Riverside Art Museum Information

As the largest visual arts museum serving the Inland Empire, the Riverside Art Museum (RAM) exhibits a wide range of work with an emphasis on American, Californian, and prominent Inland Empire artists. The museum offers a diverse range of exemplary art exhibitions, educational programs, and community outreach events. It is a distinguished yet accessible and welcoming institution that serves as a cultural, collaborative, and educational focal point for the community. The museum's mission is to serve the varied communities of the Inland Empire by providing visual art of the finest quality and related educational and interpretive programs, and exhibiting traditional and contemporary art that addresses social issues and diverse themes in a range of media techniques. To fulfill this purpose, RAM mounts more than 10-15 major exhibitions a year, both traveling and privately organized, in four separate major galleries throughout the museum. Located in the historic Mission Inn district of downtown Riverside, RAM is housed in a former YWCA facility designed by Hearst Castle architect Julia Morgan. Built in 1929, the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. A History Wall located in the museum's lobby gives visitors a brief overview of Morgan's career and the transition of the YWCA into the exhibiting museum. The museum's Spanish Revival, two-story building now accommodates: six different exhibition spaces, a printmaking center, a classroom and adjoining youth gallery, a permanent collection vault (with 850 objects in the permanent collection), an arts library, a conference room, administrative offices, the museum store, an atrium, and a rooftop courtyard. RAM is a fifty-plus-year-old private, non-profit, cultural arts institution that welcomes nearly 50,000 visitors each year.