The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) announced it will reopen to the public on Saturday, July 4, 2020; museum members will have early access beginning July 1. With its reopening, the museum will resume its regular operating hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily with extended hours Wednesday, Thursday and Friday until 9 p.m. VMFA’s plans were announced as the City of Richmond entered Phase 2, lifting more COVID-19 related restrictions.
“We appreciate the community’s patience and support while the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts was temporarily closed to help slow the spread of COVID-19,” said Alex Nyerges, VMFA’s Director and CEO. “We are committed to providing a safe, artful experience once again and we’re excited to welcome the community back to VMFA!”
Following the guidance of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the museum will implement safeguards to help ensure the health and well-being of its visitors, staff and volunteers. Wearing face coverings will be required and disposable masks will be provided to those who do not bring their own. To limit the number of people within the museum at one time, visitors will enter through the main entrance near the McGlothlin Wing on the first floor and exit near the Art Education Center located off North Arthur Ashe Boulevard, also on the first floor. Physical distancing must be practiced while inside the museum and outside on VMFA’s grounds. The facilities and campus will be cleaned and sanitized daily, with high-touch areas and restrooms cleaned more frequently. Hand-sanitizing stations will be available throughout the museum. Clear acrylic partitions are installed at Visitor Services, in the VMFA Shop, and at all public-facing workstations.
The permanent collection galleries and special exhibitions will be open. The exhibition Working Together: Louis Draper and the Kamoinge Workshop has been extended through October 18. Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities, a new, ticketed exhibition, will also open to the public on July 4. As Sunken Cities promises to be a popular exhibition, admittance will be timed to maintain physical distancing within the galleries. Due to restrictions on gatherings, group tours cannot be scheduled.
VMFA’s casual dining venue Best Café will operate “grab-and-go” service and provide limited seating, spaced to meet physical-distancing standards. Amuse, VMFA’s fine dining restaurant, will also be open with limited seating; reservations are recommended. The Library, currently being reconfigured to distance workstations and equipment, will reopen to visitors by appointment in September. To maintain physical-distancing standards, a limited number of shoppers will be able to enter the VMFA Shop at one time. Clear acrylic partitions will offer protection during transactions at check-out stations where visitors will be encouraged to use debit cards, credit cards or Apple Pay when purchasing tickets, merchandise, or food at the museum.
For the remainder of the summer, all in-person early childhood programs, kids’ camps, teen camps, and adult studio school classes, as well as K-12-adult guided and self-directed tours are canceled. The museum’s comprehensive online resources, which include art activities, permanent art collections, virtual exhibitions, art history classes and educational programs can be accessed from home through the museum’s website at www.VMFA.museum.
“After weeks of having to keep our galleries closed to the public, we look forward to seeing people return to the museum and rediscover art that consoles, inspires and excites,” said Nyerges.
Complete details about VMFA’s safety measures can be found at www.VMFA.museum/COVID-19.
