Chiang Mai University Art Museum shows work by students, faculty, and contemporary Thai artists, with exhibitions that change regularly. The quality can be uneven, but that is part of the appeal: it gives a useful look at the city's younger art scene.
The museum sits near Nimmanhaemin and the university area, so it is easy to fold into a west-side Chiang Mai afternoon with Wat Suan Dok or the Lanna Traditional House Museum.