Sara S.
Yelp
I love art history, museums and the like, I really do. With that said, this is easily the most uninteresting art museum I've ever encountered. Largely uninspired collections, unmotivated and untrained staff and a real lack of focus in terms of what the museum is trying to represent.
Usually, an art museum has a specific focus in mind when determining collections and exhibitions. With South Bend Museum of Art, it's more of a lack of concrete focus than anything. I've been here a few times and never once did I feel compelled to really "take in" the experience. The museum is lackluster at best, with a real lack of originality when it comes to cultivating collections and special exhibits. As someone who has been to many an art museum, this one takes the cake for being as blah and cookie cutter as they come. I think the curators need to seriously rethink what they believe makes a good art exhibit, because right now, they are heading in the wrong direction.
To top it off, much of the staff is largely untrained or just plain doesn't care about the art, itself, or providing assistance of any kind. The docents are definitely not well-versed in either museum policy or many of the exhibitions. In fact, a few are borderline rude. Chasing down patrons and accusing them of photographing artwork with their phones (it didn't happen to me, but I've seen it happen before) and then demanding to see the phones, which prove them wrong, is rather embarrasing, no?
