Reviews of Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University (Museum)

Isaiah Walker

Exhibits are very interesting and give you a new perspective on topics. Very intriguing to see the minds of others in the form of art.

Gail Rau

The perfect hippie museum!

F2007

The building is amazing, there are some art exhibits that are great,and some not so great. Plan on a hour visit.

Kurt Henkel

Disappointed there was not a more traditional period art section.

HK Alex

Great building. Space is not so big so exhibition are small. Free entrance. Very close to university campus.

Thomas W Davis

Disappointing.

Joyce Davenport

It would be more instructional if there were a place to attempt what students have just seen. Also if there were a place to grab a snack or a museum srore.

Gary Bitsicas

Love the building and most of the Art that comes through.

Corey G.

Worth the visit. A small museum and the exhibits were very unique you won't see anywhere else and worth the viewing. A very interesting space.

Darcy Miller

Beautiful, small contemporary art museum. Small gift shop and cafe. Really enjoyed the international exhibit from the Middle East. Located in the middle of a busy college campus.

Mary Radon

Very interesting. I would recommend.

Z Dunbar

The contemporary art exhibits displayed here take a look a the world and reflect current events. The museum also puts on events for people of all ages.

Ashley Chance

Good art and great coffee.

brandon cleveland

Free. Artsy. Kids enjoy the large open spaces.

Nathan

Great architecture. Exhibits are displayed with a theme "A Search of Time". Saw some Andy Warhol stuff.

Kayla Dragon

Gorgeous museum! Place to hang out and study, grab a coffee. Rotating art, beautiful architecture and ITS FREE (please donate)

Cindy Clark

We went there expecting to see at least a portion of the 7,000 classical works from the Kresge Museum. It took us a whopping 12 minutes to get through the often disturbing "art". Nothing classical, if we wanted disturbing images we would have turned on the news. Doesn't even get one star. We will never go back and we will spread the word.

Harriet Grice

Not much to see and it was to boring for my hubby and I.

Damien Challet

Interesting and good enough for an hour of time

Ryan Stromer

Beautiful museum. Wish they had more exhibits, but nice

Island Ellerby

I'm not really into art, but we come here once every year because it was the site of our first date. Generally interesting stuff though.

Britt Miller

We we're wandering around EL and thought this looked really cool....and it is! I'm not sure if it's free or not, we just walked in and no one said anything. The art exhibits are very interesting, definitely grab a pamphlet to help you interpret. We got lectured twice while here, and we were being very respectful and quite. Apparently you can only wear your backpack purse on one shoulder or they will yell at you. Made me feel so uncomfortable. Probably won't go back lol

Cody Paseka

Neat museum, much smaller than expected.

Brent D

Went to the art museum only to find the building is the only piece of art there. I went with an open mind as an art lover knowing it wasn't going to be my flavor but hardly anything in there and looked more like abandoned science fair remnants. The most peculiar thing was putting the only three paintings that weren't interpretive art 10 feet behind a window. They had workers silently sculking around behind us in every room. The only thing worse than the parking was the exhibit. I can't believe the money wasted for this place to be open. A supposed vault full of art and 3 levels of empty walls!

Jesson Du

Zaha Hadid's design. Great guide and intriguing exhibition.

Christopher Johnson

A very nice museum located on campus. They regularly have new exhibits ranging vastly in medium and style. There are often events and activities at the Broad ranging from small concerts to children's activities.

Amanda Thomas

Lovely place

Ben Eysselinck

Supurb choices of their content, great programming for families, an excellent institution.

Daniel Jackson

This space ship on Grand River makes a nice intimate venue for musical performances.

Morgan Norris

I love modern and abstract art and was super exciting seeing the strange building form and curvy modern metal benches walking in. However, this place was pretentious! My boyfriend accidently almost stepped on an art piece not even realizing it was an art piece lol. But he was stopped by the moderater, who was staring at us the whole time. The moderaters were in every room (which were all empty) just staring and following us the whole time to the point it became creepy. Art museum are my favorite thing, but I felt mad that the college is funding this and wasting college student's tuition money. Weird experence

Wise Abilities

I love this museum, it’s unique, they change the art every month or so, there’s always something new to see.

