Contemporary Museum

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  • Address
    999 Bishop St, Makiki Heights
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  • Phone
    526 1322
  • Website

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Lonely Planet review

Occupying an estate with 3.5 acres of tropical and meditative gardens, the Contemporary Museum is an engaging modern-art museum, with views of Honolulu below. Admission is free every third Thursday of the month. The estate house was constructed in 1925 for Mrs Charles Montague Cooke, whose other former home is the present site of the Honolulu Academy of Arts. A patron of the arts, she played a founding role in both museums.

The main galleries feature changing exhibits of paintings, sculpture and other contemporary artwork by local, national and international artists. A newer building on the lawn holds the museum's most prized piece, a vibrant environmental installation by David Hockney based on sets for L'Enfant et les Sortilèges, Ravel's 1925 opera.Docent-led tours, conducted at , are included in the admission price. An excellent courtyard café serves lunch.The museum, near the intersection of Mott-Smith and Makiki Heights Drs, can be reached by bus 15 from downtown Honolulu.