Honolulu Museum Of Art

Excellent experience! My wife and I went yesterday (⁶⁄₁₆) she had been wanting to go for a while so I decided yesterday was the day.
Parking was a little tricky, not really but google maps tricked me so that’s why. I’ll include a map they have on the brochure so it can help others.
Having parked and walked across the street was greeted by some random workers who directed us to the place where you pay. Not that I wouldn’t have found it myself but they allowed my brain to continue in auto pilot for just a bit more. After paying and being told of the day’s events my wife and I proceeded to look at art.
I understand art is open to interpretation but come on now. All the older things were amazing and the time people spent on the pieces!!! I’m a boy so I was interested in what a lot of the things were made out of and the museum provided that info on the little cards next to each piece. The more modern stuff is the things I question one was a bunch of pieces of random metal welded together and painted, I did that when they taught me to weld, I would have not broken it down at the time had I know it was valuable.
I believe my wife and I spent about an hour enjoying the museum there are things we didn’t see but all in all it was a good experience.

Such a big venue and wide variety of artwork!
All the staff I was able to interact with were SUPER courteous, too, which is a plus.
Make sure you come early so you don’t run out of time! I dropped in with 2 hours to kill, but barely made a dent in everything :(

I found this place to be beautiful, tranquil, and a refreshing change from the typical museum layout. The building is gorgeous and the courtyards are so pretty. The art was fascinating especially if you’re interested in East Asian artefacts.

I’ve been going to the Honolulu Museum of Art for the last 40 or so years whenever we vacationed in Oahu. Our trip was not complete until we did two things … get shave ice, and go to the Museum. Just happened to be in town on their third Sunday of the month, which is a free day admission. It was truly a family friendly environment with craft activities for kids, and live music that was enjoyed basking in the nice day outdoors. Most kids were doing crafts, and it left the exhibits pretty open for adults. I enjoyed my favorite pieces, and spent time on the constantly rotating exhibits. Don’t miss the free docent tours. I’ve taken two tours on one day, as each person brings his /​her own perspective and go to different parts of the Museum based on the groups interest. This time I spent a lot of time in the gift shop, that has nice art pieces where one caught my eye — a vintage looking sign displayed at the recent art deco exhibit. Emily in the gift shop was patient, very knowledgeable of its history and the artist and followed up at my request when I got home. Emily ensured that the piece was VERY well packed. It arrived today before I even I lost vacation weight from all the plate lunches. What was the art piece? An advertising sign for shaved ice \-) Now I have a little piece of aloha that I enjoy every day.
Don’t forget to support your local museums, and especially don’t miss the Honolulu Museum of Art.

I brought my family to visit this museum. I recommend signing up for a tour as I personally was not able to do this museum justice trying to explain it to my family. When I attended this museum earlier, my tour docent was amazing. When I tried to lead my family around, I think this museum is a lot more fun when visited with a tour planned ahead. I recommend singing up for a tour to make the most of this museum experience.

Me and my daughter come here once a month for their Bank of Hawaii family fun Sundays! We love the atmosphere and the hands on activities that are held for the kiddos at the events. What I love the most about Bank of Hawaii family fun Sundays, is the fact that admission is FREE. Upon entering, you can choose to participate in their art scavenger hunt which requires you to roam around the beautiful museum to solve their scavenger hunt questions/​puzzles… When you’ve successfully completed filling out the scavenger hunt, you receive a gift at the end!
Definitely check out their website for more details on their next Bank of Hawaii family fun Sunday events :)

The last Friday night of the month. It’s a party. I volunteered to do chef plates. A favorite memory I have from living on the island.

Every time I visit the museum it’s always a different experience even if I’m looking at art that I’ve seen during my previous visits; and that’s what I really love about this museum! You really can’t go wrong with their normal galleries and their temporary exhibits. The courtyards are literally to die for. They’re beautiful and photogenic. I always leave a visit to the museum with like 100+ pictures and enthusiasm for my next visit!

Going here is like entering a dream, each courtyard presenting its own unique scene. The collection is extremely impressive with works from around the world to inspire. The food at the restaurant is always delicious, service prompt, professional. The gift shop can be a challenge at times as some of the staff there can be (insert). The Doris Duke Theatre is top notch AND the only theatre in Hawaii still using a projector, which is super dope! They offer phenomenal education opportunities, and the coffee…
They have some of the best coffee in town. If you time it right before noon, you can score fresh-​baked cookies too that are out of this world.
Great deals as Members, opportunities for free entry on the family days, all in all, an excellent place to check out!

