Museum Guide: Orlando Museum of Art

Quick Facts:

Name: Orlando Museum of Art

Address: 2416 N. Mills Ave., Orlando, FL 32803

Hours: Tuesday - Friday: 10am - 4pm, Saturday - Sunday: 12pm - 4pm, Mondays & Major Holidays: Closed

General Admission: $20

Website: https://omart.org/

Another art museum in beautiful Loch Haven Park is the Orlando Museum of Art. OMA was founded in 1924 as the Orlando Art Association, as a place for artists to meet and display their work. Throughout the decades, OMA expanded—-taking on its current name in 1986, and moving into its current location in 1997. For over a century, OMA has been a spot for cultural innovation, and is the only independently owned art museum in the area.

In addition to temporary exhibits throughout the year, OMA has an extensive permanent collection. In addition to American art (including works by Georgia O’Keeffe) and Contemporary art (including works by Bob Rauschenberg), OMA has one of the most significant Ancient Americas collection in the South. The Ancient Americas collection spans almost three thousand years, and includes objects created by dozens of indigenous nations that showcase daily lives and histories of these societies.

When I visited, I found the galleries with the permanent collections to be a little quieter—most visitors seemed to be congregating in the Florida Prize in Contemporary Art galleries—which I (maybe somewhat selfishly) enjoyed. I like to be able to take my time reading all the plaques and soaking it in; honestly, I prefer going to museums alone. Take that as you will.

Dale Chihuly’s Cobalt and Citron Tower has welcomed OMA’s visitors since 2004, and absolutely mesmerized me. All of Chihuly’s work leaves me speechless, but I absolutely fell in love with Cobalt and Citron Tower. It sits under a skylight, and when the Florida sun is out, it hits the glass just perfectly.

In addition to their permanent collection, OMA has multiple temporary exhibits throughout the year.

Dawoud Bey’s Evergreen opened in June, and is a multimedia installation including photographs projected onto a screen with a soundtrack. The photographs are of Evergreen Plantation in Wallace, Louisiana, and the narration is provided by Imani Uzuri. Evergreen will be on display until early January 2026.

In September 2025, two exhibits will be opening: To Catch a Dream: Florida Watercolor Society 54th Annual Exhibition & Jason Chin: Your Place in the Universe.

To Catch a Dream includes 100 watercolors by Florida Watercolor Society members, and will run from September 13th – January 4th, 2026. Jason Chin is a children’s book illustrator, and Your Place in the Universe will run from September 5 – November 30, 2025.

Two yearly events held at OMA are the Florida Prize in Contemporary Art and Festival of Trees, both of which the museum has become known for and visitors look forward to every year.

The Florida Prize in Contemporary Art is a yearly exhibit that showcases ten artists working in Florida today, where, at the end of it all, one artist is awarded a cash prize. According to OMA’s website, the Florida Prize covers “...timely topics such as our connections with ancestry, personal and collective memory, and the ties that bind us together.” Each artist works in a different medium, and I loved that it was cohesive without being too similar or drab. This year included paintings, sculptures, and various textile works. To make the exhibit more interactive, OMA had cards where visitors could vote on the artist whose work they liked best, but I have no idea if those comment cards had any effect on the winner.

A well loved Christmas tradition in the Orlando area is the Festival of Trees. For roughly a week in November, OMA is filled with beautifully decorated—and elaborate—Christmas trees and wreaths. The art is still visible, but the real showstoppers for the week are the trees, which are available for purchase / auction. Based on last year, there is a fee for parking since it is a highly visited event. This year’s Festival of Trees will run from November 14th - 23rd.

General admission is $20, while children and seniors have discounted admission rates. In addition, there are opportunities throughout the month for free admission—Bank of America’s Museums on Us program, and Access for All at OMA. On the third Thursday of every month, the museum is open until 8pm with free admission, sketching materials, and a docent-led tour at 7pm. The dates for Access for All can be found along with additional information here.

Parking is free, and OMA’s parking lot is easily accessible to the other museums in Loch Haven Park. There is a decent store with OMA branded merch, generic art trinkets, and sometimes certain exhibits have exhibit centric merch and prints. When I last visited, I found a watercolor print of a cat that I just had to snatch up.

Compared to art museums in bigger cities, I would have to say that the Orlando Museum of Art is most similar to that “traditional” art museum feel—lots of white, more spacious, more modern. It is also bigger than some of the other art museums I’ve visited in the area, so I would take that into consideration if you only want to visit one museum. As far as a “flagship” museum for the area, OMA is a good one.

Interested in learning more? Check out some additional links here:

• https://floridawatercolorsociety.org/
• https://omart.org/events/festival-of-trees/
• https://www.yourcommunitypaper.com/articles/chihulys-iconic-sculpture-will-remain-on-display-at-oma/