Contemporary Arts Center
Contemporary Arts Center
4
10:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
Reputed for its thought-provoking, innovative art and artists that span all walks of life and all mediums the Contemporary Arts Center was founded in 1939, and is now located in a renowned architectural marvel created by the late Zaha Hadid.
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Neighbourhood: Central Business District
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4.0
164 reviews
Excellent
80
Very good
50
Average
19
Poor
6
Terrible
9
Karen A
Lee's Summit, MO3 contributions
Oct 2021
We came to the museum with high expectations, given the colorful contemporary art shown on the website. We gave a small 5$ donation and paid $7 for parking. When we got there, the third floor was closed, and the only exhibit was primarily a video exhibit, a kind of narrated documentary. The sound was not good and the hall echoed every giggle and laugh of others so that we gave up and left in frustration. Franky, I've rarely seen a video exhibit that I thought was worthwhile and from the 3 minutes i saw this may have been more of the same--pretentious and not very interesting. We felt completely cheated. I'm sure they have good exhibits at times, but I would definitely check beforehand to see what's available.
Written 2 November 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Amber
Fort Knox, KY12 contributions
Oct 2023 • Couples
Seeing the 4/5 star reviews and the neat photos made me very excited to visit the contemporary arts museum!
We may have been unlucky the day that we went because while I've heard there are 6 floors and a basement, only floors 4,5, and 6 were open during our visit.
None of the exhibits I'd seen from the photos on here were ones we saw in person.
The building was huge with very little art to fill the space.
I am very glad this was free and we did not pay for parking. I'd left a couple hours in our itinerary for our CAC experience, but we were in and out within 30 minutes.
If you are in the area and have a few minutes to spare, I'd recommend visiting just to form your own opinion. I wouldn't suggest this place otherwise.
We may have been unlucky the day that we went because while I've heard there are 6 floors and a basement, only floors 4,5, and 6 were open during our visit.
None of the exhibits I'd seen from the photos on here were ones we saw in person.
The building was huge with very little art to fill the space.
I am very glad this was free and we did not pay for parking. I'd left a couple hours in our itinerary for our CAC experience, but we were in and out within 30 minutes.
If you are in the area and have a few minutes to spare, I'd recommend visiting just to form your own opinion. I wouldn't suggest this place otherwise.
Written 11 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
adviceman66
Fremont, IN46 contributions
Dec 2022 • Couples
The place has too much of a “woke”agenda and very little art. Anyone who doesn’t live in a big city should skip it. It is not a live and let live agenda. If more ramming ramming alternative views down your throat.
Written 1 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CincinnatiCeleste
Cincinnati122 contributions
This place was a waste of money! We had seen several magazine articles giving it good reviews, especially for the layout of the museum itself. But if you are not REALLY, REALLY into "contemporary Art" don't waste your money. We got off on the top floor and all there was was a broken bottle of beer. We figured they must still be working on the exhibit. We went down to the next floor and guess what? Another broken beer bottle in the same spot. It was the same of every floor. That was a part of the exhibit. One exhibit had dirty classes with names on them. The "artist" kept the dirty drinking glasses of friends and wrote the friend's name on the glass and there you have his exhibit. Of course, the CAC is famous in Cincinnati for the Maplethorpe exhibit. It was not there at the time but they did have a little space devoted to some porn artists. It was a huge waste of time and money for my husband and I who are just ordinary people and just don't "get" that other people consider this art.
Written 25 February 2005
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Raj
Yorktown, VA36 contributions
Sept 2015 • Solo
They seem to be undergoing a renovation and a grand opening is expected later in the Fall, but I was awestruck by what they have on display. Fascinating interior architecture and brilliant curating. The collection of books is also very good for a small place. They don't seem to collect exhibits and is mostly a place with rotating exhibits, so checking the place out on their website would be good before you visit.
Written 13 September 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Motown_Mrs
Livonia, MI222 contributions
Aug 2015 • Family
They close at 4pm, but no one bothered to tell us that when we purchased tickets at 3:10pm. Someone should have mentioned that. (They used to be open until 9pm on Mondays, but not anymore.) You'd think that if you're buying tickets less than an hour before closing time, someone might tell you that.
Then, around 3:40pm the staff got busy telling us, several times, that they'd be closing soon, and they began rushing us along. Rude!
There isn't very much art to see here either. So if you're expecting a lot of art, this isn't the place to be.
Then, around 3:40pm the staff got busy telling us, several times, that they'd be closing soon, and they began rushing us along. Rude!
There isn't very much art to see here either. So if you're expecting a lot of art, this isn't the place to be.
Written 18 August 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
bluegrassmom3
Owensboro, KY449 contributions
June 2021
I had time to kill and stopped in this musuem. It was full of very avant garde pieces which I simply did not understand. I preferred the CIncinnatti Art Museum.
Written 21 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Audrey P
3 contributions
Oct 2019 • Business
Accessible, thought-provoking, insightful exhibits and community support make this a must-see. Socially conscious and refreshing exhibition choices. Go!
Written 9 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bryan H
Portland, OR1,693 contributions
Oct 2019
In all the years my family has lived in this part of Ohio, they've never ventured to this museum. I'm not sure why! It's free admission (although finding parking is kind of a challenge and will cost you). There are six floors and a basement ... and we saw many different exhibitions in the few hours we had here. If you like contemporary art, check it out! The October we were there, the artists presented were diverse in style, identity and medium. A cool variety of things to check out. There's a cafe on the ground floor -- that's a bit on the expensive side. Order carefully.
Written 4 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Angie
Northfield, OH141 contributions
Sept 2019 • Friends
Should not be overlooked when visiting Cincinnati. The exhibits change frequently. Admission is free and they have a hands on area on the top floor for children.
Written 22 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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