kept repeating. This reminds me of David's Lynch's films like Mulholland or Inland Empire haha!
