The Taubman Museum of Art is an art museum located in the heart of downtown Roanoke that is dedicated to preserving the art of the region. Formerly known as the Art Museum of Western Virginia, the Taubman Museum of Art was established to encourage the local community and visitors to Roanoke to enjoy the city’s metro mountain mix of arts, culture, and outdoor fun.
Designed by architect Randall Stout, the Museum is constructed to honor the naturalistic elements of the Roanoke region. The point of the Roanoke Star is reflected in the 77-foot glass peak in the atrium, while the undulating roofline is reminiscent of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.
The Taubman Museum of Art features a permanent collection of 19th and early 20th-century American art with more than 2,000 works of art across a range of media from modern and contemporary paintings, design, and decorative arts, and photography.
Dating from the mid-19th to the second quarter of the 20th century, the American art collection features exceptional works from a variety of art movements, including American Impressionism, the Arts and Crafts Movement, the Hudson River, and American Realism. The collection includes well-known artists such as Normal Rockwell, Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer, and John Singer, as well as a small sub-section with collections by self-taught artists. Other acclaimed artists featured include John Singer Sargent, John Cage, Thomas Cowperthwaite Eakins, Purvis Young, and Petah Coyne. The Museum also features several smaller collections including Southern folk art.
The Museum features 11 galleries that host 15-20 exhibitions per year featuring artists such as Norman Rockwell, John James Audubon, Kehinde Wiley, and Sally Mann. There is also a range of hands-on, creative experiences for young visitors in the Museum’s interactive learning space, Art Venture.
The Taubman Museum of Art offers a range of educational programs, classes, workshops and ventures for visitors of all ages.
Art Venture is a family-friendly exploratory gallery that provides young visitors with an interactive hands-on learning environment where visitors can draw, paint, build, create sculptures, connect music with art, display artwork, and investigate 3D printing and printmaking.
Art Venture features 15 interactive stations, including a Pre-Toddler area, Music, and Visual Arts section, a Giant Dry Erase Board, Painting, Drawing and Printing, a Color Wheel, and Community Display Area, among others. Each station has curriculum-based activities that engage and stimulate learning from visitors between the ages of 12 and 17 years.
Programs for children and families at the Taubman Museum of Art include Strolling into Art, Saturday Tours, Art Venture Winter Break Week, Artful Journeys, and Young at Art. A variety of tours can be arranged at the Museum, ranging from customized tours, corporate offerings, team-building trips, college groups and private tours.
Programs for adults at the Taubman Museum of Art include Adult Studio Workshops, Yoga at the Taubman, Drop-In Volunteer, and Info Sessions, Art by Night, Mindful Art Making and Arts Fusion. Teen programs include Teen Workshop Series, including Drawing, Clay Making, and Mixed Media Mash-Ups, Art by Night, and Open House.
The Taubman Museum of Art is located at 110 Salem Avenue SE in Roanoke and is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and Sundays from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Art By Nights (First Friday of every month) and Third Thursdays are open to visitors from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm.
The Taubman Museum of Art also hosts a variety of events throughout the year, including Wine and Dine, International Wine Festival, Bourbon and Bacon, Monster Art Rally, and Sidewalk Art Shows. Art Go Bloom is a special four-day event featuring fresh floral masterpieces inspired by works from the Museum’s permanent collection. The event features one-of-a-kind floral arrangements that reflect the ephemeral blooming of flowers, paintings and sculptures of more than 20 works of art in the Museum’s collection.
In addition to the Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke offers a variety of attractions for visitors to enjoy, including the Mill Mountain Zoo, the O. Winston Link Museum, the Virginia Museum of Transportation, and Center-In-The-Square, a multi-cultural complex with a planetarium, a professional theater, and museums.
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110 Salem Avenue SE, Roanoke, VA 24011, Phone: 540-342-5760, website, Map
