American Visionary Art Museum Reviews

We held our wedding ceremony and reception at AVAM and had a great experience. The staff were incredibly helpful and responsive to all of our questions, and the venue itself is beautiful. If you are able to rent multiple spaces, we’d highly recommend it. We had our ceremony in the barn, cocktail hour on the 1st floor of the JRVC and the reception on the 3rd floor. Guests loved the different spaces, as did we! We’d highly recommend AVAM to anyone looking to hold an event!

AVAM was perfect for us. We had ~240 guests at our wedding and had a Jewish wedding that was a bit more on the traditional side. AVAM was able to accommodate everything. It's a beautiful space for great value. If you're looking for a venue that's a bit less traditional but still beautiful and accommodating to weddings, we'd highly recommend AVAM.

AVAM was our top choice for getting married because of the transparency in pricing and scheduling, their communication and the overall uniqueness of the venue! Their event planning staff were easy to work with and made wedding planning easy. They do have a mandatory caterer list but it includes a wide range of budgets for different weddings. We held the ceremony in the sculpture garden, cocktail hour in the third floor cafe and the reception in the sculpture barn. The beauty of the venue meant we needed minimal flowers and the lighting in the venue was already wonderful!

We got so many compliments on this beautiful venue. Rhea and her team did everything to make our day special. Planning leading up to our day was so easy. Rhea was responsive, professional, and answered all my (many) questions! Highly recommend AVAM. It's a true staple of Baltimore. Our guests absolutely loved the art installments, the details, and the creativity surrounding the evening. Cannot recommend AVAM enough.

My wife and I held a welcome reception the night before our wedding at the cafe at the AVAM and it was literally perfect. The space is truly unique and people couldn't stop asking me how I found it. There is access to one of the exhibits during the event which our guests loved and the space includes access to the outdoor balcony/patio which transforms into a magical space when the sun goes down with the lighting and atmosphere out there. It was super easy to work with them and book the space. If you like refined artsy weirdness you have got to check them out.

We live in Brooklyn but ultimately decided to have our wedding in Baltimore in order to better accommodate more of our guests. I loved going to AVAM when I lived in the area, so it was an easy choice for my husband and me to book the Jim Rouse Visionary Center for our May wedding. And our guests loved it too! The JRVC first floor provided a beautiful, fun and unique backdrop for our ceremony, and the loft-like third floor was a perfect setting for the cocktail hour and reception. And the venue and its convenient location by the water and Federal Hill Park made for so many awesome photos.

AVAM’s event manager, Rhea, was fantastic throughout our whole planning process. She was a great communicator and always quick to respond to our questions about outside vendors or museum guidelines, and she was so helpful as we navigated postponing a year.

I’d absolutely recommend this venue to anyone looking to get married in the Baltimore/DC area.

(photos included in this review were taken by the amazing Jessi McDonold/Wild June Photography!)

Rhea was extremely responsive and helpful in our planning at AVAM! We toured the venue virtually and didn't see it for the first time until the day of, but everything was beautiful and we couldn't have been happier! We were able to secure a date close to the wedding due to Covid and got a great deal with both the Sculpture Garden for cocktails and JRVC for reception. Rhea was very pleasant in all the back and forth regarding what is/isn't feasible. She coordinated with my vendors to ensure they all know and adhere to the protocols, definitely a professional! Our guests had a blast and we thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it! Thanks Rhea!!!

My husband and I wanted a unique venue for our surprise wedding in October 2020. The AVAM venue was the only venue we visited before booking and it truly is so unique. The sculpture barn is beautiful and hardly needs additional decor. In addition, the barn leads to a garden space that was perfect for our cocktail hour. The museum staircase steps created an intimate space for our ceremony. The best part is you have access to all these spaces for one price. Definitely worth every penny. Their vendors that they recommend are truly amazing and Rhea, the facilities director is so helpful and great to work with. I highly recommend this space. Your guest will be so impressed!

If you looking for for a unique and special reception- AVAM is for you! We had a great time and the coordinator was very easy to work with!

