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: Harrison Institute and Small Special Collections Library, UVA Grounds
- Location: Auditorium of the Harrison Institute and Small Special Collections Library
Categories: Arts
The 1988 exhibition Dreamings: The Art of Aboriginal Australia at the Asia Society Galleries in New York catapulted Aboriginal art onto the world stage. Dreamings was the first major introduction of Aboriginal art to American audiences and represented a major turning point in its international reception. Anthropologist Fred Myers describes it as... more
- Address: 400 Worrell Drive
- Location: Kluge Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum
- Dates: Recurring weekly on Friday until July 5, 2019
Categories: Arts
Beyond Dreamings is a colorful selection of artworks from Kluge-Ruhe’s permanent collection and includes eight artworks on loan from significant private collections in the United States, in media ranging from painting and photography to wooden, porcelain and fiber works. Thirty years ago, Indigenous Australian art was catapulted onto the world... 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: April 13, 2019
Categories: Arts
Melbourne-based Barkindji artist Kent Morris will give a guided tour of Unvanished, his exhibition of digitally constructed photographs. His artwork explores the relationship between contemporary Indigenous Australian identity and the modern built environment, highlighting the resilience of Indigenous people in the face of constantly changing... more
- Address: 400 Worrell Drive
- Location: Kluge Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum
- Dates: April 18, 2019
Categories: Arts
Australian Aboriginal artist Kent Morris will discuss his art career in conjunction with Unvanished, an exhibition currently on display at the Kluge-Ruhe Collection. Morris, a Melbourne-based Barkindji artist, constructs digital photographic collages that explore the relationship between contemporary Indigenous Australian identity and the modern... more