Masterful compositions line the walls of the Pomona College Museum of Art. Well-lit, modern rooms, beautifully showcase either the gallery’s current exhibit or a wide variety of permanent installations. At the entrance of it all, a friendly face awaits you at the front desk, ready to help and inform any curious visitors. Unfortunately, there are not many to assist. This museum is just one of several to remain underappreciated by the Claremont community. Though so many free, worthwhile art museums exist in Claremont, few are actually utilized. Hopefully, increased awareness of the resources at hand may change this unfortunate situation.

The point of a free-entry art museum is to engage and share the wonder of artistic integrity with the public. Museum Security Information Officer Madeline Woodward emphasized this same point when describing her job.

“I absolutely love being able to come in and interact with art,” Woodward said. “It’s even more of a plus that it’s free and open to the public, allowing people, especially students, to come in and experience the art themselves.”

She urged more people, especially students, to use and visit the museum. Woodward also described some of the new exhibits that will be showcased soon.

“The opening reception is December 24th,” Woodward said. “It is by Courtney Leonard, a Native artist, and her theme is ‘intermodal.’ All of her work is very interesting and is definitely worth a visit.”

Pomona College Museum of Art, the Claremont Museum of Art is a wonderful resource for the public. Elaine Turner, President of the Museum Board, had a similar message.

“This is the community’s museum,” Turner said. “Our mission is to celebrate the legacy of art in the community of Claremont. We want to educate both children and adults, which is why we have many programs put into place. We’re really interested in accessibility and inclusivity; students and children are free always. We also have more adult talks with every exhibition, where curators can express what the heart and soul of the exhibition is all about.”

Both Woodward and Turner seem to share the sentiment that museums are a special public resource, for children and adults alike. The resources available to the Claremont community are extremely valuable for people of all ages.

There are even more art galleries at both Pitzer and Scripps College, as well as the American Museum of Ceramic Art in the neighboring city of Pomona. Though underutilized, the educational and artistic resources in Claremont and surrounding areas are a wonderful part of the city. Hopefully, raising awareness of them will allow more people to interact with and learn about the art in our very own community. Best of all, most of them are free to use, so be sure to stop by!