The Menil Collection welcomes back visitors, September 12, 2020.
After closing in early March, along with museums worldwide, the Menil Collection and the Menil Drawing Institute in Houston will reopen on Saturday, September 12, according to an announcement released today by the Menil. Of the remaining major museums in Houston, only the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and the Jung Center have yet to announce reopening plans.
As with other Texas museums that have reopened, the Menil will require face masks for all visitors, and encourage social distancing. Reservations will be necessary for visitors, and the museum will operate at a reduced visitor capacity. Admission will continue to be free at the Menil, and some amenities, such as coat check, will be unavailable. The Menil will also implement increased cleaning of high-touch surfaces, and hand-sanitizer units will be available throughout the buildings.
The first exhibition after the reopening announcement will be Virginia Jaramillo: The Curvilinear Paintings, 1969-1974. The exhibition, included in Glasstire’s Fall Preview Top Five video (which goes up tomorrow), is also the Jaramillo’s first major solo museum exhibition, and presents eight abstract paintings by the 81-year-old artist (b. 1939, El Paso).
Virginia Jaramillo in her studio on Spring Street, New York City, 1968. Photo by Mitchell Trout, courtesy Virginia Jaramillo and Hales, London and New York.
The Menil’s complete health and safety protocols are as follows:
• Masks that cover your nose and mouth are required for your entire museum visit.
• Social distancing is encouraged.
• Coat check is unavailable, and large bags, backpacks, and strollers are not permitted.
• Visitor capacity is reduced and maintained in our art buildings. Please make reservations in advance to ensure entry.
• The main museum building and the Menil Drawing Institute have a single visitor entrance. Please enter the main building using the Sul Ross Street entrance.
• The museum has enhanced cleaning of high-touch surfaces throughout the day.
• Hand-sanitizer units are stationed throughout the buildings.
• The Menil Collection Bookstore is available for curbside pickup and direct mail orders.
• The Cy Twombly Gallery, Richmond Hall, and Byzantine Fresco Chapel are currently unavailable to visitors.
To make a reservation to visit the Menil, please go here.
The Menil Collection, Houston.
The Menil is no stranger to extended closure. After announcing renovation plans in June of 2017, the museum closed in the spring of 2018, and reopened in September of 2018.
For more information, please visit the Menil’s website here.
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The Menil Collection is a museum and neighborhood of art spanning 30 acres in the heart of Houston, Texas. The main gallery building anchors the campus and is surrounded by four additional museum buildings: the Menil Drawing Institute; Cy Twombly Gallery; Richmond Hall, which features an installation by artist Dan Flavin; and the Byzantine Fresco Chapel.
Making art accessible is vital to the Menil’s mission; no admission is charged and public programs are free. All of the Menil’s campus buildings are entered at ground level, symbolic of its democratic ideals. The Menil’s philosophy is to foster each visitor’s direct, personal encounter with works in the collection. The display of carefully chosen artworks in serene settings are hallmarks of the museum.
