As New York City and other major cultural hubs around the world slowly shut down to head off the spread of COVID-19, museums and other art and design institutions are also closing their doors. Besides Broadway, which went dark last night, here’s what not to visit if you’re working from home, as they won’t be open. And if you’re thinking of catching a movie, be aware that Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio have imposed 50 percent operating capacity at venues with under 500 seats. Venues with over 500 seats? Those have been closed as a result of a state of emergency.
The Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum will close later today and reopen at an as-of-yet undetermined later date while the museum undergoes cleaning. Programs and classes through April 29 have also been called off, as has their spring gallery program.
The Cooper Hewitt
Beginning March 14, all Smithsonian institutions, including the National Zoo and Cooper Hewitt, will be closed for an indeterminate amount of time.
Bad news for Rem Koolhaas fans hoping to catch a glimpse of Countryside; the Guggenheim is closed until further notice, and all events have been canceled until after April 30. Thankfully for those cooped up inside, Taschen has produced a booklet containing all of the exhibition’s accompanying research.
The High Line
Although a park, the High Line’s narrow stairways, elevators, and bottlenecking in certain areas makes social distancing difficult. In order to comply with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s warning against gatherings of 50 or more, the linear elevated outdoor space has shut down for the time being. No potential reopening date has been given.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
All three branches of the Met (including the Breuer and the Cloisters) will be closed as of today, March 13. All three locations will undergo a deep clean, and it’s uncertain when they’ll reopen. This is an unfortunate blow for the Breuer outpost, as the museum is scheduled to move their collection back to the Fifth Avenue location later this year as the Frick tentatively takes over the Marcel Breuer-designed building. In a double whammy, the museum was also gearing up to celebrate its 150th anniversary.
The MoMA and MoMA PS1 have shut down until March 30. The museum’s associated design stores are also closed, and the institution will evaluate the situation after the 30th before deciding to reopen.
Hudson Yards’ semi-mobile art museum is also closed until March 30, according to a press release sent to AN. Unfortunately, that also means the early closure of the Agnes Denes retrospective Absolutes and Intermediates—the blockbuster show was supposed to conclude March 22 but is now finished. Performances through March 30 have also been canceled and refunds are available for those who purchased tickets in advance.
The Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney, come 5:00 p.m. tonight, will also shut down for an undetermined amount of time, and all of their associated events have been canceled for the foreseeable future.
