After the government gave advice on avoiding public buildings, many art institutions were closed to both visitors and staff, and exhibitions were postponed and events were canceled.
The National Gallery was the first to delay an exhibition (the opening of their Artemisia) and is now closing completely, while Tate today was the first major gallery group to close all of its locations in London and beyond.
- The new installation of the Fourth Plinth sculpture was delayed. Heather Phillipson’s The End was scheduled for March 26th but has been postponed until further notice.
- The V&A Museum and the V&A Museum of Childhood are closed for March 18. Customers will be contacted shortly for exhibition refunds
- The Design Museum will be temporarily closed from March 18, which means temporary exhibitions Electronic: From Kraftwerk to The Chemical Brothers and Sneakers Unboxed: Studio to Street has been postponed.
- The Royal Museums Greenwich, including the National Maritime Museum, the Royal Observatory, Cutty Sark, the Queen’s House, the Peter Harrison Planetarium and the Prince Philip Maritime Collection Center, have been postponed until at least May 1st
- The auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s are temporarily closed in London
Tate Modern and Tate Britain
Tate said in a statement, “We believe that access to art is a universal human right. More than ever, art can lift our spirits, brighten our days, and improve our sanity. While our galleries are closed, we’ll be sharing some ideas on how you can still enjoy the best of Tate online.
“We don’t yet know when the galleries will reopen, but we look forward to seeing you when they do. Until then, stay safe and take care of yourself. “
National Gallery
( © The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York )
The gallery said in a statement: “W.We have been open to the public for almost 200 years and welcome visitors 361 days a year. We are all upset about this closure, but it is the right thing to do at this time. We look forward to welcoming you back to the gallery as soon as possible.
“Galleries, museums and their collections are important in these difficult times. They are a source of joy, comfort and inspiration that allow us to reflect on ourselves and our time. While the gallery in Trafalgar Square is closed, our collection will remain open to all who can explore on the website. “
There is currently no scheduled date for the planned opening of the Artemisia exhibition, but the gallery staff will be in touch with those who have already booked tickets.
British Museum
The British Museum announced that it will be temporarily closed from March 18, although a reopening date has not yet been set.
Hartwig Fischer, Director of the British Museum, said: “We made this decision with a heavy heart, but our top priority is the health and safety of our employees and visitors. We currently do not know when we will be able to do so.” open again, but we hope to provide more updates soon.
“We will update and add digital content during the time that we are closed so that visitors can stay in touch with the museum. We will share our collections, research results and programs in new ways without the need to visit the museum is. ” Museum.
“We look forward to welcoming our visitors back to the museum as soon as possible.”
National portrait gallery
The National Portrait Gallery announced that it would temporarily close on March 18. They said: “We will continue to monitor the situation closely and act on the advice of the UK Government and Public Health England. In the meantime, we look forward to keeping in touch with our audience online and hope to see them back at the gallery soon. “
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum closed its South Kensington location on March 17th at 1pm.
Their statement said: “We are disappointed to see you late to the exciting exhibitions and events we have planned. But most important to us is the well-being of our visitors, members and staff.
“We currently expect to reopen in early summer, but until then we will continue our mission of creating lawyers for the planet online so that both people and the planet can flourish in the future.”
Serpentine galleries
Serpentine Galleries tweeted an announcement that they will be temporarily closed starting today “until further notice”. They added a call to “come to us online via special programs, podcasts and digital assignments in the coming weeks”.
Hayward Gallery
The entire Southbank Center, including the Hayward Gallery, is now closed. “The health and well-being of our employees, artists and visitors are our top priority.
The statement goes on: “We are very sorry to have to close our doors. We believe that access to art, music and creativity can be a tonic for all of us, and we will strive to find ways to use it our artists work together to keep it alive, even though our venues are closed. Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by this situation and we pass on our best wishes to all of you and your loved ones. “
Institute for Contemporary Art
The ICA has closed its entire building including exhibition rooms, cinema, theater, bookstore and canteen to visitors and employees.
Continue reading
Call for government support from the London art industry after the closure
ICA Director Stefan Kalmár said: “As a civic public organization, medical and scientific evidence leaves us in no doubt that the spread of Covid-19 can be slowed down and lives can be saved if all major gatherings are suspended. In this way, the ICA prevents what we hope will ultimately be the decision of all cultural organizations in London and the UK to protect our staff, our visitors and the artists we work with.
“We will continue to review the situation daily and hope that we can resume our program as soon as possible. All ICA employees will work from home and will continue to be paid.
He added a plea to support the ICA as a charity through a donation or membership.
Barbican Center
The Barbican has announced that it will completely close its buildings until further notice. They said in a statement that they “recognize the significant impact this closure will have on everyone we work with or who will attend our events”. They asked customers to search the website for refunds for canceled events and avoid contacting the box office until they provided more information.
royal academy
The Royal Academy is currently still open but has announced the cancellation of its Festival of Ideas, which was scheduled to run from April 29th to May 3rd. Ticket holders can contact the gallery for refunds.
Wellcome Collection
Wellcome Collection announced last week that the building will be closed to the public from March 16 and to employees from March 19.
Last week’s statement said, “Our assessment is that the current course of the COVID-19 pandemic makes it inevitable that we will have to close our buildings shortly and that a planned closure will now be less disruptive than a sudden shutdown later.
“While Wellcome’s buildings are being closed, Wellcome will remain very open to business. We will continue to work remotely as much as possible. “
House of Illustration
The King’s Cross gallery, founded by Quentin Blake, has closed its doors for the time being and is ready to reopen “as soon as it is safe for visitors, volunteers and staff”.
Photo gallery
The photo gallery announced that it will be closed “to protect the health and well-being of our employees, attendees and visitors”. It is currently closing its doors until March 31, but will then reassess the situation.
Vagina Museum
The Vagina Museum has announced that it will postpone the opening of Periods: A Short History Exhibition to June 6th. It was originally supposed to open in April. All events have been canceled.
In a tweet they said: “We are contacting all ticket holders and are no longer taking bookings for Vagina Museum events. We ask the ticket holders to donate the cost of their booking to cover the payment of the hourly workers who were designated for these events. “
The museum remains open for the time being. They added: “We will notify you immediately if this changes. We ask all visitors to the Vagina Museum to wash their hands and keep their distance from one another before entering the premises. “
South London Gallery
The South London Gallery was the first publicly funded UK art gallery to announce its closure on March 14th. It remains closed until further notice.
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