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Museums of Los Angeles Tour
Item 20 of 23
Sitting on the University of California Los Angeles campus near Royce Hall, the Fowler Museum at UCLA has earned the reputation of being one of the United States’ respected authorities on the cultures, art, objects and artifacts from Central and South America, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands. This admission-free museum explores the non-western global cultures and arts and how they are woven into the fabrics of politics and social action around the world. The museum houses displays from the ancient, historical, and current worlds.

Fowler Museum is one of the leading museums of non-Western culture and art.

Fowler Museum is one of the leading museums of non-Western culture and art.

The Yaqui Masks of Carlos Castaneda

The Yaqui Masks of Carlos Castaneda

Twin Memorial Figures, Yoruba Peoples, Nigeria

Twin Memorial Figures, Yoruba Peoples, Nigeria

The Commons Galleries at Fowler Museum

The Commons Galleries at Fowler Museum

Mask Ensemble

Mask Ensemble

The museum has housed a wide variety of exhibitions over the years such as the Round Trip: Bicycling Asia Minor, 1891, that shared the tale of two young Americans, William Sachtleben and Thomas Allen, Jr., who rode bicycles around the world from 1890 to 1893; Past Forward: Contemporary Art from the Emirates; Textiles of Timor: Island in the Woven Sea. As of the time of this writing, its current exhibitions include Reflecting Culture: The Francis E. Fowler, Jr. Collection of Silver, which contains 251 pieces from the 16th to 19th centuries, and Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives, about which The New York Times has written, “Spanning centuries of multicultural creativity, this exhibition is the kind of art experience that might restore your faith in the sad old human comedy."

As part of UCLA’s School of the Arts and Architecture, the Fowler Museum was founded by then UCLA Chancellor Franklin D. Murphy as the Museum and Laboratories of Ethnic Arts and Technology in 1963. Eight years later, it was renamed the Museum of Cultural History, and just a four short years after which it was recognized as having one the top four such collections found in any university in the United States. It has maintained this recognition to this day.

The museum moved to its current, cutting-edge facility in 1992. This same year, it took on the surname of Francis E. Fowler Jr., whose foundation was a lead supporter in its move. The facility frequently has volunteer opportunities for people from 18 years and up to help with research and conservation efforts and to help the museum keep performing at its high-level of excellence. Additionally, the Fowler Museum offers internship and scholarship opportunities and gives out a number of awards.
"History of the Museum." Fowler Museum. Accessed April12, 2015. http://fowler.ucla.edu.