Grand Rapids Art Museum — Attraction in Grand Rapids

Accessibility and restrooms are not clearly marked. Maps/guides ere not offered when purchasing admission. Admission employees do not ask if first time to museum either, however, they were the only "nice" employees present.

As for art, save your $12. This museum isn't comprehensive or large. We saw the whole thing in 40 mins max. The Toledo Art Museum is free, comprehensive, much larger, unbelievably amazing and is accessible. Go there instead.

The community accessibility to the GRAM is ironic.. The majority of art exhibited at this museum addresses disparities and injustice between races and socioeconomic circumstances. It is a "theme" GR, as a city, seems passionate about. However, free parking isn't offered anywhere nearby; there is limited free museum admission (and then it's only from 5-6 on Thursdays, which is a common work day/time); and parking reimbursement/subsidization is offered to PAYING MEMBERS only. I must point out that the GRAM is monumentally hypocritical when weighed against their art content; it is not easily accessible for those with limited income. This museum offers "token" inclusivity at best and, wholly, is not a museum for ALL the people... It's there for only those who can afford to go.

As well, it is a museum that caters only to those that read/speak English. Only the exhibit on loan had plaques in non-English languages. No QR codes or brochures with common US languages other than English are offered.

An important note: you better be walking out of the building doors BY, not at, the closing hour. This is not communicated to you in person or in writing. The employees are not gracious or discreet if you break ANY perceived rule or etiquette, whether listed on the website, room, or not:

I was scolded for using my cell phone in a non-exhibition area, even though I was using an undertone, I was in a secluded area with no other guests nearby, there were no signs marking it as a no phone area, and there were no cell phone etiquette policies listed on the website. The restroom on either the second or third level is a one-person-at-a-time and had clearly not been serviced for hours; no paper towels, trash on the floors, etc. The Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM) closed at 4 on Sunday and I used the restroom at 3:55. My friend was waiting after me and also used the restroom. I literally was stared at by FIVE employees while waiting for her. That was very uncomfortable. Once my friend immediately excited the restroom, it was projected across the entire second floor that the museum was closed. We used the elevator to go to the first floor and decided to take a selfie while waiting for it. Once we raised our phone, again, it was yelled from across the room that the museum was closed. The elevator wasn't even open yet! We were followed (herded) as we were walking out and given dirty looks. Then once we were back at the first floor exit doors, standing between the two exit doors, looking at the map on my phone because this was the first time in Grand Rapids, we were directly told to step out of the museum because, again, it was closed. We literally had been standing there for not even 30 seconds; a literal pause. I looked at my watch and it was 4:08. My watch is set a few minutes ahead. A bit of graciousness, even if such firmness was considered necessary, would have been greatly appreciated. Graciousness is a lost "art".

The only person of color I saw there was the security guard and one guest. I found that unacceptable.

BTW, both my friend and myself are 45yo licensed, medical professionals. Considering all the issues I've addressed, this place smells strongly of mismanagement and/or lack of cohesiveness among those in charge. If these GRAM employees were under my management (I wish they were), a team meeting and training session on guest courtesy would be considered imperative. As well, a board conversation on redirecting the focus of the museum's mission and how to address the lack of inclusivity and community accessibility is...

The GRAM is a stunning place for a wedding reception. It really set the vibe for our wedding reception and we are so happy we chose this venue as it's a place we will be able to return to and visit!

With that being said, when we booked the GRAM, one of the main reasons we chose them and not the other venue we looked at, is because we loved and immediately trusted their team. Little did we know, the GRAM underwent a transition period about three months after we signed our contract and they let go of their entire events staff. Ironically, events at the GRAM are now being managed by Rye Venue Management and this is the team that managed the other venue we looked at (The Lit) and what made is ultimately decide no on that venue.

Although I do not have anything bad to say about the GRAM, Rye Venue Management is now a direct reflection of the GRAM. Our experience leading up to our wedding day was awful. At our 90-day meeting (our first in person meeting), our contact, Madison, did not show up. We waited outside the GRAM unable to get a hold of anyone from Rye. After a bunch of back and forth, the meeting was rescheduled with Madison, her supervisor Samantha, and the owner Rob. Samantha was very professional and understanding and we appreciated that. We then found out that Madison, our main contact, would not actually be our day-of person and how that person isn't assigned until 2 weeks prior to the wedding day. Unreal.

When Rob got involved, he was extremely unprofessional. The example he was setting for his team is unbelievable. We asked that we know who our day-of person is going to be now because that is what we agreed on and signed in our original contract. He then threatened us by saying, "Or what? Or what are you going to do?".

Long story short, our wedding day was perfect. We were blessed with a day-of coordinator (not affiliated with the GRAM or Rye) who we trusted and made us feel at ease. I did not speak with any of the Rye team that was there on our wedding day, but my mom did say that the manager on duty from Rye was not helpful.

Again, nothing bad to say about the GRAM except for the fact that their prior events team was AMAZING and I am very unhappy with the Rye Venue Management team. I will never work with any venue affiliated with Rye again and have already informed my friends...

Visited here for the Jim Henson exhibit. Nice place! I thought it would be bigger but it seems like part of the first floor was closed off at the time. It didn't detract from the visit at all though!

The layout made for a nice easy flow and we never felt too smothered, even in the fuller galleries. Shoutout to the curator - at one bottlenecked area of the Henson exhibit, there was a big TV so people atleast had something to watch while being stuck in the crowd. Suffice it to say, whoevers working this joint understands crowd flow.

The top floor was probably my favorite and had a lot of variety in style and content. From what I can recall, the only way to get up there was by elevator.

There was a lot of seating here and there to rest which I appreciated. I think this would be a nice place to hang around in the summer.

The area around outside the museum is worth exploring as well. Lots of great places to eat, a park directly outside, and a fantastic comic book store about a block away.

The entry fee was a reasonable $10 which I think is an ideal price for a place of this size. I can't really say if it was worth it to buy the tickets in advance - the line to enter for people who needed tickets was awfully small, while the one for people with advance tickets was nearly around the block. Granted, it was the last day of the Henson exhibit, so take this observation with a grain of salt.

The greeter was ok, just said hi and gave us our tickets, no spiel or anything. I get it, it's a crowded Saturday, but I do hope when it's less busy there's some more welcoming vibes there rather than just a hi and bye feel.

Parking was pretty standard and cheap, we used a nearby parking garage and spent several hours in the area from about 1030 to 4ish on a Saturday. The total came out...