The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, is the only museum in the state of Hawai‘i devoted exclusively to contemporary art. TCM provides an accessible forum for provocative, dynamic forms of visual art, offering interaction with art and artists in a unique Island environment.
TCM presents its innovative exhibition and educational programs at two venues: in residential Honolulu at the historic Cooke-Spalding house, and downtown at First Hawaiian Center.
In addition to preserving art from 1940 to the present, the Museum also maintains and presents the historic Cooke-Spalding house and gardens for the enjoyment and enrichment of Hawai‘i’s residents and visitors.
The Contemporary Museum includes a variety of off-the-beaten-path treasures. In our Café, visitors can sit indoors in a gallery-like atmosphere amid changing displays of art or outdoors in a garden setting. Open six days a week, The Contemporary Café is ideal for lunch, coffee and dessert.
The J. Russell and Charlotte McLean Cades Library welcomes visitors to stop by and enjoy our collection of information on contemporary art and artists. The library houses 800 volumes of surveys, monographs, catalogues, periodicals and artist files, and is used daily by artists, students, writers, and the museum's curators and educators. Many of our books are circulating and available for one-month checkout periods. In addition, books from recent TCM exhibitions are now on our shelves, including Enrique Martínez Celaya and Drawing is another kind of language. When you visit be sure to ask about the Artists' Biographical Files, a great resource on contemporary artists, including those working and living in Hawai‘i.
The structure that houses The Contemporary Museum was built as a residence in 1925 by Mrs. Charles Montague Cooke. At the same time, The Honolulu Academy of Arts was being built on the site of her former home on Beretania Street.
The Makiki Heights home was designed by Hart Wood and later enlarged by the firm of Bertram Goodhue and Associates. The Honolulu Academy of Arts acquired the estate as a bequest from Anna Rice Cooke's daughter, Alice Spalding, in 1968 and operated it as an annex from 1970 to 1978.
Following interior renovation by The CJS Group Architects and the construction of the Milton Cades Pavilion, the museum opened to the public in October 1988. In addition to the galleries, the museum now consists of The Museum Shop, The Contemporary Cafe, administrative offices, storage and work areas, and a residence for the director.
Modern and Contemporary Art from the 1940s to the present.
Access: Students, Scholars, Members
Appointment required: True