The Riverside Art Museum is a museum that thrives on creativity. The museum has been in existence for more than 50 years, and it features contemporary art exhibits as well as workshops, lectures, artist talks, family days and much more. If you are looking to visit one of the most creative museums in Southern California then this is the place for you!

History

This museum was opened in 1967 by a group of writers, artists, and musicians who wanted to have their own space where they could display art that spoke about contemporary American culture. In this way, it was very similar to other artist-run spaces that were starting up at this time around America such as The Factory in New York City or La Mamelle in San Francisco. The museum was actually founded by a group of artists who had all studied at the Riverside Art Museum School. This school belonged to what is today known as the University of California, Riverside and it opened in 1963 under another name – Inland Artists Gallery.

The first exhibitions that were held here included an exhibition on Pop art from Los Angeles which featured work from artists such as Ed Ruscha, John Altoon, and Larry Bell amongst others. Although this early pop art show did not receive critical reviews it did help to launch other shows that would become more successful over time; particularly one 1970 exhibition called “Funk” which focused on the use of funk or soul music in contemporary painting and sculpture. Another important development for the museum came when its director — Jerry Burchard — opened a printmaking studio. This was the first-ever exhibition space that allowed prints to be shown alongside other forms of contemporary art such as paintings and drawings from artists who were not necessarily known for their prints.

The collection today is still focused on this type of interdisciplinary artistic exploration, which means it has works by well-known artists like Ed Ruscha, Alan Shields (who also happens to be one of the founders), David Ireland, Sandow Birk, Joe Goode among others. The museum has plans to build an entire new wing in order to accommodate these types of exhibits. However, they are currently focusing more on educational programs at present since visitor numbers have been low over recent years. Despite having no permanent exhibitions there are still talks, workshops, and lectures that are held here on a regular basis.

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