Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art — Attraction in Boulder

On Wednesday, July 31, 2024, around 2 to 3 PM, I visited the museum with my in-laws. I checked the outside sign to confirm that the museum was still free. The sign did say "free." Inside, my in-laws looked at the gift shop. We didn’t plan to stay longer than 10 minutes at most since we were waiting for our reservation at the Teahouse next door. My in-laws decided to wait outside the museum.

I asked the front desk lady if there was a cost or if we needed to sign a guest book (this was the case the last time I had been there, probably two years ago). I like to ask because sometimes signs are not accurate or are out of date. She said it was "free, but it’s donation-based, pay from the heart." She was then very pushy about my sister-in-law and me going in. We went in, looked around for about 10 minutes, and didn’t even make it through the whole first floor (there is an upstairs). My sister-in-law received a text that our table was ready, so we headed toward the door.

On the way out, the front desk lady said to me, "Did you pay when you came in?" I turned, confused, and said, "You said it was free." She responded, "It’s free, but it's pay from the heart." She paused and then said directly to me, in a loud and rude tone, "YOU MUST PAY!" My sister-in-law became very uncomfortable and didn’t have any cash. I had some change, so I put in probably 10 cents.

100% I will never be going back again. 100% I do not recommend. 100% , this was the worst interaction I have ever had in any establishment (same for my sister-in-law).

I have been to the museum probably 4-5 times in all the years I have lived in Boulder. It’s not a big place. I have donated when I have gone before. I didn’t realize I would be harassed if I didn’t donate. I am currently going through a hard time. I got engaged, already booked a venue, and then my entire department was laid off. I don’t exactly have a lot of extra money right now. The only reason I went to lunch with my in-laws was because I had already eaten lunch at home so I was only going to get a cup of tea and only went because my in-laws assured me they were paying for lunch. I am a good example of you really don't know what other people are going through so be kind to everyone. If I had known I would be treated that way and forced to pay, I never would have gone in. I later found out that the front desk lady was being rude and weird toward my in-laws and other visitors, which is why they decided to sit outside instead. My in-laws spent the rest of the week talking about how terrible this lady was.

What upsets me the most is that I know donations are not the museum's only source of income. I have attended a private event at the museum, and I know they do weddings as well. I don’t know if this lady is paid a salary employee or is a volunteer, but the muesum needs to talk to this lady about her behavior towards guests.

To the art museum: this lady had dark hair past her shoulders, glasses, was probably about 5 ft 5 in, and was working Wednesday while the farmer's market was happening. Please talk to her. It may have been a bad day but I am not sure.

To people visiting Boulder: DON'T GO TO THE BOULDER CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM.

Support local Boulder artists by going to Boulder Art Association website to see when events and shows are happening. Visit R Gallery and purchase artwork from local artists. There are several other art places on Pearl Street where you can buy local artwork—Art Mart comes to mind. Go to the art gallery in the Boulder Library! Enjoy the gardens in the Boulder Library, the café, and the bridge over Boulder Creek. Attend a live music show at the Chautauqua Park Theater. The Chautauqua dining hall is great, and so are the hikes. There’s a playground for kids and a small garden where local artists display their work frequently (which is actually free to view). Attend a show at the Boulder Theater on Pearl Street. Go to the farmer's market on Wednesday and during the weekend in the summer. There isn’t art, but it’s a...

I was very impressed with the Boulder museum of contemporary art. They had two exhibitions going when I went, both of which were excellent.

It is very difficult for a small art museum to effectively Display enough art to make The Visit interesting without you feeling like they just stuffed everything they could find into the little space that they have.

I felt like BMoCA a did a good job of avoiding those traps.By only having 2 exhibitions each exhibition was able to take up the entire floor so the pieces had plenty of space to breathe. Which was particularly important in the exhibition downstairs which was a series of portraits done on huge canvasses, and they required space and I was pleased that the museum gave them the space they deserved.

Upstairs was an exhibition of various mixed media and digital art, specifically video and things done with computers. Even an app that was an art project - which was really cool.

The fact of the 2 exhibitions were so different from each other and that the museum had a foot in both traditional and more I avant garde art was another high point.

From what I could tell it seems like the get new exhibitions every few months so I will definitely...

Here's another Boulder attraction that I have always ignored, now I wonder why. This traveling exhibition, that will be here until Spetember, was quite engaging. I enjoyed the exhibit that was a series of mandalas with earphones. When properly placed the sounds were very intriguing. Another exhibit was a series of framed money with laser cutting, with something pertinent in the cut out space. On Wednesday when the Farmers Market is open (they take place in the same area), the museum does not charge admission. And although the museum usually charges a $5 admission, for the rest of this year they are only charging $1.They are open during the Sat. Farmers Market, so of you need a little break from the crowding and noise, this is a good place...