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• Best Art Museum: Krannert Art Museum

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Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion »
Address: 500 E. Peabody Drive Champaign, IL 61820
Phone: (217) 333-1861
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From comic strips to Japanese paper installations, the Krannert Art Museum offers art virgins and connoisseurs alike with a smorgasbord of visual delicacies to sate their aesthetic palates. You can see thousands of works of art, free of charge, just by walking or hopping on the bus to Peabody Drive in Champaign.

According to director Kathleen Harleman, the museum augments its 9,000-piece permanent collection with 15 to 18 exhibitions, which they try to change four or five times a year.

“We try to relate to lots of parts of the community and be a place where people are continually surprised by what we’re doing and what they can experience,” Harleman says.

The museum also serves as a space for art students and faculty to showcase their work. In addition to their diverse collection, the museum hosts exhibition openings (complete with refreshments), a weekly yoga class, concerts and a monthly open-mic hip-hop night. It also houses a small café, perfect for a coffee date or grabbing a bite to go.

While going to an art museum might not be the first outing to come to mind, the Krannert Art Museum offers a multi-faceted experience that just might make you a convert.

“Lots of people think museums are elitist,” Harleman says. “In reality, [Krannert] is really a place where you can have fun and challenge your own assumptions.”