June 16, 2020 (Knoxville, TN)— The Knoxville Museum of Art will reopen beginning Wednesday, July 1, 2020, with limited hours and extensive precautions to ensure the health and safety of visitors and museum staff. The museum closed on March 16 in response to the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
“We’re very much looking forward to reopening our doors to the public,” said David Butler, KMA Executive Director. “Every possible effort is being made to ensure the safety of visitors and museum staff. We are pleased to announce that, thanks to the generosity of the many lenders to the exhibition, the run of Beauford Delaney and James Baldwin: Through the Unusual Door has been extended through October 25. The museum’s permanent flagship exhibitions--Higher Ground: A Century of the Visual Arts in East Tennessee and Currents: Recent Art from East Tennessee and Beyond—have been reinstalled and refreshed, so there’s a lot for museum visitors to see and enjoy. And we’ll continue to provide enriched content on our website and on social media.”
As always, admission to the KMA is free.
Visitors will be welcomed with the following measures necessitated by the public health situation:
- The KMA will be open on a restricted schedule, Wednesday-Sunday 1-5pm. The museum will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. (The KMA will also be closed Saturday, July 4 for the Independence Day holiday.)
- Attendance will be limited to 25 visitors per hour and reservations will be required by signing up on www.eventbrite.com. (Link is also available on www.knoxart.org)
- Visitors will access the museum via the June and Rob Heller Garden gate adjacent to the parking lot, enter the building on the lower level, and exit at street level (one-way route).
- Visitors will be asked to wear face coverings. Disposable masks will be available for visitors who need them.
- Cleaning and sanitizing in public areas will be greatly increased.
- Visitors will be asked to stay 6 feet apart.
For questions about the reopening, visitors can contact the museum at info@knoxart.org.