65 Best Sights in USA

Joyous creativity pervades the workshops of this art-education center and gallery for developmentally disabled adults. Several dozen adults work at the center each day—guided by a staff of working artists—painting, working in the darkroom, producing videos, and crafting prints, textiles, and ceramics.  Drop by to see the artists at work and pick up a unique San Francisco masterpiece. The art produced here is striking, and some of it is for sale.

Housed in an imposing 1893 Queen Anne mansion with soaring turrets, this vibrant community arts center with a focus on diversity and inclusion presents a permanent collection of works by regional and national artists. There are also rotating shows exhibited throughout the building's public spaces and a sculpture garden with flowers and a stunning fountain. The center also offers a wide range of performing and visual arts classes and special events.

Also operating as a community gathering space with lectures and classes, the 31,000-square-foot El Museo celebrates New Mexico's rich Hispanic heritage with a wide range of events, from children's theater to musical concerts. It also hosts the Antique American Indian Art Show, during which dozens of craftspersons and artists exhibit their work in early August along with the Mercado, held on weekends from late September through late May and featuring a varied array of vendors selling folk, tribal, and Western art and memorabilia. A small gallery shows contemporary art by Hispanic artists.

A school until 1992, this 1920 Gothic Revival brick building now houses around 40 galleries, studios, and classrooms, plus a performing-arts hall. You can watch craftspeople at work, purchase artwork, take a class, or catch a performance here, plus enjoy a tasty lunch or dinner at the on-site Sidewall Pizza Company. All tenants maintain individual hours. Contact them directly for details.

A nonprofit arts organization runs this center and store dedicated to creating new work in fabric and other materials, working with emerging and nationally and internationally recognized artists.

Film buffs shouldn't leave Lincoln Park without visiting this nonprofit movie theater, which presents an eclectic selection of films from around the world. Each year, Facets also hosts the Chicago International Children's Film Festival: one of the only Academy Award–qualifying children’s film festivals in the world, it showcases the best in culturally diverse, value-affirming new cinema for kids.

An outdoor amphitheater is where art comes to life in the canyon. Each year Festival of Arts hosts the annual Pageant of the Masters, Laguna's signature art event. Local participants arrange tableaux vivants, in which live models and carefully orchestrated backgrounds merge in striking resemblance of classical and contemporary paintings. The pageant is part of the Festival of Arts, and is held in July through the end of August.

Originally a depot for the shipment of supplies to the Pacific during World War II, the fort was converted into a cultural center in 1977 and is now home to the vegetarian restaurant Greens and shops, galleries, and performance spaces.

The Museo Italo Americano ( Bldg. C  415/673–2200  museoitaloamericano.org  Closed Mon.) is a small gallery that hosts one exhibit at a time, worth a glance if you're already at Fort Mason.

This center for African American art and culture honors the legacy of the Hayti (HAY-tie) neighborhood, a once-thriving black community which was destroyed by the Durham Freeway construction. In addition to music and theater performances, dance classes, exhibitions of black art and history, and walking tours, the center hosts events like the Hayti Heritage Film Festival.

The surviving redbrick buildings of the former Hope Webbing Company's textile mill now hold artists' studios, galleries (including the workshop of talented handbag designer Kent Stetson), shops, an escape room, the Met music venue, an improv theater, and the marvelously retro BreakTime Bowl and Bar duckpin bowling alley, a popular event venue. 

If the towering arcade at the entrance to the center appears familiar, it's probably because it resembles the project that architect Wallace K. Harrison completed just after designing it: New York City's Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. The complex includes a 900-seat theater for concerts and film screenings, a 480-seat theater for plays, and a black-box theater for new plays. This is the home of the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra and several other performance groups.

The grande dame of Maui's visual arts scene, "the Hui," hosts exhibits that are always satisfying. Located just outside Makawao, the center's main building is an elegant two-story Mediterranean-style villa designed in 1917 by Hawaii's architect of the era, C. W. Dickey. Explore the grounds, see locally made products, and experience community enrichment through art. Crafts, drawing, photography, and glass blowing are some of the classes offered.

At this terrific nonprofit art space downtown, you can view rotating exhibits by some of the area's top artists; enjoy music, dance, and other performances in the 110-seat theater; and take classes (some of them lasting just a day) in everything from painting to ceramics. There's always something fun and engaging to do here for kids and adults.

The stylish, serene lobby of the Japan Society, renovated by renowned artist Hiroshi Sugimoto, features interior gardens with large bonsai trees and Sugimoto sculptures, all complemented by a second-floor waterfall. The 1971 building is a city landmark thanks to its Japanese modernist design by architect Junzo Yoshimura, and its second-floor gallery exhibits works by well-known Japanese artists. Past shows have celebrated contemporary masters including Takashi Murakami, Yoko Ono, and Daido Moriyama. The society's annual performing arts season shares works by established and emerging artists in dance, music, and theater. In July, the museum hosts a film festival, Japan Cuts, showcasing contemporary Japanese cinema.

