Kluge Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum
- 400 Worrell Drive
- Charlottesville, VA 22911
- Phone: (434) 244-0234
- Email: kluge-ruhe@virginia.edu
- Fax: (434) 244-0235
- Website: Click to Visit Kluge Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum
The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia is the only museum in the United States dedicated to the exhibition and study of Australian Aboriginal Art. Working with living artists, international scholars and arts professionals, we provide a wide range of learning experiences to the University community and the public through exhibition, research and educational programs.
The museum was established through a gift by American businessman John W. Kluge in 1997. Influenced by the Dreamings exhibition in New York, Kluge began collecting Aboriginal art in 1988. He compiled one of the finest private collections of Australian Aboriginal art in the world with a focus on contemporary works from Arnhem Land and the Western Desert. In 1993, Kluge purchased the collection and archives of the late Professor Edward L. Ruhe of Lawrence, Kansas. Ruhe began collecting Aboriginal art while visiting Australia as a Fulbright Scholar in 1965. He exhibited his collection widely in the United States between 1966 and 1977. Ruhe’s library and archives comprise the core of the Kluge-Ruhe Study Center.
Free admission and parking. Open to the public.
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 4 pm; Sunday, 1 – 5 pm
Amenities
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Bus Parking:
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Casual Dress:
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Child Friendly:
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Handicapped Accessible:
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Smoke Free Environment:
General
- Addl Info Tour Planners: We offer a free guided tour every Saturday at 10:30 am.
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Free Admission:
- Address: 400 Worrell Drive
- Dates: Recurring weekly on Saturday
Categories: Arts
Join the Kluge-Ruhe Collection each Saturday at 10:30 am for a free, guided tour of the museum's current exhibitions. No reservations required. more
- Address: 400 Worrell Drive
- Location: Kluge Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection
- Dates: Recurring weekly on Saturday
Categories: Arts, Family, University of Virginia, Historical, Educational
Join us for a free, guided tour of the only museum in the world that is exclusively dedicated to Indigenous Australian art! While drawing on traditions that are hundreds and thousands of years old, Indigenous Australian art is contemporary, and exhibitions included a diversity of artworks, from paintings on bark and canvas to sculpture and films.... more
- Address: 400 Worrell Drive
- Location: Kluge Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum
- Dates: Recurring weekly on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday until June 30, 2018
Categories: Arts, Family, University of Virginia, Educational
This exhibition comprises contemporary paintings and sculpture by Indigenous Australian artists from various regions across the Australian continent, from the central desert to coastal regions and islands. Centering on the theme of "country," the artworks sing melodies of ancestors and land, creation and power, history and memory, community and... more
- Address: 400 Worrell Drive
- Location: Kluge Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum
- Dates: Recurring weekly on Saturday until December 30, 2017
Categories: Arts
Join us at 10:30 am for a free, guided tour of the current exhibitions at the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA, the only museum of Indigenous Australian art in the world! The tour is free and no reservations are needed. On the first Saturday of each month the tour is led by a Kluge-Ruhe staff member, which sometimes includes access to... more
- Address: 400 Worrell Drive
- Location: Kluge Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum
- Dates: July 27, 2017
Categories: Arts, Historical, Educational
The Women’s Travel Alliance will meet at the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum for an exclusive private tour of the summer exhibitions. Our tour will begin at 6:15 pm however feel free to enjoy the grounds and mingle as early as 5:45pm. This is a BYOB event, and no food or beverage are allowed in the museum. We look forward to rekindling old travel... more
- Address: 400 Worrell Drive
- Dates: Recurring monthly on the 1st Tuesday
Categories: Arts, Family
Join the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection for this two part early visual literacy program, featuring a brief tour focusing on basic elements of visual art followed by multi-sensory structured play for children ages two to four and social play for babies. Ages 6 months to four. Crying babies welcome. more
- Address: 400 Worrell Drive
- Location: Kluge Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum
- Dates: August 17, 2017
Categories: Live Music/Concert
Join us for Night at the Museum, your opportunity to explore our exhibitions after hours and enjoy the best food, libations and music in Charlottesville! In August we're featuring beer from Hardywood Park Brewery and a few of Charlottesville's best food trucks. Chamomile and Whiskey, who have played at festivals such as FloydFest and shared the... more
- Address: 400 Worrell Drive
- Location: Kluge Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum
- Dates: August 27, 2017
Categories: Arts
One of Australia’s most acclaimed Indigenous artists, Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri was a founder of the Western Desert art movement. “The Mysteries that Remain” is the first museum survey of Namarari’s work, featuring paintings on canvas and board from 1971-1990. It reveals the depth and complexity of Namarari’s artistic experiments as he restlessly... more
