Visitors return to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., on June 18, 2021, after the museum was closed for more than 400 days due to the pandemic.
Vin McNamee/Getty Images
hide signature
switch signature
Vin McNamee/Getty Images
The Smithsonian museums, the National Gallery of Art and other facilities that receive federal funding are announcing their reopening plans now that the government shutdown has ended.
While the financial impact of this particular closure, the longest in U.S. history, has not yet been calculated, past closures have been costly for museums and other cultural venues that have been forced to close. In addition to employee layoffs and program suspensions or cancellations, the 2018-19 shutdown resulted in losses of about $5 billion, according to the foundation. American Alliance of Museums. That figure includes roughly $3.4 million from Smithsonian gift shops, concessions and IMAX film screenings, and for the National Gallery of Art, “about 334,000 visitors, including 11,700 schoolchildren, and approximately $1.2 million in gross revenue from stores and restaurants,” according to the group's September report.
“We're glad to see that these museums can reopen, but we know from past closures that cultural institutions are losing millions in revenue that they will never be able to recover,” Marilyn Jackson, president and CEO of the American Alliance of Museums, said in an email to NPR. “And not only museums, but also restaurants, hotels and small businesses that depend on cultural tourism are suffering along with them.”
Here's an overview:
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution, which includes 21 museums and the National Zoo, will reopen on a rolling basis. Beginning Friday, November 14, the National Museum of American History, the National Air and Space Museum and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Virginia, will reopen. All other museums and the National Zoo, including the popular animal. cameras — will open by Monday, November 17th. Updates will be published. Here.
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art, one of the most visited art museums in the world, will reopen its West Building and outdoor Sculpture Garden on Friday, November 14th. The east building will reopen on November 15th. The gallery's east building will be the first stop on a major touring exhibition of Australian Indigenous art in the United States, which was originally scheduled to open on October 18. Stars We Can't See: Indigenous Art in Australiawhich will now see its first visitors on Saturday, is taken from the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. After Washington, the exhibition will travel to museums in Colorado, Oregon and Massachusetts.
Ford's Theater
Historical Ford's Theatera public-private partnership with the National Park Service, was partially closed during the closure but has now fully reopened. “We saw a lot of bands at Ford's Theater this morning,” spokeswoman Leah Yoon Frelinghuysen told NPR in an email. “It’s clear that visitors are excited to see what our site has to offer and we’re thrilled to be open!”
