6 Art Exhibitions To Turn You Into an Art Buff

If you’re not an art enthusiast, the words ‘art gallery’ probably evoke an image of a big, white, quiet room with dull paintings and unidentifiable sculptures. If, as a kid, you were dragged along to art exhibitions by your grandparents, you may wonder why in your right mind you’d visit one as an adult (because, surely, it couldn’t be for fun).

But art exhibitions, if you look in the right places, are anything but boring, and we’ve compiled a list of the coolest to convince you that you actually do like art.

1. Chocolate: The Exhibition

An art exhibition made almost entirely of chocolate? We’re pretty sure we’ve got your attention already. Chocolate: The Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan, takes you through the history of chocolate, tracing it from its most ancient origins to the way we know and love it today (in and on everything, preferably). It’s the perfect excuse to simultaneously get your culture fix and indulge in your favourite guilty pleasure.

2. Net Linz

Probably the worst bit about art exhibitions from your young memories was the “please, do not touch” sign. The Net Linz Exhibition in Austria will definitely satisfy your need to touch everything. You don’t just look at the art – you climb inside it, over it and under it. Visitors gently swing in nets that are suspended from the ceiling. It’s like a playground for adults, but way more sophisticated.

 

3. The Sugar Frosted Cereal Museum

If you don’t want to leave the house for your art expedition, you can always visit The Sugar Frosted Cereal Museum from right where you’re sitting. The online museum includes thousands of photos of old cereal boxes between the years of 1939 and 1989. Nostalgia overload. Also, in the unlikely event you have any thirty-year-old cereal boxes lying around at home, the exhibition is yours to contribute to. They never let you do that on school excursions.

4. Statuephilia

A (pretty strange) exploration of contemporary art sculpture, this one is definitely turning heads. The Statuephilia exhibition in the British Museum, London, includes five major works from different eras and cultures that talk about all things ‘power’ in sculpture. This exhibition has come and gone, and we want to know where they put the statues. We hope they’re in someone’s hallway providing some great ice breakers for dinner guests.

5. Staging Architecture

Step outside one of your crazy, misplaced, abstract dreams and into the Staging Architecture exhibition. If you’re at all interested in architecture, or even if you’re not, these wacky distortions of space and time will send your mind whirling. With intricate, colourful designs, there’s no better way to learn about art and the history of major buildings in the US.

6. Strange and Familiar

Strange and Familiar: Britain as Revealed by International Photographers is an exhibition that will interest anyone who has ever indulged in a bit of people-watching (don’t deny it, now). The art exhibition reminiscent of Humans of New York – minus the background story – includes personal pieces of art that speak for themselves. Anyone had their photo taken recently by a stranger?