Adult Group Visits | The Joslyn

Self-guided group visits can be scheduled during all regular Museum hours. Self-guided visits are for adult groups who want the freedom and flexibility to explore The Joslyn on their own, with shopping and dining options available to complete the experience. There are self-guided resources available for your visit—printed Art Cards located near the Welcome Desk in the Hawks Pavilion and the Joslyn Art Museum digital guide available on Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app.

Guided group visits can be scheduled during all regular Museum hours. Guided visits with our Gallery Volunteers are interactive experiences, filled with lively conversation about art on view that will engage the senses and build visual literacy skills. Groups who want a guided visit can choose from six different tour topics: The Joslyn’s Highlights; Tiny Treasures: Small Works with Big Impact; Midwest Connections; Women in Art; Religion in Art; or the temporary exhibition Café Society: Art and Sociability in Paris, 1855–1914 (Sep 26, 2026–Jan 17, 2027). Four weeks advance notice is required. We accept 75 participants (max) for guided tours, with the understanding that the group will be divided into smaller groups to ensure a high-quality, safe tour. Larger groups should request two or more visits. Shopping and dining options can complete the visit.

 

The Joslyn’s Highlights 

This guided tour includes a wide-ranging look at the most well-known and beloved objects in the Museum’s garden and galleries. This itinerary is ideal for out-of-town or first-time visitors who are hoping to understand just what it is that makes the Joslyn Art Museum so special.

Tiny Treasures: Small Works with Big Impact 

Discover how artists across centuries have packed incredible detail, emotion, and meaning into works that may fit in the palm of your hand. From jewel-like portraits and intimate still lifes to intricate sculptures and delicate objects of devotion, we’ll explore how size influences what we see—and how we see it.  

Midwest Connections 

From sweeping prairies and bustling city scenes to portraits and everyday objects that tell local stories, this tour explores how the Midwest has inspired creativity across generations.  Join us for an engaging, conversational experience that connects art to place—inviting you to see familiar landscapes and ideas in fresh, surprising ways through the eyes of artists with ties to our region.  

Women in Art  

Together, we’ll explore how women have shaped the art world across time, from classical portrayals and symbolic figures to groundbreaking works by modern and contemporary artists who are women. Along the way, we’ll consider how ideas about gender, identity, and creativity have evolved and continue to influence artists today.   

Religion in Art 

This guided tour invites visitors to look carefully at paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts that reflect a wide range of religious traditions and personal beliefs. Together, we’ll consider how sacred stories, symbols, and rituals are represented in visual form—and how artists have expressed faith, spirituality, and the search for meaning through their work. Designed to be open and conversational, this tour welcomes all perspectives and encourages thoughtful discussion about the ways religion and art intersect.  

Temporary Exhibition 

This guided tour will feature highlights in the Café Society: Art and Sociability in Paris, 1855–1914, exhibition. Café Society examines the development of the French café and its impact on modern art in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Paintings, drawings, and prints by Vincent van Gogh, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Édouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, James Tissot, Edgar Degas, and more, demonstrate the importance of this subject for French and expatriate artists. This is a ticketed exhibition; $10 per adult, free for Museum members.