The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History

First time checking this place out and I’m impressed! Sorta been avoiding this «traditional» museum because I thought my mini-​me would be bored but since we were talking about arts like Picasso’s, I thought to bring her to see different types of art. She was intrigued, mesmerized, and so interested in all they had to offer.
It’s a airy, spacious, & bright museum with several different exhibits with paints, photographs, artifacts, videos, scriptures, etc.
The best part was the hands on room where kids could create their own art! They had a bare lampshade where you can make your own with paper and cellophane; another with mini bust form so you can make your own fashion with newspaper and patterns. We had so much fun just doing that!
We had only a little time to explore the rest so we have to go back to seethe rest. We did enjoy the big room where there was a photograph of Albuquerque covering the entire floor, finding where we work, live, & go to school.
Can’t wait to go back for more
Highly recommended!

I’ve been in New Mexico for three years and never knew how lucky we were to have this museum in town. We were looking for something to do the Saturday after Christmas and found an ad for free admission to the museum including free food and drinks from 2−5pm. It was a cold snowy day (that turned into blizzard conditions) in Albuquerque. The museum was the perfect place to stay warm and get out of the house. We thought we would just enjoy the music of Terra Trio (jazz and Latin). They had a NM art exhibit along with the regular exhibits. We really enjoyed learning the history of NM. Did you know the original spelling of Albuquerque was Alburquerque? Or how the isotopes became the minor league for the Dodgers? And how the famous Tommy Lasorda led the Albuquerque dukes to a championship? Or how we got the nickname of Duke city? The link between the statue with red eyes to DIA? Well you gotta visit to learn the answers to these questions and much more. They also have an amphitheater, café and great gift shop. We will be back.

Wasn’t expecting a lot, but definately rewarded for visiting. Very modern design, and cool exhibits.

I am taking this review, from the point of you of someone who uses a cane and is a bit wider than the average person but not massively so.
Going into the museum was easy and seem to be accessible from many ways. They have the electric push button doors to assist entering. They have a coat check /​locker area where you can leave your purse and not carry it around. I felt it was well worth it to use it.
Depending on the day my mobility really varies. Today I used to my teen son to assess in my mobility. I use his shoulder to help with support. I really appreciate it that there was plenty of space between each display for more than one family to get a view. At a few points, there were a guy in a wheelchair and me with my cane and I was easily able to maneuver around him and still have space. I enjoyed the various displays and art they had. Some more than others.
Many of the interactive displays needed a refill or refreshing of the items someone may participate. At many locations there were embossing seals yet there were no unused paper to be found. The folk art area, did not have clear indicator of what was available to use.
With limited mobility, I really appreciated bench placement throughout the whole gallery. I was able to sit when I needed to and also when I just wanted to enjoy a piece of art.
Today before 1p was a free entry day for ABQ residents. One of the things I learnt by asking, it is that you can park for free in the lot outside the museum if you are using the museum.
The other positive I noticed is as there was more than one handicap stall in the restrooms. Those of us that use them know what a major blessing that can be. Waiting for handicapped restaurant to open is often A trial in patience.

I love the exhibits wish I had seen the high heels exhibit Looking forward to upcoming exhibit There is nothing like seeing art To nourish the soul

A must see for all New Mexicans. «Only in Albuquerque» is a new exhibit which showcases our history with an up-​to-​date and interactive format. There are four exhibits within: Spirited, Courageous, Resourceful and Innovative. Be sure to allow enough time to see the entire «Only in ABQ» exhibit, as well as the other galleries. During our visit, «Killer Heels» was a traveling exhibit featuring high-​heeled shoes of all shapes and sizes. It was surprisingly pleasant, even for the gentlemen in our party. The museum is extremely affordable and entertaining. Be sure to view the works of art in the sculpture garden.

We had our wedding reception here and they were more then helpful and willing to meet our needs. They did a great job communicating with us throughout the process. Not only is it a great museum, but a great place to hold a nice event.

Yes, this is a great museum and well worth your time. And for time, you can expect to spend at least three hours here if you want to do it right and see everything. I was blown away with the curation and organization. I learned quite a lot about ABQ history and art!
Of course, the Alamogordo Trinity atomic test is what put Albuquerque on the map for many, but its presence on the historic Route 66 certainly helped as well.
Lots of local artists on display here and some really good stuff. Great to see, though an audio guide would have been helpful. Some of the captions are a little too deep for me to understand, such as «…despite the work’s bold simplicity, we are confronted with quite subtle and complex color and formal relationships. [The artist] was interested in directly bringing the viewer’s attention to the mechanics of painting, to light and even to attention itself.» Wut?
The specific focused exhibit on Albuquerque itself was quite interesting. Watching the «Courageous» video with one of the Navajo «code talkers» being interviewed by his grandson.
Again, well worth the time. And you can’t beat the price.