Chamba Pocasangre

Architecture fans will appreciate the metal clad Zaha Hadid building, with its intriguing interior and exterior design. The art exhibits are sometimes worthwhile (but even if not, it's still fun to view and criticize the art while standing in the dynamic spaces the architect designed), and the museum has many special events for grownups and children. The small coffee shop is a great space for studying or hanging out, in a space full or large windows and odd angles (though very few tables and poor pastry selection). The only real negative element in this museum is the generally indifferent or unfriendly staff compared to other museums. Everytime I go in this building, the guards seem to stare at me as if I were some kind of criminal, and the "help desk" staff often seem as if they do not want to be bothered and often provide unhelpful, curt replies to my questions. However, all in all, a great addition to the MSU campus and Lansing area.

Koushalya Mahagedara

If modern art is not for you, then Broad is not for you. . . . The most current art trends in US crumbles here. But it's a different genre for many, so beware!!

Melodie Tillitson

I LOVE art museums and have been to an insane amount, however, I can't stand coming here. The staff make me super uncomfortable and if they're not loudly chatting among themselves only to get irritated you interrupted them to ask a question about some art, they STARE at you and follow you around (very close) an empty museum. I get that they're probably college students, but it still ruins the experience for me.

Viatcheslav Morozov

Excellent museum, well worth stopping by (or, as in my case, driving all the way from Ann Arbor on a boring Sunday afternoon). The architecture is amazing, and the exhibitions contained some of the most radical pieces of contemporary art I've ever seen.

Chelsie Boodoo

Great museum on campus

Grace Chase

The architecture is worth the drive

nada avivah

The good museum, i like this, i from Indonesia i have a special artwork to selling here,?you interest?

Edwina Gorzen

Displays are to leftist and political. Not captivating or thought provoking. The only interesting thing is the building architecture

Shafaat Shishir

Different kind of museum. Liked it. Mainly the rainbow like things are so nice.

Kevin Fowlks

Not a family-friendly environment. I love the design of the building. The current exhibit is more shock art IMHO then classical.

Derell Griffin

Great art museum with free entry. Exhibits change every few weeks

Katina Baryames

Disappointing. They need better art. Most of it is very dark in theme.

Gary Clark

While I don't know what they have out of the public eye, what is on display is a very small collection. Furthermore, every item on display was a fine example of modern psuedo-art nonsense. For people who like that kind of thing, it's the kind of thing they like. If you want something like the DIA, this place is a complete waste of time.

Gjon Camaj

Really well designed and laid out museum. An incredible resource for the community. The staff was helpful, knowledgeable and cheerful. Even if modern art isn't your thing, this place is well worth a visit.

Collin Townsend

Stellar experience at the Broad art museum. Neat exhibits, museum is clean and has such a neat construction. The building itself is a work of art.

Deborah Peck

What words can I use to describe this museum?? Ugly, distopian, disappointing and hideous monstrosity. There is no "art" in this museum. There is no beauty, only political activism (which has it's place in the world but please, don't call it art) and the background "music" only makes you want to run away.

Meghan Keasler

My sister and I were excited to go to the new art gallery at MSU. We walked in and the lady at the front was nice and went through the run through about photography. We nodded and continued on. Most art galleries have a variety of art, which I enjoy since I am majoring in it. This museum had a couch with plaster coming out of it and the closest thing to a "painting" was the top of a McDonalds cup painted on a canvas. Everything else was architecture blueprints. Very disappointing since the structure itself seemed so promising. To top it off, my sisters baby started getting fussy in the stroller so she took her out of the stroller to rock her and a guard came up and rudely said, "You need to strap your baby into the stroller." My sister was taken back and said, "She was getting fussy. Would you like me to let her cry?" She snapped with, "I'll talk to my supervisor." She came back and said "If you insist on carrying her, you have to check the stroller in at the coat check." We were not letting it get in the way, I was pushing the stroller while my sister carried her baby. What was the problem? We were so offended, we left, but never to return. This establishment is rude and for a gallery lacks art. I have been into many other art galleries with names that are actually recognizable and the guards were never that strict or insipid. If you go there, make sure you don't bring a baby!