Some really great collections of various genre. I enjoyed my afternoon here. This is the launching point for the Doris Duke Private Residence Tours of Shangri La.
Check out the Spaulding house also while in Honolulu with its botanical collection.

What a wonderful collection. They have everything from Tokyo street fashion to ancient Indian art to medieval art. Their docents are friendly, knowledgeable and truly enjoy showing you around. Careful, though, this could mean the seminars and lectures go far beyond the planned time. No complaints from me, of course.
Their eastern art is well matched and equivalent to the collection of western art which is rare in smaller museums and very nice to see the balance being maintained.
The courtyards are spectacular and the entire experience from gift shop to café, to Turkish coffee bar made for a very enjoyable day.

Simple, elegant and inspiring. Whenever I need a break from my reality, I can honestly say that I can turn to the Honolulu Museum of Art for some inspiration and peace time.
Within these walls, lies many unparalleled rotating galleries and some permanent. Among one of my favorites is the Asian exhibit. Moving sculptures from different artists and artisans from many Asian countries and some larger than human size. Galleries are indoor and climate controlled. Member or non-​members, everyone is treated equal. More than one courtyards within the museum have held many events whether it be night or day (
). One of the monthly events is Art After Dark and Halloween (October event). Don’t baby those drinks as bars are aplenty during those nights and music for dancing or simply to relax and ponder with. Wrist bands are assigned to those 21 and over. I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing their Flower Show in May (a day time event), for the unrivaled green thumb individuals. I’m thankful for my gentle companion for this invite. Many exotic flowers grown by Hawaii’s everyday garden lovers. What a sweet day especially in Hawaii for many out door activities in the museum. Don’t forget to try their café for a fresh bite after perusing the galleries as I’ve enjoyed a few delicious dishes. If you’re simply vacationing, the Museum shop is a great place for gift shopping.
Parking is either street or available on the corner of Victoria St. and S. Beretania St. Should you desire to be a member and often attend their events, it’s a good choice. Admission is free for museum members and $ 25 for non-​members during Art After Dark (and other events). You can skip the long lines. There are plenty of other perks in being a member (
).

I have loved this place since I was a little girl, particularly the Chinese courtyard where I like to pretend I am a foot-​bound favored imperial concubine who is secretly in love with a poor but ruggedly handsome farmer.
Right.
SO I am delighted that my children also enjoy visits to this small but wonderful museum.
Incidentally, I still refer to it as «The Academy of Arts» but I eventually stopped calling Don Quixote «Daie» so there is hope. Just give me a few more years.
We sometimes come down for Bank of Hawaii Family Sundays and last year my now 6-​year-​old managed to win the lego castle drawing contest. I don’t know how. Perhaps she slipped the lego folk a twenty when we weren’t looking. When they called I was really surprised and even said «Are you sure?», but when we saw her built castle last week it was rather adorable.
I’ve also taken a jewelry class from Cynthia and it was a fabulous experience, go do that.
Incidentally, if you arrive on Family Sunday right when it opens (At 11am, I believe), there aren’t many people there. Which is nice. Unless you revel in the hustle and bustle and sweat of crowds, in which case you can wait until 1pm to come down. And then you can head over to Costco and really get your fix.

Fourth time visiting the Honolulu Museum of Art!
Taylour Chang is amazing! She offered Wai’anae High School an opportunity to attend two days ‘Soundshop’ which consist of mentors that help the students focus on a theme. This go around theme is, «what is my foundation?» Who will help build my foundation? I am building _​_​_​_​_​_​using _​_​_​_​
With awesome mentors, they’re able to break into groups and create lyrics and beats; and by the end of the night they perform! Such an amazing program and opportunity to visit a great historical location.
From the last time I attended in the Spring, the Doris Theater changed the right wall! Now it has this amazing neon paint!
They showcase different films that are available online to purchase or just show up! They have a small snack bar area on the outside of the theater. A/​C on the inside and comfortable seats.