Working with AVAM was thankfully one of the easiest parts of our wedding! Less than 2 months before our wedding, our original venue backed out due to the COVID restrictions - the original venue had told us we could possibly have 100-200 guests, but at the last second, told us they could only allow 25 people indoors (turns out all of us were reading the wrong rules for capacity). We were so panicked since we had already been planning to have at least a hundred people for our May 2021 wedding. I had posted on one of the Facebook wedding groups for Maryland brides, and I am SO glad that Rhea (the event coordinator at AVAM) reached out to me regarding their availability. It was somehow one of the only dates available, and since Baltimore city was at 50%, they were able to accommodate 245 people at that time (max capacity 490, which is huge for a venue located inside of any city!). Rhea was extremely responsive and so easy to work with throughout this very hectic and last minute process. She went above and beyond, helped us find a new caterer, figure out parking for our guests, coordinated our walk throughs with other vendors, etc. The venue itself is so cool, and our guests are still talking about how awesome and unique everything was! We used the downstairs and outdoor areas for our cocktail hour, and the big ballroom upstairs for the reception. Everyone loved the exhibits at the museum and it made for awesome photos/conversation/entertainment during cocktail hour for all ages. The location is also right next to the harbor and Federal Hill park, so the background of any of the photos near the venue were also great. The reception hall upstairs was huge - again, it fits 490 at max capacity. We were able to make really nice decorations, have a big stage for our DJ and band, and had plenty of room for our photobooth, 2 bars, cake table, etc, even with 200 guests. After the event, they made sure we had everything with us and did a final walk through the following day to make sure nothing was left behind. If you are looking for a large, unique/fun venue, inside the city, I highly recommend AVAM!!

AVAM was a pleasure to work with. We originally planned for a May 2020 wedding and postponed to September 2020 due to the pandemic. We actually happened to be their first wedding after closing in March! I was in contact with Rhea throughout the summer, and she was the shining beacon of planning this wedding. She was extremely responsive via email and very accommodating. We held a microwedding outdoor ceremony (28 people) on the covered patio in the garden area next to the sculpture barn. We had 3 hours and it was just enough time to feel like a full wedding, with small pockets of dancing spread across the patio.

The main setback we had actually ended up not being a setback at all, thanks to Rhea’s transparency — the wooden sculpture was in the midst of reconstruction in the weeks leading up to the ceremony, so Rhea offered us the option to move the ceremony to other outdoor locations (like in front of the egg). When we opted to stay in the garden to avoid the mess of coordinating with the other vendors, she brought down potted trees and plants to place in front of the wooden poles. It ended up giving us a beautiful backdrop that was earthy but also unfinished in a wonderfully imperfect, way. All in all, 10/10. Many of our guests said it was their favorite wedding they had been to... ever!! I will forever be greatly to Rhea and her team for their support and flexibility. They really just want you to have the best day you can in a safe manner!

We were looking for a unique venue for our Indian wedding, and AVAM was the first place we saw in person. We instantly fell in love with the space, and our wedding was perfect! Michele is wonderful to work with, the JRVC 3rd floor space is a beautiful, well maintained room that allows for so many variations in how you can use the space. The room transformed beautifully from day to night, and the sculpture barn is a very cool space for lunch and cocktail hour. Our guests are still raving about the whole day, including the venue, and we are thrilled with our decision to get married at AVAM!

We had an excellent experience with the American Visionary Art Museum. We reserved the sculpture garden and barn for our ceremony and reception respectively. Our guests loved the layout and the quirkiness of the atmosphere, as did we! Michele was amazing, I cannot speak highly enough about her! She was responsive, knowledgeable and made great suggestions for our event. A hurricane was forecasted for the weekend of our wedding and she was so helpful in providing guidance for back up plans (which thankfully we did not end up needing!). She also has a great list of suggested vendors that we relied upon to make the wedding planning process a breeze. If you are looking for a unique venue, this is definitely a place you will want to look into!