I am such a crass boob. I had no right penning a review about this museum when I hadn’t even visited for, oh, about a year. I didn’t think I needed to, I thought I’d seen all there was to see, and most of the touring exhibitions as of late weren’t intriguing in the least. Boy, was I missing out.
We recently visited on a Saturday, after 3pm it was free for residents (call and check on this before you go), which was #winning just for starters. We brought our kiddo, because we’d heard on the radio (Children’s Hour KUNM) that they offered kids art activities. They did, and Iris constructed a masterpiece. Then it was on to a huge exhibit featuring work made in Albuquerque, and I was absolutely astounded at the quality, depth and range of the exhibit; this is exactly the kind of work that this museum needs to convey to the world, it was so fun, so dynamic, wonderful. I’ll be back. Oh, and the kid had a place to draw while we looked at everything, so it was totally easy to actually pay attention to the canvasses. And then our toddler found the music. Three dudes plucking and banging out Caribbean sounds in a small chamber in the center of the facility.
Wow! This is officially on our to-​do list, as well as our to-​bring-​kids-​to list, which is pretty astonishing considering it is, indeed, an art museum. And the addition of Slate Street’s café makes it a terrific spot to grab a bite to eat. If you haven’t been by this museum lately, it’s time to take another look. You’ll be impressed. I believe Sundays are free to residents from 9am-​1pm, but double-​check before you go.

Free for residents on specific days and times, check the website. Always different exhibits ranging from photographs to paintings and sculpture. Cute gift shop featuring a variety of cool gifts to include placements and napkins from NM own SilveradoHome. Café but I haven’t tried it. It was a nice day so ventured around the corner to old town for a local brew. Free parking if you get to the museum early. Well worth a visit inside as well as outside.

I’m ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ on this museum. I think it has potential to be better. When I went back in October, it was under remodeling so a lot of the exhibits were closed off. I think I finished within an hour, which is super fast. I enjoyed the limited collection from France. They had a book as you walk in that explains each painting and had a few postcards of several pairings around for you to take, which I appreciated.
The sculpture garden was small and interesting.
Another exhibit I liked as well was the Vivian Vance (Ethel from I Love Lucy) you normally only see Lucille Ball exhibits so it was a nice change to see Vivian Vance.

History museum? Really? A Wikipedia page is more informative and entertaining than this place.
I liked the Vivian Vance exhibit, but even that lacked any depth.

Architecture was great. Thought it was smaller but was quite impressed. Not as big or great as Getty museum or lacma but still good. Nice that they have free admission on Sundays before 1 pm.

Sunday mornings and occasional Saturday afternoons are free!!! I just love the museum. Its great. The events there are always first class, especially the salsa Fridays in summer, and the people are always nice. The shop is a great place to get presents!

Super cool building, grounds and amphitheater. All sorts of sculptures outside and neat exhibits inside! Ive been to plenty of galleries and museums and I think we are lucky to have this place in ABQ.
Almost over but worth seeing is the Miniatures & More exhibit featuring many different styles of art, photography and sculpture all relatively small in size. Each artist is allowed three pieces in the show to illustrate their work. I’m definitely going at the beginning dates next year because its all for sale. –Runs thru Dec. 2. FREE admission on Sundays here.
The Machine Wilderness exhibit is up until Jan 7 and has some interesting takes on technology. You might want to see for yourself.
There is a Café if you are craving a snack or beverage. The Albuquerque Museum is a nice way to spend a couple hours jogging the mind.

So I have a complaint. Sometimes you just have to get it out to get over it. We had family in town and we were walking around old town, and on our way over to explora. Gramma, being old, wanted to get out of the heat, so went into the lobby at the Albuquerque museum while we looked at the statues outside. While in there, she bought us all tickets not understanding we were going to a different museum. It was literally as she was stepping away from the counter that I realized she did ths. I asked if they could refund her money, the cantankerous lady at the counter got real ruffled and said no refunds. I was dumbfounded that they couldn’t just give an old lady back the cash she just paid. Instead of calling the manager she called security (!) on me and they came to throw me out! I had never raised my voice, sworn, or otherwise caused a scene, but by golly, if you call security out for a simple request, you are going to get a scene. But I still never swore or yelled, but man i wanted to. I eventually talked to the manager who was just as unbending, but after arguing for 15 minutes and causing a huge line he said he’d give gramma the money out of his pocket, I said no, that I wanted her money back, but gramma walked right up to him, took his 25 bucks and put it right in her bra and walked out. Ha!
Those people need to loosen up a bit. And fire grumpy old ladies who work the tickets. Security?! I was holding a baby! Did she think I’d start throwing punches?
No suit of armor that has been there since I was in elementary school is worth dealing with insanity.

