Riverside Art Museum

Located in the historic Mission Inn district of downtown Riverside, the Riverside Art Museum is housed in a National Historic 1929 building. Welcoming more than 50,000 visitors each year, the museum offers more than 20 exhibits each year in traditional and contemporary art that address social issues and diverse themes in a range of media techniques.

The Riverside Art Museum was named the Best Museum in the Inland Empire by two independent media outlets, FoxLA and IE Weekly.

For more than 50 years, the Riverside Art Museum has offered an array of art exhibits, educational programs, scholarships and events to the community. The museum offers collections that showcase a wide range of work with an emphasis on American, Californian and prominent Inland Empire artists.

Currently on exhibit at the museum, visitors can explore a collection of recent works by Mark Indig from his “Closed on Sundays” and “The LA River: A City Runs Through It” series. Indig is a local artist who explores the life and spirit of his urban surroundings through photography.

In "Closed on Sundays," Indig captures a view of storefronts, gates and windows on a Sunday morning. This series offers a visual documentation of a contemporary “folk” style taking place on avenues and streets across the country. Then, "The LA River: A City Runs Through It" focuses on the life and spirit of a maligned river in a frenzied city. Indig asks us to look past the “ugly” association of a concrete river, covered with graffiti, and overseen by a bureaucratic network of agencies and governments.

Inspiring exhibits aren't the only way that the museum serves the community of Riverside. It also offers an array of art classes and workshops for all ages. The art class experience offers a balance of traditional and innovative instruction within a small class setting, encouraging comprehensive guidance and maximum attention to students' individual interests and needs.

On the first Sunday of the month, the museum offers free art and cultural activities for the entire family. Other events include live theater performances, seminars on tax tips for artists and oil painting demonstrations.

In addition to the museum, the Spanish revival two-story building offers a printmaking center, a classroom, youth gallery, an arts library, museum store, atrium restaurant and a rooftop courtyard. Enjoy a full day of art, culture and beauty as you explore the Mission Inn district while visiting the Riverside Art Museum.

- by Jennifer Pruett, Riverside Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Jennifer Pruett

A self proclaimed “queen of everything," Jennifer is a writer, planner and passionate lover of making exciting events extra special. As a creative mother of two she loves art, music, family, friends, exotic cuisine and exploring new areas of self improvement. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in liberal studies from the University of Oklahoma and has been writing restaurant and attraction reviews in the Phoenix Metro area since January, 2009.