My husband and I walked through the AVAM for our first search in venues and immediately knew this is where we wanted to get married. Being an art teacher, I was thrilled to have the JVRC buidling available for my guests to walk through the art gallery before going up to the reception hall on the 3rd floor. I had a large wedding party and even with 23 tables set up, there was a lot of space for the dance floor and felt very open. The room can look so versatile depending on the lighting and decor and with the beautiful exposed brick and our bright decor, we loved the space. Michele Coziahr was very responsive to every email and phone call and easy to work with. Everything was seamless and perfect!

We held our reception in the barn, and it turned out beautifully. It was such a cool and unique venue, and all of our guests were impressed. Michele, the venue's event director, was a huge help in suggesting other vendors to use for catering, lighting, coordination, etc.

My husband and I, my parents, and his parents highly recommend AVAM as a wedding venue!! We've been to AVAM to visit before, my parents had been to a wedding ~10 years ago in the JRVC Banquet Room, and my in-laws held a family function in the on-site restaurant, Encantada, a number of years ago -- so we were all familiar enough with the space to know it would fit with our personalities. The museum itself is fun and quirky, and there are several spaces for photo ops inside and outside the museum buildings themselves. For our budget and wedding vision we chose to have our ceremony and reception in the Sculpture Barn and Garden.

Michele, the event coordinator for AVAM, is the main reason that so many people rave about events they have attended or hosted here. From my first email inquiry to the day of the wedding, she was extremely helpful, responsive, knowledgeable, and detail oriented. I had several questions along the way that I was afraid were "dumb" questions, and she always got back to me quickly, without judgment, and with a clear and straightforward answer! Having coordinated so many events at AVAM, Michele has several vendor contacts, knows the space inside and out, and helps bring your vision to life based on her experience. I'm so thankful we had Michele to work with throughout the whole process!

On the day of the wedding, everything came together and looked just as I'd imagined, if not better. Green space with brick walls, funky sculptures, mirrored mosaic tiles, and open air was exactly what we were looking for and AVAM has just that (in the barn/garden area). We had 114 guests and the tables/chairs/dance floor/other decor all fit in the space with a nice flow. It's also conveniently located at the bottom of Federal Hill and adjacent to the Inner Harbor, allowing you plenty of variety as far as photo-ops go. I even loved our rain plan for ceremony inside the barn! Can't recommend AVAM enough!!!

We got married here on May 27 and cannot speak highly enough about AVAM. Though there was a torrential downpour for almost the entire duration of the wedding, the museum (represented by Michele Cozaihr, the wonderfully helpful and responsive event coordinator/director/person you talk to about getting married at AVAM) did everything to help us bring the thing off. The barn was perfect, and the museum itself was wonderful for some offbeat photos after the ceremony. I would highly recommend that anybody looking for an unconventional wedding venue in Baltimore look at AVAM and the sculpture garden in particular.

Michelle and the rest of the team at AVAM are awesome! Michelle graciously accommodated us after we lost our original venue halfway through our planning; needless to say we were spooked and had a LOT more questions than she is probably used to, but handled them all like a champ! She is a true pro and has excellent relationships with vendors, making the process super smooth. We got married in the Sculpture Barn; the space was perfect! Just the right size. The outdoor covered patio is so nice to have and really opens up the space; the garden was beautiful for the ceremony. The space also really doesn't need a lot of decoration because it is so cool on it's own, but when you do add some lighting (in our case lanterns and uplights) -- it is truly breathtaking. It was awesome to have flexibility on spaces to take photos; especially because it started raining at the very end of our ceremony! Our guests also LOVED the free museum admission. We still get tons of compliments on the venue choice and how unique it was. Highly recommend!

We had a blast holding our wedding ceremony and reception on-site in the Sculpture Barn in October. We had always loved AVAM and just knew it would be the best fit, with quirky flair. Michele helped us coordinate and was highly communicative. As an event site, they have a fairly extensive list on approved local vendors and caterers, and helped provide some additional suggestions for vendors when we needed help. Also LOVE that they keep the museum open to guests during wedding events, giving our guests extra exploration time. Thanks again!