V Jemmy

If I could give the Broad less than one star, I would. To start with, the building is an eyesore. The location they put it in is old campus, which is full of brick and ivy buildings. As a building constructed almost entirely of metal, it sticks out like a sore thumb, which doesn't assist in the already unfriendliness of the building. All of the angles and metal make it very cold and uninviting. It does not entice you to enter. Added to that, the moment it opened, it was already a dated piece of architecture. It's like looking back at the 'World of Tomorrow' and seeing all of the things that were wrong about where we are now. The Broad already looks like something out of the past and it just opened five years ago. If you get a good look at the outside, you know exactly what you're getting from the interior, lots of cold, uninviting angles. What I wasn't expecting was the large amount of wasted space due to the architectural design. From the outside, it appears as though the space will be able to display quite a bit, but the museum feels very small. The Flint Institute of Arts did a much better job of expanding the display place during their remodel several years ago than the Broad did on a new construction, which, when you're creating a place to display art the amount of space you actually have that can realistically display art seems pretty important to me. Sacrificing display space for architectural design is a decision seems like a poor tradeoff. The architecture should have lended itself to enhancing the displays, not detracting from them. Also, all of the employees were scowling the entire time I was there. No one was friendly. No one even smiled. They had six people who looked like security guards in the foyer/entrance and every single one of them looked at you like they wanted you to leave, and this is before you even enter the museum proper! I've never been to a museum that was less friendly and uninviting. You might be thinking, maybe it was an off-day, but every time I have been there has been the same. Now, I do expect security guards to be serious, but it seemed overstaffed for the small space and the people who were regular employees had the same uninviting expressions. I'd rather go through airport security, where you at least get the occasional smile or person trying to joke with you. On a positive note, they do have a little coffee bar and I like coffee, so that was nice, but it might be faster to go across the street to Starbucks and back in the amount of time it takes them to make one latte when you're the only one in the line. I've given the Broad it's fair share of chances over the past five years and the exhibits are always subpar. Combine that with the unfriendly employees and the empty wasted space, it definitely isn't something that slow coffee alone is going to lure me back for. I've long since written this building off as somewhere to go for art. I would rather take the drive to see the Flint Institute of Arts or the Grand Rapids Art Museum, both of which contain much better rotating collections on a regular basis and make fantastic use of their allotted space, as well as having employees who are actually friendly and helpful.

Rachel Nagel

Friendly staff, nice environment. However, the art exhibitions seem to be a parody of modern art-we laughed at most of it. Much of the art seems not only void of much meaning or aesthetic value, many of the exhibits were downright disturbing. Do all of the exhibits have to be creepy and dark? Can't we see something that is uplifting? Something you could bring your children to?

Sabra Lynne Crockett

Excellent museum for contemporary art and conceptualism lovers! The building itself is fascinating, and the exhibits are thought-provoking and conversation- invoking. Always a pleasure to come here.

Saravanan Venkatachalam

Interesting

nancy ritcheske

Fabulous space, water lecture exhibition, timely

Dawn Van Valkenburgh

Probably better for more of an artsy type of person.

Akira Dayringer

The building is beautiful. However the staff was quite pretentious and rude. My husband and I took our children and the staff followed us around like they thought we were going to steal something. It made us very uncomfortable and we definitely will not be returning.

Tiegan Cunningham

Beautiful museum. They shot a Batman movie here once, so that’s pretty cool.

Niko Bringi

Very very boring!

Lucretia Mcelroy

Didn't get to see the whole area but want we saw was interesting & the staff there were very nice & helpful

Ken Orlich

You never know what you're going to see for sure untill you get in there. Always something thought provoking if not inspirational. And its free!

Amy Mumby

Bring the kids. Bring the grandkids. Enjoy the experience.

Denise Terman

Extraordinary architecture and unique experience.

GABRIEL CRAFT

Go to this museum if only just to see the heart that is the architectural building itself.

Brian Titus

Events are often good. The collection is not especially interesting. The space is really neat to look at, but frankly not particularly well suited for exhibiting art.

Richard Smith

The building itself is the most impressive work of art. A good mix of local artists and international visionaries.

Peter S.

The students inside are kind knowledgeable and helpful. That being said the museum itself is terrible. Hardly anything on display. The building itself is worth millions and has tons of space. Why not put more of the students art on display???

Great Lakes Narwhal Michelle Erskine VantelPearls

Odd exhibits but interesting building

Charlie Beals

A LOT of empty space inside. Have certainly seen some cool exhibits here, if you're into modern art, you can sometimes land a nice find. Classical fine arts are far more rare.

