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Tacoma Art Museum
Rating Details »
- Hours:
Wed-Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
11 reviews for Tacoma Art Museum
Happen to come thru on the 3rd Thursday of the month, where its free! There are four main exhibit halls, so don't expect to spend hours on end at this Museum. The four exhibit halls wrap around this outdoor space sectioned out almost like a skate ramp that is surrounded by mirror-esque windows, an amazing use of the courtyard space.
Upstairs there is a nice view of Tacoma, where you can also find a few classrooms for kids.
I have to say my favorite piece is placed right at the entrance. It is Scott Fife's two story dog, Leroy, made out of cardboard, glue and screws. Check him out:
http://www.tacomaartmu...
After your done the the Tacoma Art Museum, walk over to the Washington History Museum, the Bridge of Glass and the Glass Art Museum all of which are free from 5-8pm on Thursdays. For the ubercool effect, check out the Bridge of Glass at nighttime.
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We came by on Third Thursdays, so it was free admission. The museum itself is rather small, but it packs a pretty decent punch in such a small space. Architecturally, the building has a lot of visual appeal, and the center of the structure has a neat courtyard that doubles as an art exhibit, of course you can't actually go in the courtyard though. Unfortunately, one of the exhibit halls was shut down for renovation when we went, so that kind of drastically cut down the amount of art culture we were able to take in. It's a pretty nice museum here with a pretty wide array of art. My favorite part of the museum would have to be the local gallery where every exhibit was created by a local of some area of Washington. Cool stuff.
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First off the Tacoma Art Museum is FREE the third Thursday of each month from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm, I suggest if you want to visit take the Tacoma Link http://www.yelp.com/bi... in.
I wasn't sure what to expect, I'd been to SAM many times how would Tacoma Art Museum compare. To put it bluntly it didn't. But that didn't mean I didn't like it I did, it was quaint. The funny thing is I think there might have been more Chihuly here than at the Museum of Glass. The Oasis: Western Dreams of the Ottoman Empire from the Dahesh Museum of Art and What Is a Trade? Donald Fels and Signboard Painters of South India both intrigued me so if you get a chance stop in to check them out before they are gone. Seeing as the museum is small you can get in and out in no time while still enjoying the art on display.
If the museum is full of exhibits I think the $7.50 price it worth a visit but if not I'd consider witing until the third Thursday of the month from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm and check it out for FREE!
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Visit the TAM for a les pretentious art experience. They put a lot of focus in presenting Northwest artists (almost) exclusively. They also try really hard to bring good unknown artists into the spotlight. It's a good place to visit to say you saw this art when nobody knew who the artist was yet (basically once it gets to SAM). I'm not that into art or modern design, but I appreciate TAM's risk-taking in bringing unknown NW artists to the forefront.
I have to admit, I'm at a loss to understand the last review of the Tacoma Art Museum after our brief visit there today.
Honestly, I'm not sure how the parking could be closer -- there's a decent sized lot at the base of the museum (albeit a pay lot, $2/hr) and we managed to find a spot very quickly.
As for visibility and signs, we're very new to the area and had a vague idea where it was and we spotted it with no problem...
As for the size/space -- it did seem a bit small but I can't compare it to the old location, so I have no idea how much of a loss or gain it was. As for the layout, we felt that it was excellent -- it made the space that there was extremely accessible and available.
We'll be back to check it out again sometime soon.
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Such a disappointment. We came here after going to the Glass Museum and there was hardly anything to see. We walked around, and were finished in no time. The art they had was okay at best. Maybe I'm spoiled by the museums back in Maryland, but this one was pitiful to me.
I sort of have a bone to pick with the Tacoma Art Musuem. Yes, they have some pretty cool exhibits. Yes, the building has a pretty cool, modern style. But when i was doing a school project and needed to volunteer at an art musuem-they turned me down! They said that considering the fact that I couldn't give atleast a year of my time (Hello! I will be leaving for college!) that I didn't fit the bill. Not to mention that the people working there weren't really so welcoming or friendly. Except for when I went to the giftshop, the lady working there was great! She brought out these sweet robots to show me and she was so warm and kind; even wehen I didn't buy anything! She was great, but the rest is mediocre (but don't get me wrong...at the same time, cool)
I love great art and architecture, the Tacoma Art Museum is just that and more. Designed by architect Antoine Predock, whose buildings are designed to incorporate the existing landscape and reflect its surrounding communities; the art museum is a fine example of how Predock incorporates these ideas with his studies of the soft light of the Pacific Northwest, its surrounding Industrial/Commercial neighborhood, and the panoramic views of Mt. Rainier. From the outside, the building appears gray and bleak but somehow it fits well with its environment; on a typical overcast day; it appears as the lines of the building are bleeding into the sky making it so seamless...and beautiful. The interior spaces has a big emphasis on education and outreach spaces with rooms designed specifically to get children and the community more intrigued and interested in art. The gallery spaces is well lit and has removable walls. Dale Chihuly's expansive collection is part of the museum's permanent collection featuring examples from many of his major series including Baskets, Sea Forms, Cylinders, Macchia, Persians, and Venetians. The museum also has a cafe and a store. Who's to say Tacoma has nothing to offer?
Hours
Museum Hours
Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 5 pm
Sunday 12 - 5 pm
Every Third Thursday 10 am - 8 pm
Closed Monday, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.
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TAM is a great place to visit if you're in town and doing the Museum thing. If you visited the Museum of Glass and liked it then head here for even more Chihuly. The art here is pretty well displayed and they have a wonderful permanent collection as well as featured artists. Check their newsletter frequently because sometimes artists will come to do an exhibition here and you can meet them, very cool!
I never cease to be surprised and thrilled with the exhbits that come to the TAM. Never mind that the museum itself is brilliantly designed, always interesting and doesn't allow itself to get sucked into a genre rut - they continually deliver brilliant exhibits. Until spring 2006 they have a spectacular Margaret Bourke-White exhibit.
I waited and waited for the new Tacoma Art Museum to open. What a disappointment. The old building was much bigger and could have been remodeled into a very nice art museum. There was street parking available and a parking garage nearby. Instead, the powers that be spent a fortune on a new small weirdly-shaped building in an inconvenient location with no close parking on an oddly shaped small lot that would have been much better used for a small park. The building is poorly designed with regard to addressing the street (Hello! here's the art museum!). Instead a blank wall is along the street side and the signage is so poor that you could drive right by it wondering where the heck it was. Signage on the entry wall has been improved - if you can call differently sized and shaped red letters on glass an improvement - but the entrance faces sideways, facing oncoming traffic from one direction only.
A friend and I toured it not long after it opened and when we finished back at the Visitor's Desk, we asked, "Is this all there is? Isn't there any more?" The annoyed look that flashed across the attendant's face and her defensive response told us she had been asked this more than once. And what is it with that stupid sloping triangular empty space in the middle of the building? The best part of the building is upstairs with lots of light and good views where the private offices and art library are located. But this area is neither for the public nor the art.
I've been back there about once every 18 months since, and yes, as with all art, the exhibits range from stuff that makes me gag to absolutely fabulous. But I still walk out thinking why is this building such a sucky design, so small, so poorly situated? Who owned this miserable little triangle of land and how did they manage to unload it on the C of T? Who approved the miserable design without - hello? - thinking it through? If not the building TAM used to be in, why not remodel one of the other interesting old buildings downtown for a new, bigger, better TAM? (Note to all architects: there is a reason that classic design is classic.)
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