Bali Museums Guide

ARMA (Agung Rai Museum of Art)

The Agung Rai Museum of Art (or ARMA as it’s commonly known) was officially opened in June 1996. The Arma building is a compound including a resort, restaurants, painting classes, a museum and also an open stage for performing arts. The museum showcases a permanent painting exhibition by Balinese, Indonesian and foreign artists, including the collection of the Arma Foundation and work loaned from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Agung Rai, and ranges from traditional to contemporary works by Walter Spies, Willem Gerald Hofker, Rudolf Bonnet, Adrien Jean Le Mayeur de Merpres, Raden Saleh Syarif Bustman and Willem Dooijwaard. The facilities provide the opportunity to enjoy theatre, music and traditional Balinese dance every Saturday and Sunday night.

Location: Jalan Pengosekan, Ubud
Tel: +62 (0)361 975 742

Gedong Arca Archeological Museum

Located about seven kilometres out of Ubud’s centre, towards Gianyar, the museum houses numerous items ranging from simple Paleolithic artefacts, stone tools and blades from the pre-Hindu Bronze Age to the golden era of Balinese Hindu-Buddhism and beyond, gained from Indian and Chinese traders who pre-dated the Dutch by centuries.

Location: Jalan Raya Tampaksiring, between Pejeng and Bedulu village
Tel: +62 (0)361 942 347

Museum Puri Lukisan

Founded by Rudolf Bonnet and Cokorda Gde Agung Sukawati, Ubud's Museum Puri Lukisan houses a permanent collection of Balinese painting from the turn of the century; displaying fine examples off all schools of Balinese art. This museum has a collection of 150 painting and 62 pieces of sculptures. The first fine arts museum in Bali, it has a valuable aim of culturing Bali's very aesthetic art and culture for its next generation.

Location: Jalan Raya Ubud, Ubud
Tel: +62 (0)361 975 136

Museum Manusa Yadnya

Just as its name implies, the Museum Manusa Yadnya details items regarding the process of a Balinese Hindu's life from the womb to the tomb. Museum Manusa Yadnya was established in 1979 and since 1997 became under the authority of the Badung regency cultural office. The museum exhibits replicas of Balinese Hindu rituals that are categorised into specific sections. The Museum Manusa Yadnya is easily located, right on the southern area of the Taman Ayun temple complex.

Location: Taman Ayun Temple, Mengwi

Museum Negeri Propinsi Bali - Bali Provincial Public Museum

The Bali Provincial Public Museum, or simply referred to as the Bali Museum, is the oldest on the island with up to 10,506 exhibits. Built in traditional Balinese royal style, the 2,600sqm area is divided into the jaba pisan (outside area), jaba tengah (courtyard), and jeroan (central area).

The jeroan comprises three gedungs (pavilions) named after regencies in Bali, Tabanan, Karangasem, and Buleleng and houses a collection of art and ethnography, ancient inscriptions, ceramics, porcelain statues, household items, agricultural tools, weapons, ritual tools, paintings, wayang kulit (shadow puppets) and more.

The library, laboratory, pavilions for exhibitions and other historical collections, as well as the employee’s offices at the southern part of the complex were added around 1969. It was found in 1910 by a Dutch resident and opened to the public in 1934.

Opening Hours: Monday – Thursday: 08:00 – 15:00, Friday: 08:00 – 12:30, Closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and other holidays
Location: Jalan Mayor Wisnu, to the east from Puputan Square, Denpasar
Tel: +62 (0)361 222 680

Museum Gedong Kirtya

This wonderful museum in Singaraja is a display of thousands of ancient Balinese letters in chronological order; the kakawin, or old Balinese poetry; and the geguritan which written on the palm leaf. All these and more are stored in the original building that was built in 1928 and still standing tall today.

Opening Hours: Monday-Thursday 07:00-14:30, Friday 07:00-12:00 and Saturday 07:00-13:00
Location: Jalan Veteran 20, Singaraja
Tel: +62 (0)362 25 141

Museum Manusia Purba

The Museum Manusia Purba, at the western end of Bali, was established in 1990s. It all began with an archaeological expedition of Dukuh Cekik in 1962, by R.P. Soejoeno from the Bali Archaeological Service. The expedition estimated that approximately 2,000 years ago, the stone age man dwelled on the site of the museum.

Location: Gilimanuk

Museum Seni Lukis Klasik

This museum is owned by the talented Nyoman Gunarsa, and is used as an outlet by the man himself to exhibit his masterpieces, completing the museum's collection, which documents the classical paintings of Bali. The Museum Seni Lukis Klasik is located in the village of Banda village.

Location: Jalan Setia Budi, Takmung village, Klungkung (5km west of Klungkung town centre on the main road to Gianyar)
Tel: +62 (0)362 222 56

Neka Art Museum

The superb Neka Museum, in Campuan, is another excellent museum, with marvelous collections of traditional Balinese paintings by local artists and foreign artists who lived in Bali; and items of modern Balinese art. The museum stores art from the Kamasan style of the 16th century to modern 20th century paintings. The whole collection is displayed chronologically, to provide an overview of Bali's history of fine arts.

The Neka Gallery on Jalan Raya , and the Agung Rai Gallery in Peliatan are some of Bali's largest and most important.

Location: Jalan Raya Camphuan, Kedewatan, Ubud
Tel: +62 (0)361 975 074

Nyoman Sumerta Fine Art Gallery

Nyoman Sumerta Fine Art Gallery is located at Tepi Sawah Villas and highlights the richness of ideas and artistic imaginations of Indonesian artists with emphasis on local Balinese paintings and also those of foreign artists living and working in Bali. This innovative gallery features sculptures produced by the talented local community around the village of Ubud. Admission to the gallery is fee. The gallery also offers visitors the opportunity to experience Ubud art and culture through a variety of activities, ranging from Balinese flower offering making and arrangements to painting courses and woodcarving classes.

Opening Hours: 09:00 – 18:00
Address: Jalan Raya Goa Gajah, Banjar Teges, Peliatan, Ubud
Tel: +62 (0)361 970 388

Seniwati Art Gallery

This gallery was established in 1991 by Mary Northmore, the very personable wife of famous painter Abdul Azis; with the aim of helping Balinese women to be accepted as artists; and also to expose the long hidden and unrecognised brilliance of women artists in Bali. The gallery also serves to motivate, train and encourage young talented Balinese girls achieve their full potential in the world of arts.

Location: Jalan Sriwedari 2B, Banjar Taman, Ubud
Tel: +62 361 975485