ARMA Museum (Agung Rai Museum of Art)

Ubud became Bali's art capital in the twentieth century, when local painters, the royal family and a handful of European artists turned the town into a creative hub, and the Agung Rai Museum of Art is the best place to understand how that happened. It was founded by Agung Rai, a Balinese collector who began as a young art seller and devoted his life to preserving and developing Balinese art, and it opened on 9 June 1996, run by the ARMA Foundation. The museum sits in landscaped gardens on Jalan Raya Pengosekan, at the southern end of Ubud, with traditional pavilions, lotus ponds, rice fields and a resort attached. Its collection traces Balinese painting from its classical roots to the present. The story starts with traditional Kamasan paintings, the flat, richly coloured narrative style once used in temples and palaces, then moves to the dense, dreamlike works of the Batuan artists of the 1930s and 1940s, and on to the generation shaped by encounters with Western painters. The German artist Walter Spies, who lived in Ubud from the late 1920s and deeply influenced Balinese art and dance, holds a special place, as do the Dutch painters Rudolf Bonnet and Willem Hofker, alongside the Balinese master I Gusti Nyoman Lempad and Ida Bagus Made. ARMA also holds the only works in Bali by the nineteenth-century Javanese painter Raden Saleh, a towering figure in Indonesian art. What makes ARMA more than a gallery is that it is also a living centre for the performing arts, with dance, music and theatre performances, painting and craft classes, workshops and seminars, so it is worth checking the programme before you go.

How to visit: allow a couple of hours for the galleries and gardens, ideally in the late morning or afternoon when the light is bright and the heat is easing. Entry is paid at the museum. The collection is displayed across several buildings, so pick up a plan and follow the chronology rather than wandering at random; it makes the change from Kamasan to Batuan to the Pita Maha era much easier to grasp. Photography rules vary by gallery, so ask before taking pictures. Evening dance performances, held in the open-air stages of the grounds, are among the most atmospheric in Ubud and a good alternative to the crowds at the palace.

Learning by doing: ARMA's classes are a big part of its appeal, from Balinese painting and wood carving to dance, gamelan and offering-making. They suit families with curious children and couples looking for something hands-on beyond spa days. Book ahead through the museum, and check the website for current packages, which include relaxed days combining the museum with the resort pool.

Fitting it into Ubud: ARMA is about fifteen minutes on foot south of the Monkey Forest along Jalan Hanoman and Jalan Pengosekan, or a short taxi ride from the centre. Pair it with the Monkey Forest in the morning and lunch in Pengosekan, or with Museum Puri Lukisan and the Neka Art Museum for a full art day. Rainy afternoons are the perfect time: the galleries are covered and the gardens are at their greenest.