kluge-ruhe aboriginal art collection of u.va.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection. This museum is unlike any other I have ever been to. The museum thoughtfully provides an education of Aboriginal culture through art. They demonstrate social issues of Australia being addressed through art. While the collection exhibited is small due to space limitations, they are continually changing the exhibit to display more work. The staff is incredibly knowledgable and are always willing to take you into their storage if you would like to explore more works, which is an incredibly rare and wonderful opportunity! They also host a wide array of events, such as a monthly Tots and Dots program for toddlers and their caregivers and Night at the Museum for families and young adults to enjoy music, drink, art, and the wonderful view! If you haven't already been, this is a must see in Virginia, you won't regret it!

This was a neat, relatively small and completely uncrowded art gallery of aboriginal art. While I'm not an expert by any means, I haven't seen any real displays dedicated specifically to Australian Aboriginal art. It is free to get in and the docent was very nice and helpful.We would definitely go back again.

Boasting the largest collection of Aboriginal art outside Australia, this museum draws me back time and time again with freshly changing exhibits of world-class art and free admission. Don't miss it!

If you are interested in contemporary Aboriginal Art you will not want to miss this museum....in fact, you will probably already know about it...The art is visually appealing for children as well as adults..but, it is extremely enriching to understand that the art conveys meaning, so be sure to get a docent tour...The docents are excellent...The collection is very large, but the amount on display at any time is very manageable...This is an unusual collection....

The largest Australian aboriginal art collection outside of Australia is here, some 1800 works of art in a variety of mediums. But you won't see all of them at any one time. Only a portion of that vast collection is on display for the public. The items on display are rotated periodically from the general collection. But even the few dozen works of art that I saw greatly impressed me. Well worth a visit. They are open daily except Monday.

We're sorry to hear you didn't enjoy your museum visit. We have over 1800 objects in our collection, but unfortunately our small space limits what we can show at one time, so we rotate exhibitions on a regular basis to show as much of the collection as possible. We too wish we could exhibit much more!I'm also sorry to hear that something in the museum triggered your asthma. We have museum quality HVAC systems and we do integrated pest management, so I wonder if the smell you are referring to is coming from the paintings on bark in the museum? Since they are painted with natural pigments on eucalyptus bark, they do have an earthy smell to some people, although to our knowledge this does not affect air quality. Please call us at 434-244-0234; if it was just in one area of museum, it would be good to know which one.

Small museum which you can spend 10 minutes to 2 hours looking at depending on your interest level. Some of the art objects are quite modern looking. With traditional items being just mesmerizing. There are two scavenger hunt options based on children's age that actively engage kids and allows parents to learn while helping.This is not MOMA or National Gallery but worth your time if you are in the area!

The museum only has a few rooms to display a tiny portion of its collection. But it manages to make a big impression in that small space. The artwork is superb, and there is excellent signage to help you understand it. I came away with a real appreciation for Aboriginal art and am looking forward to returning the next time I'm in Charlottesville to check out their changing exhibits.

We had a group tour and we were able to go down into the archives and see the burial tree poles and large bark paintings!!They have the largest aboriginal art collection in the United States.There are special events in evenings with music ,check out their website always something going on.

This is a small art museum but I think worth the visit. The original art work is very impressive. The paintings tell the history of the Aborigine which is quite interesting.

We were lucky enough to be invited by family to the July Night at the Museum. The museum is small however the insightful commentary offered by staff made it very meaningful. Add cutting edge music, savory food by local food trucks on a cool summer evening to local beers to great friends and it was a memorable visit. There's also a study center on site with a large number of resources. Recommended!

We are sorry that the museum didn't live up to expectations. We also find it unfortunate that our space restricts our collection of over 1800 objects to a few small rooms, and for this reason we rotate objects out regularly to show as much of the collection as possible. Our small space also severely limits what sculpture we can exhibit. We would love to have an outdoor sculpture garden as you suggest, but a lot of large-scale Aboriginal sculpture is not made from materials that are suitable for outdoor locations. We do hold a series of outdoor events in the summer that opens up our beautiful lawn to the public for local food, beer and music.

My only complaint is that I wish there were more. I learned a lot and loved what was on display, but that was less than twenty pieces, I reckon.

The excellent wall labels provide a good introduction into the mystical and magnificent artwork on display. Take the time to read about the paintings, but more importantly to look closely at and be drawn into these intriguing works. It's a small museum and the works on display change regularly, but it is well worth the time to visit and enjoy the Aboriginal Art from Australia. There is no charge to enter and the small gift shop has wonderful and reasonably priced items to tempt you!

No one seems to know about this little museum of aboriginal art. It is set in a pretty house, which unfortunately surrounded by an industrial park, but it is well worth going to. Very nicely displayed art, with a lot of interpretation and helpful staff.