Upon entering the Honolulu Museum of Art, a pair of exquisite stone sculptured horses greet you.
Looks as if they are about to impart their wisdom, or just gallop off into the sunset. Either way, they are impressive!
From the street entrance this place looks deceptively small. Wish we had set aside more time to stroll along leisurely and inspect all of the beautiful works of art. The time we spent was very memorable. Each piece of art is displayed with care, in the best possible light including a detailed description when necessary.
A few of the standouts for me are as follows:
Shahnameh ‘The Epic of the Persian Kings, an exhibition of Rahmanian’s innovative illustrations of the Shahnameh, or Epic of the Persian Kings, one of the great classics of world literature.’ HMA
The Guanyin sculpture is exquisitely rich in detail, so lifelike I expected him to take a breath or casually change his pose.
Looking forward to visiting again very soon.

I love the Honolulu Academy of Arts. The Doris Duke Theater is clean and comfortable. I go every year for the Honolulu Rainbow film festival.
I have also done the Doris Duke house tour. That was interesting and a must see if your local. Its not a house that I would live in or buy but it cost Doris Duke a fortune.

The museum is great and it deserves 5 stars on its own, but I’m going to focus my review on the café.
My girlfriend and I went because I won a $ 50.00 gift card from art after dark, which I definitely recommend everyone attending, it’s the last Friday of every month.
So we dressed up and pretended to be fancy for a day. We ordered the pasta and the salad of the day. The pasta was a great, it had tuna, capers, and it tasted excellent. The salad was a very yummie steak salad.
It was really pricey, about $ 20.00 per plate, but it was so worth it. The service was great, they definitely treated us like the fancy high class people we where pretending to be, because we all know I’m a broke recent college graduate that can’t actually afford a 20 salad.
For any one who can actually afford it, or someone splurging like us, it’s a great café with an awesome ambiance.

This is a awesome museum! We are members, it was 25 for the year and you get to go to events like art after dark for free. During the last art after dark, my boyfriend won a $ 50 gift card so we decided to have lunch there. They have a large menu selection, and we were able to spilt a great lunch! They’re also updating and changing exhibits, which is really refreshing, you can see something new every time you go there. The layout is also beautiful, they have different wings where the art is housed, so you walk on a cobble stone with hallways. They have a grass area with a stage area. They also hold other events like special events.
Right now they have an exhibit about Doris dukes house that the build. It was Arabic inspired and it’s still there today, it was build near cromwells.
There’s parking available at the art school across the street which is 5 dollar flat rate.

I think every 19-​year old American aspires to be an artist! Of course, like many free thinkers, creative souls, and the left wing rebel, my very first major was in Art — Illustration and Art History to be exact. I later changed my major several times to conform to the more conservative society. Let’s see… Political Science; Criminal Justice; and finally settling on Education with a minor in American History. So I’m a historian and educator by textbooks, but I still have that inner Michelangelo screaming to be freed…
HONOLULU MUSEUM OF ART!
This museum is like the Rodney Dangerfield of museums. No respect. Don’t get me wrong, many in the art world appreciate this somewhat small museum, with roots dating to the roaring 1920’s! The general public are the ones that undervalues this amazing museum! Yes, it’s smaller than the Asian Arts Museum & MOMA in San Francisco; smaller than the Smithsonian; smaller than the Louvre in Paris. That I get! However, this museum has one of the largest single collections of Asian and Pan-​Pacific art in the United States, and since its official opening in 1927, its collections have grown to more than 50,000 works of art. Not bad for a modest sized museum in the middle of the Pacific!
HONOLULU MUSEUM OF ART!
This modest sized museum, once called «the finest small museum in America», packs a pretty big artistic punch! International caliber exhibitions and features a collection of art, that includes Hokusai, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Monet, Picasso and Andy Warhol, as well as traditional Asian and Hawaiian art. My favorite genre is Japanese Ukiyo-​e from the Kamakura period to Edo. I also enjoy the Renaissance works from Western Europe. If I told you I could stare at Hokusai’s «The Great Wave of Kanagawa» 神奈川沖浪裏 for hours, upon hours… Please don’t consider me an odd fellow. In fact, I was so mesmerized by his work of art I actually had it tattooed on my forearm in Japan several years ago. Maybe a tad excessive? Heck, I love it and I have Hokusai forever on me. Odd? Not in the world of art — it’s called passion!
HONOLULU MUSEUM OF ART!
So yes, I indeed highly recommend this diamond of a museum. No, don’t expect the Louvre or a high-​rise of endless walking. It’s modest in size, but the collection is of top quality. Visitors can also enjoy the wonderful cafés, gardens, and occasional films and concerts in the Doris Duke theater. The Art After Dark fundraiser held on the last Friday every month is included with membership — Basic membership starts at $ 25 for a year. One of the many perks on why I love being a member here… Of course, nothing can compare seeing a masterpiece with your own two eyes, not online or in a book, but in person…
«If I was a sculptor but then again no
Or a man who makes potions in a traveling show
Oh I know it’s not much but it’s the best I can do
My gift is my song
And this one’s for you…
And you can tell everybody this is your song
It may be quite simple but now that it’s done
I hope you don’t mind
I hope you don’t mind
That I put down in words
How wonderful life is while you’re in the world…»
So, If you see me staring at a Hokusai or Michelangelo… Tap my shoulder and free me…
SOLID. Outstanding collection. 4.8-STARS!