Allie Genia

The building itself is something of an attraction but unfortunately the actual exhibits inside really aren't that interesting. The docents and visitor services folks were kind and attentive, though, and I'd recommend visiting their little gift shop. The events are also fairly regular and interesting.

Kathy Catalfio

This place is more amazing on the outside. Modern art is not my thing, wasn't extremely impressed by piled up wood and rubble Well worth seeing.

Catherine Wesley-Ottarson

Interesting Art pieces on display.

Emmanuel Chima

Beautiful art and warm curators. A must have experience for East Lansing.

Hypatia Magyar

I love this museum! The unique architecture and fresh art adds an unmatched spice to East Lansing. Not only does it have a maker space across the street, almost continuous events and interactive activities, but it's all free of charge! No admission fee, no activities fee or material fee. I often come here just to study and take peaks at the art in between.

Pieter Hoekstra

Cool building. Not sure it it's a great exhibit space.

Penny Faulkner

Loved it. Really nice space and the Transported Man exhibition had me wanting to re-read The Prestige.

Rashad4112005

Very cool museum

Megafilm Studios

Ya know, the building looks cool, but there's not that much to look at inside it.

Jeff Herzog

A worthwhile break in your routine.

Chris Muschong

quality over quantity...nice and open

Jon Langeler

Building looks cool. Not so sure about the artwork.

Larry Horstman

I don't know if it's just me or not but I just couldn't appreciate the architectural style I like the outside but when I saw the inside was some of the outside I had some reservations

Joshua Jenks

Horribly boring exhibit this time.

Sam Mayworm

Gorgeous art museum with a ton of variety in displayed works. Fun trivia: this building was featured in the background of the recent Batman vs. Superman movie.

Danielle Winne

Great space on a beautiful campus! Strange and wonderful exhibitions. Free admission.

R Moore

Amazing experience. Interactive exhibits.

Nathanael Myer

Had a good time. Even though I didn't understand everything it was a good time and the volenteers were very informative.

Julian Henry

Interesting place. Very focused on green energy and lifestyles.

Courtney P.

I love coming to the Broad. You can immerse yourself in some beautiful and interesting art pieces. I never leave disappointed. I love taking my kids, too. If you have little ones, head downstairs to the lower level, there is a really fun kid nook under the stairs.

Atul Bhalla

Great design and wonderfully curated shows

Heather Good

It's usually very sparse and pretentious, as you might expect. The staff was milling about in a rush and was unaware of my presence as I went through the museum, which was a distraction. I went to a show that was largely video-based and almost every headset was either dead or only worked on one side. While contemporary art is "supposed" to trigger reactions in people, I think this is quite a waste a resources.

Collin Cousino

An unnerving price of architecture filled with rotating exhibitions of the sort of current art created with far more pretension than skill. Visit if you want to be challenged, nauseated, or stimulated, but not uplifted or inspired. Like too much of modern art, it's only value is in novelty.

Dylan Gray

Is pretty small, but it's pretty! Not a traditional art museum, all the exhibits are modern art and rotate frequently. It's free, the art is engaging; overall a good way to broaden your mind!

shirley tautolo

Lots of fun to build

Sara Taylor

I am an art lover and consider myself open minded, but this place looks like they went over to the engineering building, rummaged through the basement and tried to fool people by calling some junk “art.” I can’t believe this is the best a Big 10 school can come up with. The building is hideous too. That should have been my first clue. (To be fair: the second floor was inaccessible due to construction. I sincerely hope there is actual art up there!). Otherwise, shame on MSU for allowing this on campus!!!!

Marq Hicks

There were some really weird things here. Also, the staff followed me around like I was going to break something.... decent museum though...

Kyle wills

I would like to see more exhibits on display here. seemed pretty empty.

Jennifer Hatt

Really enjoyed our visit! Lots to see and many of the exhibits were interactive. There was a robot that you could text to control, we got a kick out of that! There is a small cafe inside. Great place to visit while on campus.

SH and K

Cozy art museum filled with inspiring pieces

Dawn Treanor

Very interesting art! Nice trip for adults, definitely wouldn't recommend it for young ones.

