Museums, galleries and performance venues are the beating heart of the arts in Albuquerque. We walk past them every day and feel the thrum beneath the workaday world. We stop in when we need a cool drink of water for our minds. These arts establishments entertain us, make us laugh, refresh and renew us. We wouldn’t be human without them. Albuquerque has built a reputation around the arts, and these institutions also make up many parts of the backbone of the city and the state economy. Bravissimo!

Best Gallery

The Albuquerque Museum is a don’t-miss stop on the arts trail. The permanent collection called “Common Ground” is a trove of art and history with ties to New Mexico, no matter where these treasures originate. The curators pull from local photo archives to produce stories of our disparate cultures and highlight our histories, like “We Built This City.” Moveable feasts as in “Between Two Worlds” and “New Mexico Landscapes” delight us and leave us richer than before. There is a sculpture garden, an amphitheater and room for performances from jazz to opera, rounding out the offerings at this very special place.

  1. Albuquerque Museum
  2. 516 Arts
  3. Amapola Gallery

Best Museum

Yes, they have dinosaurs! And so much more at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science. Permanent exhibits will give you the archaeology but up-to-the-minute shows are for education and pleasure. “Earth from Space” is a notable exhibit; so is “Mars: Science & Culture” tracing our explorations of the planet and the pop fiction attached to it. Low-cost admission gets you into the museum. There is also DynaTheater and the Planetarium, with full-dome shows like “Earth, Moon and Sun.” New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science is a wonder-filled experience.

  1. New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science
  2. Albuquerque Museum
  3. Explora!

Best Performing Arts Venue

Who hasn’t had serious fun at Popejoy Hall? This venue brings in the best of national traveling troupes for musicals and entertainment of all types. Family friendly and impressively expansive, Popejoy boasts seats galore and plenty of parking, too. From “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Lucy Loves Desi” to the upcoming “Hamilton,” it’d be hard to find a performing arts theater more joyous than Popejoy. Their season tickets will make your loved ones’ holidays bright.

  1. Popejoy Hall
  2. KiMo Theatre
  3. The Guild