Image via Complex Original
Thankfully, in the age of social media, it's easier than ever to connect with your favorite museums around the world. Even better, thanks to Instagram, we can visually follow art institutions in unprecedented ways.
We admire museums that remind us of their upcoming exhibitions, show us what goes on behind the scenes, and entice us to attend their events. You'd be surprised at how many museums regularly have concerts and lectures open to the public. If nothing else, their feeds serve as excellent inspiration.
20 Museums To Follow On Instagram
Smithsonian Museum
Smithsonian
Instagram name: @smithsonian
Followers: 7,234
Photos taken to date: 23
Why you should follow: The Smithsonian Instagram account documents the happenings at each of the institution's 19 museums and the National Zoo, giving followers plenty of visual inspiration.
Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn Museum
Instagram name: @brooklynmuseum
Followers: 34,723
Photos taken to date: 169
Why you should follow: Brooklyn Museum is more than just a museum, and their Instagram feed is a testament to that. From concerts to parties and other community gatherings, they keep it intimate and dynamic. We enjoy their "before and after" shots of their various exhibitions and installations.
Clyfford Still Museum
Clyfford Still Museum
Instagram name: @still_museum
Followers: 330
Photos taken to date: 41
Why you should follow: The Clyfford Still Museum in Denver, Colorado boasts the world's largest collection of works by Clyfford Still, and it's definitely the best place to learn more about this influential American painter (and other artists he's influenced, too). In fact, you can learn a lot from simply looking at their Instagram feed and captions.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Instagram name: @sfmoma
Followers: 9,317
Photos taken to date: 416
Why you should follow: SF MoMA is on their social media game, Instagramming everything from openings to dinners, musical performances, and of course, exhibitions. They show a lot of behind-the-scenes and flashbacks from previous shows, with the occasional shot from their rooftop coffee spot.
Museum of Fine Arts Houston
Museum of Fine Arts Houston
Instagram name: @mfahouston
Followers: 962
Photos taken to date: 97
Why you should follow: Museum of Fine Arts Houston is a gem that warrants a visit to both its institution and Instagram. They're constantly encouraging you to visit in interesting ways, and with all of their concerts, parties, and untraditional exhibitions, why wouldn't you?
MoMA
Museum of Modern Art
Instagram name: @themuseumofmodernart
Followers: 76,579
Photos taken to date: 89
Why you should follow: MoMA is known for being dynamic, and their Instagram feed is a mix of their permanent and temporary exhibitions and star-studded events. Apparently they were serving curry for Rirkrit Tiravanija's "Untitled (Free/Still)," which looks pretty appetizing to us!
Mass MoCA
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art
Instagram name: @massmoca
Followers: 1,263
Photos taken to date: 82
Why you should follow: Mass MoCA isn't just the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the U.S., it's awesome at engaging the community on and offline. They mainly photograph the variety of installations they house, indoors and outdoors, and we guarantee that after looking through their feed, you'll want to schedule in a trip to Massachusetts.
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Instagram name: @philamuseum
Followers: 127
Photos taken to date: 23
Why you should follow: The Philadelphia Museum of Art is known for more than its steps, and we aren't just talking about their world-class collections, exhibitions, and programs either — we're talking about their Instagram. While they have yet to build up a following, their feed is worthy of one. From museum text to signage and even some local events in Philly (i.e. Made in America festival), they rep their city well.
Chicago History Museum
Chicago History Museum
Instagram name: @chicagomuseum
Followers: 279
Photos taken to date: 40
Why you should follow: The Chicago History Museum and its Instagram do an excellent job at taking pride in the city's history. We particularly like the way they show viewers and employees interacting with their works, showing that they have a community of art-lovers enjoying what they have to offer.
City Museum
City Museum
Instagram name: @citymuseum
Followers: 1,544
Photos taken to date: 212
Why you should follow: City Museum in St. Louis, Missouri is an indoor and outdoor adventure, and their Instagram proves it. Ferris wheel? Check. Ball pen? Check. Continuous construction? Check. Keep up with their happenings before you miss something important.
Hammer Museum
Hammer Museum
Instagram name: @hammer_museum
Followers: 1,617
Photos taken to date: 228
Why you should follow: The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles is conveniently located at UCLA, making way for more events and concerts than the average art institution. From all the posters they Instagram, it looks like there's always something fun going down at their space celebrating art and culture.
Queens Museum
Queens Museum
Instagram name: @queensmuseum
Followers: 1,343
Photos taken to date: 108
Why you should follow: The Queens Museum is growing its Instagram nicely, especially by engaging its fans beyond the art they house. They also cover pop culture events like the U.S. Open and flashbacks of the 1963 Worlds Fair.
New Museum
New Museum
Instagram name: @newmuseum
Followers: 6,561
Photos taken to date: 100
Why you should follow: The New Museum in NYC prides itself on its "new art, new ideas" philosophy, which is reflected in their wealth of groundbreaking, innovative contemporary art. They like to photograph the view from their amazing rooftop, their latest exhibitions, and their cute staff, which doesn't bother us one bit.
Laguna Art Museum
Laguna Art Museum
Instagram name: @lagunaartmuseum
Followers: 409
Photos taken to date: 27
Why you should follow: Laguna Art Museum is steadily growing its following, and they're taking all the right steps. Whether they're stitching together various artworks or exhibition titles, they make you feel a part of their story.
Museum Siam
Museum Siam
Instagram name: @museumsiam
Followers: 1,083
Photos taken to date: 99
Why you should follow: Bangkok's Museum of Siam may not have the most impressive social media presence outside of Instagram, but they promote themselves well on it, nonetheless. They post a lot of photos of their lecturers, meetings, and cultural activities, showing that they are much more than a typical art institution.
Walker Art Center
Walker Art Center
Instagram name: @walkerartcenter
Followers: 6,334
Photos taken to date: 301
Why you should follow: The Walker Art Center hosted the first ever internet cat video film festival this year, so you know they're dope. They're untraditional but awesome, and they show it visually on their Instagram account.
The New York Botanical Garden
The New York Botanical Garden
Instagram name: @nybg
Followers: 1,012
Photos taken to date: 166
Why you should follow: The New York Botanical Garden's Instagram is what all your flower-photographing friends wish their feeds looked like. They have a stunning array of garden inventory, and yes, we consider a botanical garden a museum. We imagine that New Yorkers who haven't been to it will want to go immediately.
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
Instagram name: @mcachicago
Followers: 1,071
Photos taken to date: 206
Why you should follow: The MoCA Chicago is always up to something, whether it's installing, cooking, having meetings, or hosting educational programs. Their Instagrams are as artful as their actual artwork, making it nice to see unusual angles and lesser used filters in the mix.
Powerhouse Museum
Powerhouse Museum
Instagram name: @powerhouse_museum
Followers: 381
Photos taken to date: 55
Why you should follow: In addition to being a super cool museum full of gadgets and tech items, the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia takes you on an awesome journey showing it all. They even go so far as to announce their upcoming exhibitions on the feed, creating a lot of engagement with their growing community of followers.
LACMA
LACMA
Instagram name: @lacma
Followers: 1,571
Photos taken to date: 108
Why you should follow: If there's anything we can say about LACMA's Instagrams, it's that they're having a really good time and eating a lot of desserts. Nothing wrong with that! Seriously, in addition to photos of their impressive collection, they are always photographing different sorts of cake.