It's a wonderful local museum. They do a great job of highlighting artists from the Riverside and surrounding areas. As of Nov. 2019 they have a great show up of local printmakers. It's not the kind of place that'll you'll learn all of art history but it is has a great sense of community. I recommend everyone in town goes there and to the other local art museum downtown. read more

Came to the art museum in riverside on a Sunday afternoon. It was quiet and peaceful. Parking is free on weekends. Staff is super polite and helpful. My children were able to even make some of their own! There's plenty of space for your little ones to look around without feeling your going to break,something. I have 4 kids 13,10,4,and 3 they had a amazing time. Great new and older art. Overall great experience for us all! Thank you. read more

Riverside Art Museum - Every child is an artist! - Art Schools Near Me - Riverside, California

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I love this place, I came here during September in 2019 before we went into lock down. I took my little sisters and it was so nice that we visited again the next day. If you're in the area or want to check out a small museum please stop by here! read more

The Riverside Art Museum isn't much more than a space with a few paintings and that's being generous... When I think of museums my mind immediately conjures up images of endless unique artifacts housed in a impressive edifice, this place maybe had a couple of things worth while. One thing that was quite impressive was a live dance exhibition, the choreography was eye catching and original. The museum also had a historical exhibit about Tags and the Japanese evacuation in Riverside...There were some historical jewels there but not nearly enough to be labeled a museum and at $5 a pop I don't think I'll be going back... read more

I was excited to go to this museum but when i got there there was no one at the front desk and no one would answer my call. i walked in a bit to see if i could find anyone and there was a group of employees having a meeting or something and just looked at me didn't ask if i needed help at all. wack read more

Beautifully California Romanza styled building designed by famous architect Julia Morgan. We stumbled on an exhibit of artist Sandow Birks's "American Quran" and it was amazing. Check it out if you are in the area. read more

Nice building but very small especially since one exhibit was closed for installation. Student art upstairs.

After landing a job out here in Riverside, I have to admit that I am terribly impressed with Downtown. And this is because I had way low expectations to start off with. I attended the same Sea No Evil art show with David L. Mixed crowd of young scenester/hipsters and older people with money. The latter making it really hard to bid on art especially when I, myself, have a crippled disposable income. Alas, I left empty-handed because I was outbid on all of the art I placed a bid on - at the last minute to boot. However, I did walk away with a new found appreciation for Riverside and the Riverside Art Museum. Spacious area. Rooftop is pretty awesome to enjoy drinks, kick back and enjoy that Riverside breeze (heh). Gift shop is on the smaller side with sort of old lady-ish/cat lady type of art and jewelry. P.S. Parking is a pain on the weekend when you're competing with people who are trying to find parking for nearby downtown venues or the Mission Inn. read more

I had to come here for an exhibition for my anthropology extra credit project thing... I never seen a side to Riverside like this... The exhibition for anthropology was boring which didn't surprise me, but after we were done I wanted to see what else was here.. It was really fun exploring the whole museum. I got to see reptiles and all sorts of animals and then I went downstairs to see a hair exhibition. It was fascination but my friend wanted to leave so I couldn't look around for long... I want to come here again. I am just scared of the parking. I don't like tight streets and parallel parking. read more

This review above is for this museum as a wedding venue. This is a spacious location with a beautiful atrium with glass ceiling for an evening wedding. The process of finalizing the contract was challenging and required several back and forth efforts to ensure accuracy of the contact. Hence the review became a 4 instead of a 5. Everyone at the museum was very nice and accommodating to our wedding needs. We were able to bring our own alcohol, food, music, and decorations to this venue following their policy. This is a great venue for a wedding if you are on a budget and have a good wedding planner/caterer to work directly with the museum. read more