Shawn Roy

I was disappointed that most of the building was sparse. It could have used a few more exhibits a classical artwork along with all of contemporary work.

Winnyfred Amongi

If you love art, it should be a great experience.

Jordan Ehler

This museum was not the atmosphere I expected. We brought our kids and were followed around to every room and were continually reminded to not touch any thing when the kids had touched a piece of paper and after told once, didn’t touch anything else. Would’ve been better if we weren’t micromanaged during our visit

Bjoern Hamberger

This is not just a museum, it's a hub for activities - see the arts lab across the street, and all the family oriented activities. Keep an eye out for the upcoming collaboration with MSU folks for the Fascination of Plants Day, Sat May 18! Must visit!

Tracy Perry

One darkest most disturbing places I have ever experienced. I don't recommend anyone visit will the Mike Kelley exhibit. Too bad the Andy Warhol exhibit has to be paired with such trash.

Amber Lee

When we went the exhibits were not that interesting. I'd still go back tho depending on what the curators have cooked up!

Jennifer R

This location was... strange. The building itself is as unique as the art they choose to exhibit. Not a family-friendly environment, and hardly an environment for anyone who doesn't understand and appreciate very innovative art. The staff is rude and will make the guests uncomfortable as they follow you and almost force you from exhibit to exhibit. I was glad the museum tour was free as I found myself regretting my visit by the end.

Mary Lam-Rodrigues

An East Lansing gem for contemporary art.

Sharon Timmerman

We enjoyed science night at the museum building robots.

Brian Roberts

Went for the Warhol exhibit, it was very cool, they had an interactive selfie booth and a few rooms full of his prints plus some student exhibits. Some interactive, work be fun for kids. But, it seems like an unnecessarily large building for the amount of art it actually contains. It's packed with more student workers and security than art exibits.

Meenakshi Sundaram

Awesome place.. awesome team. Good place to learn and spend time with family

Elena G.

Always fantastic art being shown

Sarkash Rahim

I am so glad we have a museum like th in ower town

Vanessa Maldonado

The workers there don't guide the visitors correctly

TheMcphersons4

The Family Day was so much fun! We all had a blast and the assortment of materials and activities was great! Thank you!

Nathan Miller

Nifty art inside a really shocking building.

Kimmy M

Unique experiences and so great that it is free entry!

Caroline López-Martínez

Sweet architecture, great mixture of artists and INCREDIBLY KNOWLEDGEABLE and friendly staff! Free admission! Must-see!!!

Laith Shubbar

One of the amazing place to visit that has amazing design

Megan Wilcox

Great museum to go to in Michigan if you're a fan of design. The museum was designed by Zaha Hadid, so I drove a couple of hours just to see it. The architecture and design of the building is awesome in person. I'm not a huge fan of modern art, so the art displays were a miss for me. I did like the overall experience though.

Emily Lilly-lacca

Nice museum

Austin Christian

Website advertises an extensive collection of historic items but very little of it is actually displayed (website fails to tell you this, I was told I had to contact the person that runs it to be able to see everything else on an appointment). Building is interesting, but not designed with the idea displaying art properly. Probably 1.5 stars. Drove over an hour one way and was disappointed.

Willie Thomas

Located downtown across from MOCA , the new Broad is worth a visit . The collection is excellent and well curated. Seeing the storage as you walk down the stairs is just amazing. Save time to go to MOCA as well.

Sew Savvy Quilts

Too edgy for me.

Kyle Johnson

Amazing looking building and they let me hold a tarantula!

Nick Kehoe

Barely an art museum

Tzu-Hsiang Lin

A must visit when on MSU campus.

Rajesh Srinivasan

Plovely place to spend 3 hours. Take a free guided tour... Definitely worth it.

Valentin Mozheev

It's an ok place to visit, the building is quite interesting. If you like unusual architecture, it may be interesting to walk around the building, There are no 90° corners at all. The art is pretty average.

Kit Geeky

Although I went in not knowing what to expect and with an open mind for 'modern art' I left uneasy and confused. There appeared to be few art pieces and those that existed were at the front door. Other than that it just consisted or a scared-dead cat, and some shoes against a wall. Do not have high expectations for this building.

