Fort Worth’s Kimbell Art Museum to Reopen June 18 to Members, June 20 to Public

by Christopher Blay June 11, 2020
Kimbell Art Museum Piano Building

Kimbell Art Museum Piano Building.

The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth has announced that it will reopen next Thursday, June 18, first for a members-only preview, and then open to the public next Saturday, June 20. Capacity in the galleries will be limited to 50% due to social-distancing guidelines. The Kimbell closed its doors to the public on Friday, March 13, as reported here, and remained closed through May, despite being allowed to reopen under Governor Greg Abbott’s Executive Order permitting museum reopenings.

The Kimbell is among the few major Texas museums to reopen since the beginning of the Great Lockdown of 2020. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston reopened on May 23 with others such as Houston’s Museum of Natural Science opening in  May as well, along with the Museum of Biblical Arts in Dallas.

Flesh-And-Blood-At-Kimbell-Art-Museum-June-2020

Installation view of “Flesh and Blood: Italian Masterpieces from the Capodimonte Museum,” currently installed at the Kimbell Art Museum

The Kimbell’s special exhibition, Flesh and Blood: Italian Masterpieces from the Capodimonte Museum, which was scheduled to close next Sunday, has been extended through July.

Health and safety measures announced will mean that visitor engagement tools such as audio wands or conveniences such as parcel check-in will not be available. In addition to staff retraining, the following are the visitor guidelines that have been announced by the Kimbell:

For the safety of all visitors and staff, anyone who is sick or has any sign of a respiratory illness should stay home. The museum has installed signage and other visual reminders to ensure visitors and staff maintain a safe social distance of at least six feet.

All visitors (ages 2 and up) are required to wear a mask during their visit to the Kimbell. Masks are available upon request. All Kimbell staff are required to wear masks. Custodial staff have increased cleaning frequency among high-touch locations. Additional hand sanitizing stations are located throughout the buildings, including at every entrance.

Audio wands are currently not available for visitor use. Visitors are encouraged to download the Kimbell app on their personal device and bring headphones to experience audio tours of the permanent collection and special exhibition.

Parcel check is closed. No large bags or backpacks are allowed; however, soft-front baby carriers and strollers are permitted.

Visitors are encouraged to purchase exhibition tickets online; tickets may also be purchased on-site. Members may bypass the ticket line and show their member ID card to enter the special exhibition. Admission to the permanent collection is always free.

In addition to the above guidelines, the Kimbell has temporarily closed its café, as well as all drinking fountains, although bottled water will be available for purchase. The museum has also suspended all on-site programs and events.

As with other museum reopenings around the state, the Kimbell plans to continue all of its Kimbell From Home online programs.

For more information on the Kimbell Art Museum’s reopening, please visit its website here.

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The Kimbell Art Museum, owned and operated by the Kimbell Art Foundation, is internationally renowned for both its collections and its architecture. The Kimbell’s collections range in period from antiquity to the 20th century and include European masterpieces by artists such as Fra Angelico, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Poussin, Velázquez, Monet, Picasso and Matisse; important collections of Egyptian and classical antiquities; and the art of Asia, Africa and the Ancient Americas.

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