Name: Bali
Rating: 4.5

Agung Rai Museum of Art, Bali Overview

The Agung Rai Museum of Art in Ubud offers a whole gamut of Balinese creativity and art. Not only does it showcase a range of paintings such as the classic Kamasan style paintings and those by Walter Spies and Adrien Le-Mayeur, but also offers art workshops and traditional dance performances for visitors. This is one museum where you don't just see the history, but experience it too!

The collection at the Agung Rai Museum ranges from traditional to contemporary. However, this museum does not only have a collection of artworks but is also a centre of performing and visual arts. It aims at preserving artworks such as paintings, sculpture, dance, music and other cultural art forms and at providing a means and infrastructure for the local society to learn different artistic skills.

Agung Rai Museum offers a range of services to different cultural groups as well as those who aspire to learn about Bali’s cultural heritage. All in all, this museum is a living entity that aims at sustaining Balinese arts and is definitely worth a visit.

Things to Do

There are a number of artworks to look at in this museum. Apart from famous works of Walter Spies and Adrien Le-Mayeur, this museum also has a collection of artworks of Balinese artists such as Raden Saleh, Syarif Bustaman, Gusti Nyoman Lempad, Ida Bagus Made, Anak Agung Gede Sobrat and Gusti Made Deblog.

Contemporary artworks include paintings by Willem Gerard Hofker, Rudolf Bonnet, Willem Dooijewaard. Artworks of the German painter Walter Spies, who has a special space in the collection for his contribution to the development of Balinese arts.

Visitors are welcome to have a look at the centre of visual and performing arts including the dance, music and painting classes, bookshop, library and reading room, conferences, cultural workshops, seminars and training programs.

A number of guided tours are also available at the museum which includes group, couples as well as individual tours.

History

The history of the Agung Rai Museum goes back to the 1990s when it was founded by a Balinese, Agung Rai who dedicated his entire life to the preservation and development of Balinese art and culture. The museum was set up with the help of loans taken from Mr and Mrs Agung Rai.

The museum was administered by the ARMA Foundation on the 13th of May 1996 and was officially started on 9th June 1996 by Professor. Dr Ing Wardiman Djojonegoro, Minister of Culture and Education of the Republic of Indonesia. Today, the Agung Rai Museum has a collection of paintings from 19th-century Javanese artists, as well as those from the 1930s-40s.

How To Reach Agung Rai Museum of Art

This museum is located in Ubud, Bali. The closest airport to this attraction Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS) which is around 35 kilometres away and it would take around 90 minutes to reach via JI By Pass Ngurah Rai.
Alternatively, the Agung Rai Museum is around 970 metres away from Ubud Market and Ubud Palace.
Visitors can take a cab, taxi or a bus from the airport to the museum as well as from the other two locations.
They can also walk from Ubud Palace and Ubud Market.