International Museum of Art

I am visiting a new exhibit by Philip Behymer. His portraits are huge and very expressive. Well worth you time to visit. Entrance is free.

I stumbled upon this museum while camping at the state park and needed a day off from the heat. This museum is definitely on the quirky side with a wide range of art as previously mentioned - I'll elaborate more in below paragraphs. I can't help but laugh at the "underfunded" comments. This is a local, unique museum: not a MoMA or Dallas Museum of Art with deep pocketed patrons/esses. I don't know of a single small museum that is rolling in extra funds and endowments to afford multiple curators or purchasing well-known works. Help them out and leave a donation if you feel offended by it!

I went on a Sunday and there were two artists in person at the museum that were talking to and interacting with guests about their work. They made it a point to talk to every single person in the museum. It was really great to hear about their process and what their works mean to them.

The museum features many varieties of exhibits; pre-colonial, Asian, bronze casts, furniture, photography, a huge display of local artist's work, and a case of creepy, definitely not-haunted dolls in the basement. Everyone in your party will find an exhibit they like. I enjoyed a set of tapestries by a local artist and am attaching a picture.

Overall, I would recommend visiting this museum! The multiple exhibits, pride in local history, and visiting local artists are high points to this place. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful - I don't mind that they kept out of the way and I had freedom to explore wherever I wanted. No entrance fee, clean bathrooms, and private parking lot are available. Minus one star for a couple of rooms feeling incomplete.

I was invited to join the celebration of the 10th year of The City Magazine - "10 years - 100 issues - 1,000,000 in circulation!"

As a transplant I have never heard of the magazine before, but it's wonderful to see people come out and support the legacy that they're building.

I knew not one soul there besides the police officer on duty helping out, and I ended up talking to him the whole night. I guess I'm more of the "help" type than a guest.

They had cute desserts and a wine bar, and everyone was dressed to the nines! I was dressed like a 3, I can't be bothered nowadays, being so hot to suffer in a tight dress or heels. I'll leave it to Miss Texas 2021 and the other gorgeous ladies in attendance. I'll just gorge myself with the deserts.

It was held at the International Museum of Art which is a really beautiful space, albeit hot and cold at times. They have the magazine on display right now and the museum is run on donations.

Come check it out and see the treasures they hold. When I was in Paris they used to have these small museums free everywhere and the locals loved going to them as a family outings, it's part of their culture to embrace art and social studies. We're lucky to have similar museums in El Paso.

International Museum of Art
(915) 543-6747
https://maps.app.goo.gl/UxMJiEujP5Dhif9j7

The International Museum of Art is simply okay. Somehow it feels grossly underfunded (although I'm sure there are grants out there they qualify for and there are many ways to raise funds) and it's like they went the wrong direction with this museum. It does have a nice Asian, African, and Mexican art exhibit, but they are terribly small. I'd return, but I would love to see a whole lot of improvements and I think they could greatly benefit from them.

Our house decided to make a trip to the IMA during the Martin Luther King Day weekend and I would've expected to see more people at the Museum, but I'm not entirely sure EP knows this place really exists. We walked in to a foyer kind of area that had a lot of chairs and tables, really this would be perfect eating a sandwich made with artisan bread while sipping a nice iced coffee... alas there is no cafe nearby and I forgot to ask if they'd allow you to eat in that area, but if you're making this a trip is recommend asking if you can and bringing along some eats. We were very unsure if you had to sign in, turns out you don't (but I signed the Guest Book anyway).

There really isn't a tour guide and we weren't offered a tour until we climbed the stairs to what turned out to be former bedroom turned offices. From that point we got a little tour with an employee through the actual house (which I was a little sad to see they had made some renovations that kind of took away from the house... like the filling in of the fireplace and the addition of a wall so they could have the gift shop in the house). After that we were left to our own devices in the actual museum. Strangely enough, I enjoyed the 15 minute guided tour learning about the history of the house and it's original owners the most.

There was a room for each exhibit and there were quite a few pieces donated to the museum, but there wasn't a whole lot of literature on the exhibits or the pieces within other than the name, who created it, and who donated it. I would love to see a little pamphlet, video, sign, or audio tour that could explain each piece, history, and the importance of it or the artist. I felt like I needed to do a whole lot of Googling while I was there and when you leave a museum you should feel enlightened in some type of way (I only felt that way about the house itself).

This museum has a lot of potential and I'm sure I'll make another trip, but I would like to see some major and some small improvements. They should also put much more emphasis on the house itself, it's history and the original owners. It's so Gatsby-come-to-life that I know crowds would enjoy it. And because I really did like this museum I'll give you a little fundraiser idea: throw a 1920's inspired party.

Poorly curated. I took my family over the weekend. Couldn't tell the difference between what is an antique and what is decorative. I was unable to answer my son's questions about the art. There were few, if any object labels. Object labels that were available had little information. Overall, sloppy presentation of art and historical Turney Mansion.