Ocula provides a curated selection of significant contemporary art museums and contemporary art spaces from around the world. As new art centres are emerging, more and more institutions dedicated to the enjoyment of art are being built too.
Read MoreContemporary art museums occupy influential positions within the cultural landscapes of major cities around the globe, showing artworks by renowned and emerging contemporary artists, and show a range of artworks from photography, painting, sculpture, collage to conceptual art. Ocula features a broad spectrum of leading art institutions, with numerous established museums clustering around the central European and North American art hubs. For example in London, the Tate Britain and Tate Modern continue to uphold an unparalleled standard of exhibitions and curatorship, whilst the Serpentine and Whitechapel Galleries are among the city's most popular contemporary art galleries.
In New York MOMA PS1—an extension of New York's famous modern art gallery, is a space committed solely to the exhibition of contemporary art rather than a collection, meaning that new artists are afforded opportunities to display their works in one of the world's leading artistic laboratories. Its parent museum the Museum of Modern Art influences the trends for contemporary art the world over. On the other side of the globe, Asia's emerging contemporary art scene has resulted in the emergence of numerous cutting-edge institutions since the turn of the century. These include the Guangdong Times Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei. Organisations such as the Asia Society Hong Kong shift the focus from the artist to the public, endeavouring to equip those interested in the art and culture of the region with information from expert sources. Soon to be opened in Hong Kong, the M+ contemporary art museum will become an important global institution.
Contemporary art centres and spaces represent an eclectic spectrum each fulfilling its own unique artistic vision. From expansive estates like the United Kingdom's Cass Sculpture Foundation, to more intimate spaces like Adelaide's Fontanelle organisation for contemporary artists, the wealth of such institutions forecasts a provocative future for contemporary art. Dedicated arts centres like the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACOCA) have even more defined agendas in their collection and exhibition of artworks, with ACOCA commissioning artists that are predicted to lead the contemporary art world in coming generations.
The last decade has seen the growth of private art spaces and private museums open to the public. These are in some instances dedicated to individual artists, such as the James Turrell Museum built by the Swiss art collector Donald Hess at Colomé, Hess' estate in the north-west of Argentina. They also can take on a broader exhibition and collection focus, such as Long Museum West Bund in Shanghai.
