Museum London, Ontario, Canada

3ElaineAndGreg 5:00 PM Jul 3, 2014

Great Building; Content is OK
I think museums in general are a good thing and enjoy visiting them whenever I travel. Museum London is pretty much a local museum and while it has a pleasing, airy, and well-designed space, the content is strictly local. The Museum London is in a modern and well-designed building near the RIver Thames in London, Ontario. There is parking out front (it's pay and display for $2 per hour - bring change). They also have a cafe and a gift shop selling original art, among other things. Before you visit, take a look at the hours. In summer, they open at 11:00; it's noon at other times. Admission is by donation. I did not see a recommended amount, but we paid $5. When we were there, there was very little on the first floor. Most of what is essentially their permanent collection is downstairs, and they have exhibitions upstairs. There were two or three exhibitions, one of Margaret Watkins, a Canadian photographer who was active beginning in the 1920s, and another of a local metal sculptor. The photographer was interesting, but there were many, many samples and I was left with the feeling that the exhibit would have been twice as good with maybe half as much. The last was of abstractions by Canadian artists, apparently comprised mostly of paintings from the museum's own collection. The exhibition galleries were quite large. This suited the metal sculpture fine, but in places it seemed as if there wasn't enough art to fill or match the space. Most of the regular collection appeared to be on the lower level. They displayed it mostly in one room with false walls organized roughly by period. I've seen that type of gallery display done in other museums, most notably the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, but I'm not sure it was as much of a success here, perhaps due to the more eclectic nature of the work. Some of the art was pleasing, particularly that of Paul Peel. Some less so. I think they recognized that the display was not ideal, calling it something like the "visible storage project." We spent about an hour here, and I think that's the right amount of time. While the building is very good, their on-line materials are also excellent. My sense was that they have the infrastructure down, but need more in the way of content. The Museum London is a good, not great, local museum in an excellent structure. It's worth a visit, but probably not a major detour.

3vivace_8 5:00 PM Dec 1, 2017

Half-viewed
Half of the museum was under construction when I visited. However, the second floor spaces were large and nicely laid out. The exhibits unique and interesting. The gift shop is small and displays crowded - not a place for children or strollers. Staff not too knowledgeable about their merchandise. I was told that a lovely shawl was locally hand-crafted; then discovered - on the tag - that it was made in Turkey. Staff were not particularly helpful - only when I stepped up to ask. However, admission is free; donations appreciated.