Newark Museum of Art reopens with pay-what-you-wish admission

NEWARK, NJ — The Newark Museum of Art will reopen to the public in early October, following an extended closure as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency. Museum members are invited to visit first on Member-only Days — Thursday, Oct. 8, and Friday, Oct. 9, as well as Saturday and Sunday morning — before the museum reopens to the public at noon on Saturday, Oct. 10. Admission will be on a pay-what-you-wish basis through the end of the year. Gallery hours will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday through Sunday. Timed admission tickets are required for all visitors, including children older than 2. Tickets can be reserved online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/general-admission-tickets-120448020271.

Numerous safety measures will be in place for the reopening, including mandatory attendance limits of 25-percent capacity and strict social distancing measures that adhere to local, state, and federal guidelines. Each guest’s temperature will be checked at the door and hand-sanitizing stations will be located throughout the facility. All guests and staff are required to wear face coverings throughout the museum. Due to their limited size, certain galleries of the museum will remain closed through the end of the year, including the Ballantine House, the Victorian mansion which is part of the museum’s complex. 

“If there was ever a time for art to help our world heal, this is it,” Director and CEO Linda Harrison said. “After months of our society facing elements such illness, tragedy, racial unrest and isolation, we are finally able to safely gather in small numbers to appreciate art and creativity.”

When the museum reopens, visitors can view new installations in the Global Contemporary gallery, which were originally slated to open in the spring. The second iteration includes “Wolfgang Gil: Sonic Geometries” and “Four Quiltmakers, Four American Stories.” Highlighting works from across the museum’s vast holdings, this gallery showcases work by living contemporary artists who have been influenced by works in the museum’s collection. Located in the North Wing, Global Contemporary sits at the intersection of the American Art, Decorative Arts and Arts of Global Asia galleries.

“We are overjoyed to welcome visitors back to the museum to rediscover our most beloved artworks and to experience installations by living artists in our recently inaugurated Global Contemporary space,” said Catherine Evans, deputy director of collections and curatorial strategies.

Coinciding with the museum’s reopening is the annual Newark Art Festival from Oct. 8 through 11, which includes a “gallery tour” featuring the works of several Newark artists. Making its debut in the virtual installation is a quilted portrait by globally renowned textile artist Bisa Butler, a South Orange–Maplewood native. Titled “Warmth of Other Sons,” the museum recently commissioned this monumental textile by Butler, a resident of East Orange, who taught in the Newark Public School system for 10 years. “Warmth of Other Sons” will initially be on loan as part of “Bisa Butler: Portraits,” the first solo museum exhibition of her work, scheduled to open at the Art Institute of Chicago in November. In May, it will debut at the Newark Museum of Art.

For more information on the reopening of The Newark Museum of Art, visit www.newarkmuseumart.org.

  Newark Museum of Art