Aaron Sullivan
Google
This museum has the potential to be 5 stars, but a few things hold it back.
Free admission is a huge plus and would normally earn a perfect rating on its own. However, a lot of the open space isn’t being used well, many exhibits are often closed, and most of what’s on display, specifically the modern art, is just not good.
The classic paintings are excellent, but the modern pieces often feel like parody. I get that art is subjective, but much of it comes across as satire rather than serious work, which feels out of place in a museum setting.
I’ve visited this place 10–15 times, as the free admission makes it an easy thing to take guests to. They used to have a small cost or a pay-what-you-can fee, so I’ve given them a fair bit of money, and in these cases I can’t really say it was worth the cost to be honest.
My friend, whom I took on the most recent visit, said that he felt he should have been paid to go there and that all the modern art legitimately seemed like a joke.
There is a cafe inside, but bags aren’t allowed in the museum (despite there being no signage indicating this, and a locker storage facility suggesting bags would be allowed), so it ends up not being a good cafe or environment for getting work done.
The final reason it’s not 5 stars is the employees are just kind of rude. Short-tempered, scoff at questions, don’t really have a lot of knowledge on the artwork (I’m sure this depends on who is working. My experiences haven’t been great).
If this was a paid museum I’d rank it 1 or 2 stars based on everything above, but with the free admission, the faults could easily be improved and turn this place into a 5-star museum.
I often begin to like places more after frequenting them, as a sense of homeliness and anticipation of nostalgia for it in the future sets in, but this museum hasn’t had that effect on me, unfortunately.