We just had our wedding on the roof top of the museum. It was not only beautiful and impressive but intimate. It was a fun location to host my wedding for my 95 guests. The building is beautiful and needs very little to no decorations. We choose not to have the art covered in the atrium during our ceremony, as that was part of the experience of getting married in an art museum for us. After the ceremony, my guest took the elevator up to the roof top. It was spacious and set up beautifully thanks to Kathy and her team. The attendants and security were pleasant and professional. I barely noticed them. I first emailed the venue coordinator, Kathy, when looking for possible venues. She was prompt in her response, but she went further then other venues did and really got the details out of what I wanted. I must note, I am (at times) not the easiest to work with. She was patient with me and accommodated 99% of my requests. She developed a great floor plan that totally worked for my event. She made it very clear what the museum allowed and provided us with a clear contract. There was zero miscommunication between us, I credit that to her and her commitment to ensure we had an amazing experience. I have zero regrets about choosing this venue. I'd recommend anyone to this venue who has a passion for the arts and beautiful architecture. The bonus is Kathy, of course. Again, she created the ideal experience. She even dropped some historical knowledge about the location! read more

Kudos to Riverside for having an art museum!!! Our little piece of the wild west is gaining in cultural niceties. Don't get me wrong, we still have a very long way to go, but we will get there. Don't come expecting to see the masters. No Rembrandts or Chagalls here, but then this is a small museum, not an established west coast mega-museum like the Getty or the Norton Simon. But this place is offering up a little bit of what is sorely lacking in the I.E. The staff, btw, is wonderful. As is the architecture. I hope that this little museum will grow and mature into a beautiful place for artists to gather and feast on inspiration. read more

I've passed by this museum plenty of times as I frequently work out of downtown Riverside but it wasn't until a couple years ago did I finally enter to explore the exhibits. For the price of entrance its worth it. I go every so often and they change their exhibits a good amount, so there's always something new to see and explore each time. They always have things going on that seem very family friendly and community driven. They have various classes, guest speakers, and different type of events so if you check out their calendar, there is always something that will spark your interest. The staff is always knowledgeable and friendly and I've never had a bad time there, and they are always approachable so if Ive had any questions someone was always willing to answer and it always wind up in a lovely conversation. If you're a visitor to Riverside, definitely check it out along with your stay and if you live in Riverside check out their calendar and make yourself a frequent visitor. You'll be a better human being for it, promise. read more

Don't waste your time going inside...there is nothing exciting or interesting. The building is beautiful from the outside, that's as good as it gets. read more

Such a beautiful venue to hold events at. Staff is very accommodating and friendly, and really tried to help with everything we wanted for the party. Kathy was AMAZING and was straightforward with what we could/could not do. The atrium was beautifully setup. Thank you! read more

Called last week for a facility rental. I was transferred to Valerie. She had no clue as to what she is doing. She brushed me off. It's sad that a community art museum can be so arrogant. They really need people from the community. . Who truly represent the community. . Who are these people. The museum needs to train their employees. read more

It's an amazing place to let your children explore art for the first time. Going over expectations before hand is key though. We were able to meet the artist in one of the exhibit halls and there is a little section for children to get hands-on. It's a small museum in a beautiful building but the admission fee is reasonable. I highly recommend looking at their upcoming exhibits and making a quick trip to see. This museum isn't a day trip, we were done in less than hour, so make it a stop along the way to the Mission Inn and other museums in walking distance. read more

I celebrated wife's milestone birthday at the Riverside Art Museum. It is the most beautiful venue to have events. Our guests from Orange County really loved the architecture, art, and beauty of the museum. They all go to hotels and restaurants for parties and events, so they were surprised by museum's beauty and uniqueness. We used all rooms and rooftop for the party and they all have different charm. The museum staff is very helpful and courteous. read more

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Did this museum a few weeks back when I was in riverside and it had some interesting pieces. It's a small museum, we were there maybe 30 minutes and saw everything but the pieces right now are very culturally influenced, which I liked a lot. I'd definitely come back once they get a new exhibit in the future read more

