
Museums are temples for the Muse of History. They awaken the imagination and bring to life stories of the past right before the eyes. Ubud is the Art and Culture center of Bali, taking center-stage with six museums and hundreds of galleries that line the main streets. Ubud is renowned for its devotion to art, beauty, storytelling and cultural preservation.
|
Visitors can easily spend a few hours wandering through the compound as if walking in the steps of Blanco himself. Visitors can image Blanco's daily life as a passionate and devoted artist, a father and husband, a lover of nature and devotee to the sacred feminine in all of Nature. Perhaps the most intriguing part of the compound is Blanco's untouched studio that displays his last, although unfinished, masterpiece. Blanco's son, Mario, who carries on the artistic tradition, fulfilled his father's dream to transform the compound into a museum. Visitors travel worldwide to see a glimpse into the private life of an extraordinary man. Artists are always revered, for they have the ability to reveal the beauty, where so often it is hidden. |
|
|
The Neka Art Museum The Neka Art Museum, founded by Balinese teacher Pande Wayan Suteja Neka, is situated in a beautiful scenic valley in Ubud's artist community along the Campuhan river. Like all great structures, the Neka Art Museum was born from a seed of devotion to an ideal. Neka dreamed of preserving the greatest art by Balinese artists in hopes of educating and inspiring future generations of artists.
The Neka Museum has several exhibition halls and a large collection of pieces by extraordinary artists. Among the exhibitions are collections from traditional Balinese style art, Classical Puppet Style, Balinese Contemporary Art and Art from Abroad, which includes art by foreign artists. One pavilion is dedicated to artist Arie Smit, a Dutch-born Indonesian artist, who was inspired by temples. landscapes, and balinese people. A second pavilion is dedicated to the works by I Gusti Nyoman Lempad, who is Bali's most famous artist. The Yayasan Dharma Seni or the Art Devotion Foundation has officially recognized the Neka Museum for its efforts of preservation and education. |
|
The main exhibitions display the best of traditional Balinese paintings by true creative geniuses, including I Gusti Nyoman Lempad, Anak Agung Gde Sobrat, and I Gusti Made Deblog. Their highly detailed works of Balinese culture truly awaken viewers to admire the richness of Balinese culture, spiritual and daily life and see the hidden mysteries of life itself come to life in form. |
|
The Rudana Museum, founded in 1995 by Nyoman Rudana and Ni Wayan Olastini, is another stunning museum situated in just as beautiful landscape. With almost 500 pieces of art and sculpture, visitors will have a great opportunity to learn about traditional Balinese culture and see the abstract works of modern Indonesian artists. The contrast between the past and the present in modern art gives visitors a chance to see the transformation in artistic style that has occurred over time.
|

The most famous museum is Ubud still remains the
Another popular choice among visitors is the
The 
The newest museum to enter the world-stage is the Setia Darma House of Masks and Puppets. Founded by visionary Hadi Sunyoto, who wished to create a space to preserve the disappearing art of puppetry and mask-making, the House of Mask of Puppets displays its magnificent and rare collection in a number of traditional Javanese Huts called Joglo. Prior to 2006, the exhibition spaces were private places for household activities, but the name "house" remained to signify the new museum. Situated on the beautiful landscape of Kubu Bingin Cultural Village in Gianyar, the House holds the largest collection of masks and puppets in the world. With over 4500 pieces from countries such as Indonesia, Africa, Malaysia, China, Myanmar, Cambodia and Japan, the House can engage historians and culture enthusiasts for hours!