First, the people who work here are not only friendly but are highly intelligent, making them pleasurable to encounter. :)
The interior design of the rooms is very attractive to me. I love that each room is a different color and is simple and clean. Only a simple cutout adorns each room in one of the top corners and careful attention to detail was made when deciding the room setup. I don’t know if anyone cares about interior design and feng shui, but if you want my opinion, the spaces and displays were very well calculated in terms of harmony.
There is a little bit of everything on display and though many claim the museum is small, I can never seem to take in everything in one day. There are even seasonal exhibits by the way, so technically there is always something new.
Now, take what I have to say next with heavy consideration. I think the difference between a crappy experience and a wonderful experience is YOU. This is not a typical «venue.» The experience you get is the one you form for yourself.
My honest opinion for respecting and understanding what you’re looking at in the museum is that you need to come open-​minded; you need to look at significance not quantity, and you need to not be biased by «big name» artists. Art is art. The notoriety should not make the art any more or less significant. The price of the piece should not make it any more or less significant. The point of an art museum is not to see «riches.» It is to see and understand art.
If no one gave you the run-​down, it was not a museum to begin with. It was the home of Anna Rice Cook. Before you judge the museum based on it’s smallness, I highly encourage you to learn more about it and be far more conscientious of its history. Many if not most of the museum’s pieces came from the Cook family’s personal collection, of which the museum was first born dedicated to showing the children of Hawaii the different world heritages that made up the cultural melting pot of Hawaii.
The museum itself is a piece of history, when you walk around, realize that someone used to live there. Could you imagine such a lavish home at the time?
Now, when going alone, it is very easy to just look at some art and breeze through all the rooms never reading anything. That works if all you want to do is «look» at stuff and behold something’s monetary worth, but I personally can’t stress against that enough.
Here’s some tips to really get the best out of your experience: First, read the room introductions on the walls and really think about it. Think about the historical period, why the art looks like this in relation to that era, and what the motivations of the artists might have been to paint or sculpt something in a certain way. I’m not talking about doing that indiscernible psychobabble people try to do with regards to abstract art and what «emotions» it’s trying to convey or what hidden messages there are. I’m talking about truly pondering the purpose of the art and the style with relation to the societal trends of the time. You might come to some interesting conclusions.
Secndly, there is SO much historical significance you’re missing out on if you don’t go with a docent. When I have the opportunity to go with my college art history teacher, I jump on it. The experience is unforgettable with Ms. Scotti and I’m lucky to be able to hear the history of the world’s art through such an enthusiastic and knowledgeable woman.
Going alone does have it perks, however. Coming early and taking your time is an amazing way to escape the outside world and connect yourself to different periods of history. A lot of people never really step back to realize this, but you are sharing a space with a piece of history that at one point in time, shared its space with someone else: ancient peoples, people long gone, royal figures, famous figures, who even knows? If you walk around and keep that in mind, I feel you will be a bit more moved than people who can say nothing but «oh hey – art.»
The Doris Duke Theater on museum grounds often screens various film fest films or hosts events of their own. It’s such a cute little theater but it’s well worth coming for the interesting films, documentaries and hey – sometimes they even have animé movies! Someone does a great job of keeping the offerings relevant to various demographics.
Many people will probably experience a fraction of what the museum has to offer, so be wary of snapshot reviews. The museum is more than just art. There is always a different seasonal exhibit; there’s a theater, café, and there’s Art After Dark, which is a monthly nightlife event for the artsy, intelligent and mature night-​lifers.
Lastly the admission is so reasonable. $ 10 for the day or $ 25 for a yearly pass. Go with the $ 25 if you plan on attending Art After Dark, which btw, is awesome.