The Indianapolis Museum of Art, which has had the pleasure of being awesome for over 125 years, has always been one of my favorite places to visit in the grand ole city of Indy.  And after thier massive renovations in 2004-2006, the museum not only holds a great collection of art but also looks just as great.  And opening next week is their new Design Gallery, with a European Design collection from 1985 onward opening the wing up to the public.

Their website is pretty awesome, using a calm and thougful mix of CSS/JavaScript and flash, putting together a site that says “we’re an art museum” without being too modern or too uptight. The interactive is subtle and user-friendly, fun to watch but easy to use.  Great stuff!

If you are ever in the Indy area, definately check out the IMA.  ITS FREE to the public (BONUS) and has a fine array of Modern, New Artist, Mid-Century, Asian/African Art, and Arts & Crafts of the 19th and 20th Centuries.  It is also has a vast gardens and grounds area, with the Oldfields Masion (once owned by the Lilly Family), which is quite the site to be seen and is ALSO FREE!  They also have a really great gift shop and Puck’s restaurant, which serves awesome food.  And with the new Design Wing, I think it will definately put the IMA on the map.