Harn Museum of Art
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The Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art is an art museum at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. It is in the UF Cultural Plaza area in the southwest part of campus. The Harn is a 112,800-square-foot facility, making it one of the largest university art museums in the South.
attractions: Florida Museum of Natural History-Exhibits, Butterfly Rainforest at the Florida Museum of Natural History, Crunch Fitness - Gainesville, Hilton University of Florida Conference Center Gainesville, 34th Street Plaza, Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Southwest Recreation Center, Baughman Center, Natural Area Teaching Laboratory, Donald R. Dizney Stadium, restaurants: Metro Diner, Kabab House Gainesville, Gumby's Pizza, POKE FUSION BOWL, Shula's Steak House, Court Of Hero's, Wok N Roll, Los Pollos, Wingstop
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Description
The Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art is an art museum at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. It is in the UF Cultural Plaza area in the southwest part of campus. The Harn is a 112,800-square-foot facility, making it one of the largest university art museums in the South.
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My husband and I enjoy visiting art museums and Harn was a great addition to our list. Parking is free (parking deck a short walk away) and there's paid parking if you find any free spots in the nearby parking lot. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. Once we walked into the museum, a friendly front desk person greeted us and told us about the scannable map of the location. Then, we went off and explored what exhibits were on display. My favorite part was the Asian art section. The facilities are excellently kept and clean. The women's bathrooms were spotless. There are also staff walking around at all times to ensure the art is being respected. It had a lot of empty space, which was different than other galleries and museums we've been to. Not sure if that was a good or bad thing, but it was interesting to see how the space was utilized. It was starting to rain when we arrived and there were only a few visitors (maybe 10) that we encountered (it was Saturday around 230pm). When we left (around 330pm), more guests were arriving, so we were glad to see the displays when it was mostly empty. Highly recommend for adults, but kids might get bored since there isn't much interactivity here as say, the Florida Museum of Natural History, just next door.
L PL P
40
Rarely do you see me writing positive, glowing reviews of Florida's art museums, but I just had an overwhelmingly positive experience at Gainesville's Harn Museum of Art. The flow of the museum feels spacious and thoughtful, and the focus of inclusive, international art makes it a perfect teaching museum for University students. The highlight for me was the Tempus Fugit exhibition that explored Japanese ceramic and watercolor within the context of Time and Perception. The quality of the Japanese ceramic work is stunning and some of the pieces rival the San Francisco Asian Art Museum. There is a lovely outdoor Japanese garden where you can take a brief jaunt through nature, then arrive back in the museum. The visitor's experience is clearly important to the curators here and their passion for making progressive political choices is evident with the new Black contemporary photography exhibition that opened today. It is not only a strong statement as a museum, but the work itself is well-crafted and not easy to understand ( one of my prerequisites for good contemporary art.) Overall, my expectations were super low going in, based on my previous Florida art museum let downs, but I am super glad I went and highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more.
Philip RinglerPhilip Ringler
50
Ok, so you have to visit both the Florida museum & the Hart Museum same day. They are right next to each other and have free admission. After learning about lepidopterology, I came across to get in tune with arts and culture. There's quite literally something for everyone here. Now for the tough thing that no one wants to say: I'm not for museums shoving black and African art down our throats. I understand the curating process and given the times, fair, but they dedicated the largest foyer to it, and they took away the most popular pieces to do it. I travel a lot and have been to museums all over, and my skin is brown, just for reference. With that being said, this is a wonderful place. The docents are exceptionally versed, and be sure to take a walk in the water and rock garden. Also, since it's free, buy a postcard or donate a couple of dollars, and it goes a long way. 10/10 a Gainesville must-see!
Sean RamboSean Rambo
10
Pretty good museum with many interesting exhibits, paintings and events. There's a hidden section in the basement of this building where some PG13+ art is displayed. The best sections among the exhibits are the Asian and African sections. The Asian section has beautiful sculptures, jewelry and pottery from India, Japan and China. The African section has super cool masks, head gear and weaponry from ancient and contemporary African tribes. Paintings are also worth having a look at, especially the impressionist and the Florida paintings sections. Some events are cool and have a lot of fun stuff to enjoy like dances, stories, and stalls showing you how to make some art or painting from that culture. Other events are very meh. The website will help you get an idea of which events are really worth checking out. Best of all, it's free to the public.
AnuragAnurag
20
Very nice art museum - even the building itself is interesting & beautiful. The staff was enthusiastic, helpful, and friendly. We most enjoyed the sculptures, the Cuban art exhibit, and walking thru the incorporated garden. Some of the displayed art is in their permanent collection and some is visiting - I'm not sure which was which so this comment might become out of date: there were many "old masters" paintings that were dark & unappealing. Sure, they may be historical & educationally significant but they weren't IMO very visually pleasing.
David DDavid D
10
Butterfly museum inside of the Harn 🐣 Very nice place and loved the gift shop
Mi MiMi Mi
00
Nearby Attractions Of Harn Museum of Art
Florida Museum of Natural History-Exhibits
Butterfly Rainforest at the Florida Museum of Natural History
Crunch Fitness - Gainesville
Hilton University of Florida Conference Center Gainesville
34th Street Plaza
Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
Southwest Recreation Center
Baughman Center
Natural Area Teaching Laboratory
Donald R. Dizney Stadium
Florida Museum of Natural History-Exhibits
4.8
(1.5K)Click for details
Butterfly Rainforest at the Florida Museum of Natural History
4.9
(1.1K)Click for details
Crunch Fitness - Gainesville
4.5
(950)Click for details
Hilton University of Florida Conference Center Gainesville
4.1
(767)Click for details
Nearby Restaurants Of Harn Museum of Art
Metro Diner
Kabab House Gainesville
Gumby's Pizza
POKE FUSION BOWL
Shula's Steak House
Court Of Hero's
Wok N Roll
Los Pollos
Wingstop
Metro Diner
4.6
(1.8K)$$
Click for details
Kabab House Gainesville
4.3
(495)$$
Click for details
Gumby's Pizza
4.0
(463)$
Click for details
POKE FUSION BOWL
4.7
(190)$$
Click for details
Reviews
Overview
4.7
(481 reviews)
Phone
(352) 392-9826
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Website
harn.ufl.edu
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