PLEASE READ THIS if you are planning a wedding or event at the Riverside Art Museum. I STRONGLY recommend that you find another venue!! We recently held our wedding there and we are very unhappy with several aspects of the event: 1. Our contract stated our event began at 4:30pm. RAM double booked the venue and when we arrived, we were told that there was an exhibit in our location scheduled until 5pm. This delayed us greatly. Even worse, Sue, the event coordinator, lied and told my family that I approved this double book and approved changing the start time to 5pm. I did no such thing as Sue never contacted me. 2. Our reception was held on the rooftop. I myself saw 3 cockroaches; I do not want to imagine how many my guests saw. Even worse, a cockroach jumped from the ceiling onto the shoulder of one of my guests! I witnessed this with my own eyes and I was absolutely mortified that this happened at my wedding! 3. I do understand that you take the risk of unsuitable or unfortunate art displays holding your wedding at an art museum; however, I was still extremely upset to find a clear, plastic doll floating above the aisle I walked down to reach my husband. Thank God I was so focused on reaching the end of the aisle that I did not look up. Once I saw it, I was completely embarrassed and disappointed that my guests sat under this scary floating doll instead of enjoying the beautiful atrium. I would have really appreciated the common courtesy of removing this piece of art during a wedding ceremony. I have included a picture for you all to see it. 4. Without getting into too much detail, I have to say that I was VERY unhappy with Sue, the event coordinator. She was extremely rude to me, my husband and my family. Her rude behavior carried over to her employees for the duration of the reception. Your wedding day should be the happiest day of your life. To ensure that, please select another venue. read more

Riverside Art Museum - This plastic doll was hanging above the aisle at my wedding ceremony. Really disappointing... - Art Schools Near Me - Riverside, California

I absolutely love this place....Julia Morgan was the pioneer female architectural genius behind this and many more buildings.... A magical place for a wedding and see Kathy Bennett....a genius behind the scenes and one great lady..... read more

I have been trying to schedule an appointment to see the event space no one ever calls or emails me back. I would be spending thousands of dollars yet they could care less... I will be looking for a different venue for my party. Very disappointed. read more

We came to this art museum for a graduation/engagement party. The place is pretty good looking from the outside the building is nice and historic, environment is clean and the landscaping is very nice. Inside of the building is pretty average. The hall that we were was a good size. Decoration was a soccer team with a bunch of soccer jerseys hanging from the wall and pictures of soccer stadiums from around the world. I guess that was the exhibit that time. Nothing spectacular but a good place to host an event. One thing that was subpar was the parking. Although they were parking structures they were about a 10 minute walk away and the street parking was very bad. We looked for about half an hour to find parking. Overall a good experience. read more

This museum has some good art presentations. My Daughter took some summer time classes here and she enjoyed it very much.

Beautiful architecture. Admission is minimal and there are plenty of exhibits. They also offer art classes for kids which I found to be a bit pricey. Since I'm not the artsy kind of girl I preferred the architecture. I know they have speakers and demos and those seem a bit more interesting. read more

this review is more for the Jeff Soto Exhibit that just opened up this month. it's amazing. i love his work. anyone that can make it out to see this exhibit should. it'll be open until feb. 21st so you should go there asap. my boyfriend and i drove down from SF to see this exhibit first hand. we got there and they told us that it wasn't open to the public for another hour. we explained to them that we came all the way from SF just for this event (which was half true. we came down for disneyland also) and that we didn't have anywhere to go for another hour. she was very understanding and said we could go right in. the gallery was beautiful. even the building the museum was in was really nice. the reception was nice too. complimentary cheese and wine. sparkling cider for those not of age. all in all, it was a great show and if you can make it out you should definitely go see it. i would go again if it wasn't so damn far :/ read more

First sunday of every month there are free children events throughout their property.