Gavin Taylor

Striking architecture and landscaping outside, and a fine museum experience within. I took a class that met weekly in a conference room and we explored the museum a few times, and I've been back again to get coffee at the cafe once. The exhibitions in fall 2015 were interesting, and the museums collection is nice as well.

Dan Barney

Very interesting place, always something unusual going on there.

Peggy Hill

While I have never been to the museum, I have driven by it numerous times and each time, I shake my head and think how this building does not belong on the campus of Michigan State University. I have lived in the area my whole life and graduated from MSU. To me, the campus is "ivy covered halls", not wild, "unique" architecture. The museum may have good exhibits, but I don't like the building for our campus. If you put the building somewhere else, I may like it a lot more, just not on my campus. Just my two cents worth.

Robert Wahl

I love it. The exhibits are not the same as those found in traditional art museums

Brett Black

Very cold, modern art.

Simon Platt

Fun space due to its many geometries but is a little lackluster space wise. Still, a cool space to explore and photograph in and out.

Brian Sullivan

This museum always has really interesting art exhibits that push the envelope in style and meaning. MSU often has small concerts in the wings of the museum as well. This museum has such an interesting design as well; it was used in the filming of the new Batman V Superman movie!

Morgan Parker

Small gallery with an interesting collection, the Zaha Hadid building is stunning.

sebastian felt

Really nice facility with nice art. A little small but most definitely worth the time.

Candy Zoerner

Very interesting displays

Stephen Kuch

This was my first time ever here, it was a very architectural building, geometrically speaking. There was some very interesting and inquisitive pieces to say the least. I found it refreshing to explore the ideas of others. This is a must see if you like art.

Eric Gilbertson Sr

Didn't have any art.

Aubrey Rice

You tripping man, you trippin

Katie Bovee

I love this museum. When I went it had the most beautiful exhibits with gorgeous abstract and hyper realistic artwork. I would love to come back and visit soon!

Cleo Parker

Nice modern art museum

Keith Reed

The artwork looks just like an SNL parody of modern art. Long movies if screaming heads, people crawling on the sidewalk acting like zombies, etc. As devoid of content as an infomercial. The building is interesting, though.

XZIBIT X

Such an amazing and unique museum, they change the art every now and then so there’s always new art.

Kate S

Not my cup of tea.

Braydin Walters

The collection is not very broad and I feel as though there is a lot of wasted space. If you're looking for a wide variety of art then this isn't the place to visit. The inside of the building is worth looking at though. Unfortunately the building itself was the most interesting part.

Tre Easterly

Don't go expecting pieces from famous impressionists, but it is worth a visit. Really neat modern art space that reminded me of a scaled down version of the Walker in Minneapolis.

Stephen Hammes

This is a great new addition to the campus of Michigan State University. I love to talk a walk over to the Broad Art Museum on my lunch breaks and check out what new exhibits they have on display. If it wasn't for the Broad Art Museum I would not be so interested in art! I love seeing what artists are doing from all over the world. Make sure to stop in and enjoy walking around the sleek contemporary building.

Sanjuana Perez

Is a unique building and friendly staff love it Love it

Phil Seibel

Definitely something out of my norm, I'm no art aficionado, but I really appreciated how everything was set up and how the displays were arranged. The building itself is very unique, and while we were not there more than a day, it seems that the exhibits are updated regularly and feature unique works. Would go again if I was in the area.

Mark Grebner

Every time I go, I think Eli Broad for his contribution to the East Lansing community and making this museum available to us. But it seems as if the museum may be losing its way; there was almost no one there on a Saturday afternoon. There are far more docents than public. The art seemed a little thin, and almost if it had to be stretched to cover all the galleries. Still it's a nice thing to have the Broad, and I appreciate it.

TDMbros gamer

This gorgeous building is the perfect place to see amazing modern art. There is a lovely cafe inside and the lowest floor even has a small hands-on exhibit for children. Loved it!

Mansour Alturki

Great design

Hyowon Bae

Although museum is not big. It was very good. Sometimes, there are some concert, too.

Amelia Parker/ Eirheart

Really cool and interesting

Katie Davis

Beautiful building with thoughtfully designed and very creative architecture. Admission is free. There are several smaller galleries that appear to change out art on a regular basis. We spent about an hour here. After the art museum we went to the MSU Dairy Store (in Anthony Hall) to get ice cream. These places made for a nice excursion with two teenagers.