Plenty of traditional and contemporary cultural events make this center well worth the trip. Founded in 1980, JACCC is home to a number of civic and arts organizations. Through the center's basement you reach the James Irvine Garden, a serene sunken space where local plants mix with bamboo, Japanese wisteria, and Japanese maples. The main floor of the museum houses the George J. Doizaki Gallery, which has 2,000 square feet of exhibition space and has housed everything from national treasures of Japan to the Bugaku costumes from the Kasuga Grand Shrine in Nara. An 880-seat theater is known for any number of performing arts shows including Bunraku Puppet Theater and the Grand Kabuki of Japan.

This 1895 Romanesque revival building was one of the first brick schools in the area. A museum features a restored 1895 classroom and a replica of an antebellum-era parlor. There are also art galleries and other exhibits. Check the online calendar for performances and events.

Founded by Albert and Vera List, pioneer collectors of modern art, this MIT center has three galleries showcasing exhibitions of cutting-edge art and mixed media. Works from the center's collection of contemporary art, such as Thomas Hart Benton's painting Fluid Catalytic Crackers and Harry Bertoia's altarpiece for the MIT Chapel, are on view here and around campus. The center's website includes a map indicating the locations of more than 20 of these public works of art.

Local and national artists are highlighted in this lovely art center, which grew out of the annual arts festival. The center is a focal point for the community, serving as headquarters of the arts festival, a gallery, a gift shop, and a place to take art lessons. A new facility is in the works.

Located in the city's Arts District and home to artist's studios, galleries, shops, and a café, the Garage hosts special events throughout the year. It's also home to 1,200 square feet of gallery space for The Noyes Museum of Art and the African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey.

This art center just a 10-minute drive from Grand Coteau overflows with creativity, with a busy monthly calendar that includes art classes, philosophy sessions, French-language gatherings, live music, and much more. They host a monthly drum circle on the first Saturday of the month, a unique singer-songwriters circle on the third Sunday of the month, as well as one-off live performances on scheduled evenings. Rotating artists have works on display for visitors to enjoy.

California's oldest nonprofit, multipurpose arts center exhibits visual art from various disciplines and presents theater, dance, and other performances.

A former sausage packing plant, this building with the asymmetrical slanted roof and the changing sculpture installation on the front lawn is now home to tiny contemporary galleries—including those from the COOP Curatorial Collective and Watkins College of Art (the WAG)—and artist studios. This is a popular stop during the neighborhood’s monthly WEHO Art Crawl on the first Saturday of every month.

The muralists of this nonprofit design and create murals and lead guided walks. Tours are given on most Saturdays and cover several murals throughout the neighborhood, along with providing insightful historical context to the outdoor art. You can pick up a map of 24th Street's murals at the center and buy art supplies, books, T-shirts, postcards, and other mural-related items.

Founded in 1965, this nonprofit promotes water-based media through workshops, exhibitions, and an impressive collection of work by talented plein air painters. With over 700 members, it is one of the most active watercolor societies in America.

Night and day, the center hosts many social activities, from mixers and youth game nights to holiday parties and slam poetry performances.

A key part of downtown Everett's steady renaissance, this striking contemporary nonprofit art center has spacious, high-ceilinged galleries that mount diverse rotating exhibits throughout the year, and a gift shop carries works by nearly 200 regional artists. There's also a state-of-the-art hot shop where visitors can watch glass blowing. The center has a full program of classes in different mediums. 

The River District has become a haven for independent galleries, including this space for edgy, up-and-coming visual artists, musical acts, films, and theater. Once an abandoned post office circa 1933, it was transformed by Florida Arts, Inc., a nonprofit organization, in the early 2000s. Even if your taste runs more to classical works than contemporary, a visit is worthwhile for the neoclassical revival facade: eight towering coral-rock Ionic columns give way to swaths of intricately detailed window screens. The friendly staff is happy to answer questions about the building's history.

Despite widespread misconceptions of its members-only exclusivity, this privately endowed institution—founded in 1936 to encourage appreciation of art, music, drama, and literature—is funded for public enjoyment. The Esther B. O'Keeffe gallery building artfully melds an exhibition hall that houses traveling exhibits with a 700-seat theater. A library designed by prominent Mizner-peer Maurice Fatio, a children's library, a botanical garden, and the Philip Hulitar Sculpture Garden round out the facilities and are open daily. 

A 1951 Hudson Hornet (a nod to the building's automotive past) greets you at the entrance to this nonprofit, open-studios arts center on the east side of City Park. Interact with professional artists as they work on their latest pieces, browse the four galleries and gift shop, and, on the first Saturday evening of the month, sip wine and listen to music while viewing the center's latest exhibit.