An
art museum or
art gallery is a building or space for the
exhibition of art, usually
visual art. Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection.
Paintings are the most commonly displayed
art objects; however,
sculpture,
decorative arts, furniture, textiles,
costume,
drawings,
pastels,
watercolors,
collages,
prints,
artists' books,
photographs, and
installation art are also regularly shown. Although primarily concerned with providing a space to show works of visual art, art galleries are sometimes used to host other artistic activities, such as
performance art, music concerts, or
poetry readings.