A nice museum, gives an interesting take on Albuquerque from the natives (including pottery, jewelry) through modern day. The modern art collection was very pretty. It isn’t a smithsonian, and shouldn’t be expected to be. Staff were super friendly.

This architecturally quite spacious and airy feeling museum combines a great exhibit about the history of New Mexico (with neat Spanish armor and weaponry to see) with an art museum, which generally has one visiting exhibit of any kind (some of those are really great), a permanent collection of New Mexico art with some very interesting somewhat contemporary stuff, and often some sort of temporary exhibit related to New Mexico with stuff by locals, including annual exhibits of the work of local schoolchildren. The «art» part of the museum is a bit on the small side for a city of Albuquerque’s size, but has interesting stuff. There is a café and a nice gift shop. In summer there have been live bands and dancing outside on Fridays, including salsa bands, which is a cool event, I assume this will continue. Museum is a short walk from historic Albuquerque Old Town Plaza area.

We visited the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History this morning. We’d never been there before. It’s a generously proportioned building w/​high ceilings, lots of glass, brick and wood floors shiny w/​a urethane finish and many changing exhibits. One of the coolest exhibits is Sensory Crossovers: Synesthethsia in American Art. It opened August 29 and will close January 2. I was so glad we were able to see it, even though it made me very sad I don’t experience art or music so multidimensionally. Some artists created abstract representations of their experiences, while others painted more representational photos. Some leaned toward classical music while others leaned toward jazz. One woman, Teresa Bernstein, painted Lil Hardin and Louis Armstrong in on painting and Charlie Parker in another. One man’s pencil and pastel sketches made me feel some of what he must have. I forget his name. He wasn’t well known, but he captured his subject in a way that worked for me. There were a couple of Georgia O’Keefe paintings, which were a surprise and a delight. It’s a difficult exhibit to capture in words, but I enjoyed it and recommend it.
Another exhibit was Common Ground: Art in New Mexico. Pieces in the exhibit ran the gamut from folk art to fine art and they were interesting and some were fun. It was a well curated exhibit. On the lower level was an exhibit of the history of Albuquerque. On the mezzanine was an exhibit of the Golden Age of Aviation, photos of early airplanes and their connection to Albuquerque. Another exhibit was of historic quilts from the museum’s collection. In an adjacent hallway was an exhibit of Native American jewelry from early days to contemporary times. Another hallway contained portraits of famous New Mexicans, one of whom was John Lewis, founder of the Modern Jazz Quartet.
There is a café and the requisite Museum Shop. In this case the shop showed a lot of jewelry as well as scarves and art glass. There was a section of games and books and activities for children and of cards and books for adults. The museum admission is very reasonable, $ 4 general, $ 2 seniors. There was a large group or maybe a couple of groups who arrived in buses about the time we did. One woman complained loudly in the Synesthesia exhibit that she didn’t like it and wasn’t interested in it. Several others conversed loudly throughout the other exhibits. They definitely didn’t have the concept of a museum as a place for contemplation and appreciation, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves, unlike the other woman. Tours were led of the sculptures outdoors, which ranged from the representational to the abstract. This is a very nice, welcoming museum that deserves a visit when you’re in Albuquerque.

Wow, the new ABQ museum is amazing. I hadn’t been there in years and back then, it was kind of small, cramped and antiquated.
Now the first phase of renovation is done and that means a gorgeous new front entrance, beautiful, airy lobby and cute little café where you can sit and have a nice cup ‘o joe before or after your cultural encounter.
The second phase of the renovation has yet to happen but will fix up the halls that house the permanent, historical collections. Can’t wait to see it!
Currently, there’s a show of New Mexico artists (or people who came from somewhere else who currently reside here) that’s really good. Featuring an incredible piece by sculptor Timothy Horn that can only be described as a giant, glowing, silicone jellyfish chandelier (
),
and a standout painting by neo-​surrealist Antonio Roybal (
), the show is full of diverse and interesting contemporary art — not merely a collection of kokopellis and howling wolves.