ASU Art Museum

the ASU Art Museum and Plaza at the Nelson Fine Arts Center

The ASU Art Museum, named “the single most impressive venue for contemporary art in Arizona” by Art in America, is part of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University. The museum is located on the southeast corner of Mill Avenue and 10^th Street in Tempe and admission is free. Hours are 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. on Tuesdays (during the academic year), 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and closed on Sundays and Mondays. We offer additional educator hours by appointment, Mondays and before 11 a.m. Tuesdays – Thursdays.

To learn more about the museum, call 480.965.2787 or visit http://asuartmuseum.asu.edu.

The ASU Art Museum was founded in 1950 with a significant gift of American and Mexican artworks purchased by Oliver B. James, a prominent local lawyer. James donated 149 works of art over a five-year span. The art collection originally was installed among the stacks of books in the Matthews Library. When the Hayden Library was completed in 1965, the books were removed and the art remained. 

In April 1989, the ASU Art Museum opened additional space within the newly constructed Nelson Fine Arts Center. At the west edge of the Tempe campus, facing Mill Avenue, the Nelson Fine Arts Center is a landmark building designed by architect Antoine Predock and serves as the primary museum exhibition space. This museum facility now includes five expansive galleries, storage and processing areas, and administrative offices. The Ceramics Research Center is just north of the Nelson Fine Arts Center in the Tempe Center.