The University Museum of Contemporary Art, the teaching museum of UMass Amherst, is a multidisciplinary hub for the exploration and advancement of contemporary art. Through exhibitions, its permanent collection, educational programs, and visiting artists, the museum provides a forum where established and emerging artists share new ideas and audiences engage with the art of our time. Balancing experimentation with education, the museum serves as a dynamic resource that reflects the university’s commitment to education, research, and community engagement.
Current Exhibitions
Athena LaTocha: Buried Heat
September 15 – December 13
Athena LaTocha’s monumental sculptures and drawings are rooted in an emotional and sensorial response to place. Through physically demanding manipulations of earth, water, soil, minerals, and rock, her gestural works reveal deep connections between land, history, culture, and human experience.
Between Earth and Sky: Artists in Dialogue with the Land
September 15 – December 13
Works from the museum’s permanent collection examine the American landscape as an active participant in artistic creation. With works from the 1960s land art movement, to outdoor projects in the 1980s, to contemporary art addressing the interconnectedness of ecological and social issues, the exhibition traces the evolving relationship between art and environment.
Dianne Smith: Sonic Futures, Radiant Bodies
September 15 – December 13
Through photography, film, sculpture, performance, and ritual, Dianne Smith honors Black women’s knowledge, beauty, and fashion while creating a space for healing and joy. As Smith puts it, “Sonic Futures, Radiant Bodies imagine futures shaped by Black creativity, care, and resonance, where bodies shine, histories speak, and sound leads us forward.”
In Sight
Curated from the museum’s permanent collection
September 15 – December 13, February 9 – May 12
In Sight celebrates the cultural richness of American contemporary art by showcasing one work of art from the museum’s permanent collection each month in recognition of national cultural heritage and awareness months. Part of the Fine Arts Center’s ongoing commitment to highlighting the mental and emotional benefits of sustained engagement with art, the series encourages visitors to slow down, look intently, and connect with a single work.
Upcoming Events
Explore more than 100,000 objects in the Five Colleges' new museum collections database!
The Five College Consortium has unveiled a new collections database, making it easier than ever for anyone, anywhere to explore more than 100,000 works of art and objects from the collections of Historic Deerfield and five campus art museums, including the University Museum of Contemporary Art.
Students can use Collections Online to support class projects or get up close to objects they’ve discussed in the classroom. Researchers may find detailed records opening new avenues for academic projects. And curious art lovers can browse by museum, artist, era, theme, or keyword and happily lose themselves in the process, stumbling onto unexpected discoveries along the way.
Permanent Collection
In 1962, the UMass Art Department began assembling an art collection to be used for teaching purposes and for the enjoyment of the community. When construction of the Fine Arts Center was completed in 1975, the collection was placed under the care of the University Museum of Contemporary Art (then known as the University Gallery). Since then, the collection has grown to nearly 4,000 contemporary objects, primarily works on paper, including prints, drawings, mixed media collage, and photography. The museum's collection is the largest collection of contemporary art housed in a Massachusetts public institution outside of Boston.