This is by far the best most beautiful place to have a Kids birthday Party. We've had 2 here now and it never disappoints. Raven Johnson was an amazing coordinator and made our kids experience magical. This location to have a birthday is truly a hidden Gem. Thank you RAM for the great experience, we will be back. read more

My 13 yo daughter took a week long art class and although she enjoyed the class and made friends , the instructor never spoke one word to her . She doesn't even know the instructors name . My daughter was very nervous to start ... and as an instructor I feel she should have made ALL the students feel welcomed . She did say the instructor spoke to other students so I'm not quite understanding.??? Not a compliment, not a suggestion on her work , nothing ! She spent 3 hours a day in this class ! I'm very disappointed. Art is her passion and I really wished she could have grown and learned from the instructor . Will never take a class from the same instructor again . It stifled my daughters spirit ! read more

Our company hosted an event at the museum and everything was perfect. The events team headed by Kathy is ON IT. From the first phone call Kathy was so helpful providing me pricing and all of the information to have the event including connecting me with a great caterer for our food. The event was exactly as expected and we were very pleased. Pricing was also very reasonable as well. The museum is a venue full of energy with art classes, beautiful exhibits, while at the same time still offering us the privacy needed for a private event. read more

A nice museum inside an amazing building. I was hoping for more traditional art exhibits. All the exhibits seemed to have the same vibe: ultra modern/street art with no exhibits showing traditional art gallery-type work. Still a great place to visit. read more

I've been to this museum many times and always enjoy the experience. They are committed to art and art education. They host events during Arts walk like free print making classes. The staff is kind and courteous to the visitors. There is always someone there to help and offer information on the exhibits but you can also spend some great alone time for absorbing diverse exhibits from all over the world. Definitely one of my favorite museums to visit in a regular basis. Be sure to check their website regularly for events and classes. read more

Located in a beautifully preserved historic YWCA building, RAM is a gem. Their galleries are intimate, but they host some terrific exhibits. RAM also has a number of art programs for both adults and children. And they have a wonderful gift shop featuring the works of local artists, including jewelry, silk scarves, ceramics, and drawings and posters. We've often done a significant amount of our holiday shopping for family there. Well worth a visit. read more

My visit was poor, I paid for my group and handed the man at the register my card and when he was done charging it and he threw it on the counter instead of handing it back to me (I work cs and it's just polite to HAND it back). He was very informative but lacks basic customer service skills. Also there is very little to look at but not bad for 5 dollars. read more

With all the venues in this area that can be used, this is the bottom of the barrel. The outside was ok but thats all. Usually when there are places like this, they will make you for their lackluster space by providing amazing customer service and make you feel important. This was far from the case. The staff here makes you feel like a neussance from the moment you walk in. Ugly industrial space plus horrible service= no thanks. read more

I contacted RAM for my daughter's wedding and their Facility Rental Coordinator Kathy Bennett is amazing!! We were sold at our first meeting with her. If you are looking for a beautiful venue along with having a coordinator that cares about more than simply booking your event, RAM is the place. Kathy goes the extra mile to return calls and emails which is very important when you are planning such an event. She is patient, kind, and has a heart of gold. She offered some great suggestions and really knew her stuff. We were glad to know that we didn't have to travel far from home to find a gem right in our own backyard. It is important for event venues to consider who they hire to represent their brand. It takes more than simply having a beautiful venue; it takes a person who really cares about people and making their special day just that, special. read more

The museum is poorly setup and show the directorship is failing the public. I have seen local art galleries with better displays than this. This tells me it is being ruined and ruined by a failing tenured washed up art instructor who is at the end of his career. read more

This place is great! My son takes Art for Autism classes on Saturday mornings. The instructors are very kind and understanding of a child with special needs. They give a structured art project, yet still leave room for kids to be creative (example: my son didn't like their green, he wanted to mix yellow and blue to make his own - that was okay with them). My son leaves smiling every time and eagerly awaits his next session. Highly recommended. read more

Love this place!! Not only is the building gorgeous but they always have interested and unique exhibitions. There usually an event happening, too (i.e. Talks w artists, live painting, and the like). Really great for families--lots of youth education programs, not to mention adult art classes as well. Lots of life at RAM!! read more

My friend invited me to a couple of their events here and it was always so much fun. The cocktails, appetizers, art, atmosphere were great. If you ever get a chance to have a drink on their rooftop take it, you get a nice view of downtown Riverside and people coming and going and in the summer the weather is perfection. Can't wait until the next event I get a chance to go to! read more