Last December, I traveled to Miami for Art Basel and Miami Art Week. My final activity in Miami included visiting Rubell Museum, which was my first time. Rubell Museum Miami location is one of the biggest and most comprehensive private contemporary art collections in North America. I had a transformative art experience there, so I jumped for joy when I discovered the Rubell Museum was opening a location in Washington D.C. I rarely would rank museums, but Rubell is top-tier! I prefer museums and galleries with interactive art, diverse artists’ representation, and featuring local artists. Rubell museum in Washington DC continues with this theme which made my heart so happy when I visited on Opening Day.
Located at 65 I Street in Southwest DC, less than a mile from the Capitol and National Mall. For those based in DMV area, the nearest metro station to the museum is Navy Yard Station (Green Line). It is fairly a quick walk to the museum (only 9 minutes!). The Rubell Museum DC is dedicated exclusively to contemporary art. Its collection encompasses over 7,400 works and is distinguished by the diversity and geographic distribution of the 1,000-plus artists represented within it.
The museum is housed in the historic former Cardozo Elementary and then Randall Junior High School, which operated from 1906 to 1978. The adaptive reuse of the building into a museum preserves this important landmark, a historically Black public school in Southwest DC listed in the National Register of Historic Places and brings it back to life as a public resource. I appreciate the intentionally of preserving this landmark and continuing to make this land accessible to the community.
The 32,000 square foot museum features exhibition galleries (3 floors total!), public programming, flexible activation spaces, a bookstore, and café with indoor and outdoor dining. If I convinced you visit, please note the museum is free to Washington DC residents and costs $15 for non-residents (it is worth the money!). Can’t make it to Rubell Museum DC yet? Enjoy video content I shared on Instagram here.
Source: Rubell Museum DC
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