I can't speak highly enough about the American Visionary Art Museum - in general but especially as a wedding venue. The entire planning process was incredibly smooth and Michele was always gracious, responsible, and helpful. The space is so special and unique - our guests loved it and loved getting to visit the museum beforehand. It brought so much life, whimsy, and joy to our celebration. Highly highly recommend doing your wedding or event here!

AVAM is an amazing location for a wedding! There are fun and quirky elements around every corner, as well as fantastic backdrops for pictures (ivy walls, buildings covered in colored glass, the 'LOVE' sign, etc.) We rented out both the third floor of the Rouse building and the Barn for our event - providing out guests the opportunity to explore the grounds and garden during cocktail hour. One of things we loved the most about AVAM is, despite all of things to see all over the museum grounds, the event spaces, themselves, are blank canvases we could make our own.
Michele, AVAM's event coordinator, was an absolute pleasure to work with! She was friendly, professional, responsive, and accommodating to our laundry list of questions. She was present at every site visit to ensure we were taken care of and generally made us feel that we were in very good hands. AVAM is definitely a great choice that will have your guests raving months after the event!

Working with the American Visionary Arts Museum was absolutely amazing. We worked with Michelle, and it was actually the first wedding venue we visited. Never having planned a large-scale event like a wedding, Michelle answered all the questions we didn't even know we had. She was always responsive and incredibly helpful; she gave advice for working with our caterer, DJ, and photographer. We held our ceremony in the Sculpture Garden and the reception right in the Sculpture Barn, and it was absolutely perfect. The day-of coordinator from the AVAM was also amazing; he was helpful and was willing to do whatever we needed. The whole experience was nothing short of amazing. Thank you to everyone at the AVAM for helping make our day perfect!

Working with AVAM was seamless!! Being from Baltimore it was really the perfect space for us and we knew after touring that this was where we wanted to get married. The price was seemingly higher than other places but it being a museum it's kind of expected. We used the JRVC building, had our ceremony on the 1st floor and cocktail/reception on the 3rd floor - that being said, the space was literally worth every penny. So much room so that guests aren't squished together and plenty of room for a huge dance floor which we loved every bit of! Michele was great, super responsive and literally thought of everything and made sure we were in the know. She had great vendor suggestions and suggestions of her own that really made the process easier. We were a little disappointed to hear that she wouldn't be available for our walk through or rehearsal, but she made sure that we had ALL the information we needed and someone was still there (along with our coordinator) to make sure all our questions were answered should we have any. Everything was perfect and we couldn't be happier!

AVAM was a wonderful and unique choice for our wedding venue! The artistic atmosphere was colorful, fun, and memorable for all generations and our guests really enjoyed themselves. We wanted to choose a location with instant character and appeal that provided our families and friends with something special to entertain them and the Museum really delivered! We utilized the Sculpture Barn and the Wildflower Garden and it worked beautifully to set the vibrant and playful tone we wanted. Michele was a pleasure to work with and made things very easy for us. Thanks for a magical event and wonderful memories for a lifetime!

There are many many reasons AVAM is a terrific venue, but the two most important ones are these: (1) the spirit of the museum, it's art, and the spaces -- all of which celebrate the creative spirit in a joyful way and (2) Michele, who manages the rentals at AVAM -- she is a true professional who knows everything about the venue, goes the extra mile in every way (she called in from her own honeymoon to help troubleshoot a technology issue we were having the day of our event), and has a wealth of experience and dedication that allows her to provide top-notch advice and support. We had a particularly challenging set of circumstances (we originally booked AVAM for the weekend in January 2016 when Snowzilla hit and shut down the entire Baltimore-Washington area) and Michele navigated us through the very emotional cancellation and rescheduling of our reception with competence and understanding and flexibility. In the end, we were able to throw the party we really wanted to (rescheduled for July 2016) thanks in very large part to Michele and beautiful, whimsical spirit of the AVAM. If you love the spaces at AVAM, you will find yourself in the very best hands here.