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Met Museum to Close in Response to Coronavirus New York’s Major Cultural Institutions Close in Response to Coronavirus
(about 2 hours later)
In one of the strongest signs yet that the virus is upending the art world, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced on Thursday that it will temporarily close its Fifth Avenue flagship and two other locations — the Met Breuer, on Madison Avenue, and the Met Cloisters in northern Manhattan — starting Friday, March 13, “to support New York City’s effort to contain the spread of COVID-19.” Several of New York’s largest and most prestigious cultural institutions — including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall and the New York Philharmonic — announced Thursday that they would temporarily shut down in an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
The museum, which did not announce a target date to reopen, said it will undertake a thorough cleaning and announce further steps early next week. The closures — which came after other cities in Europe, as well as San Francisco and Seattle, had called off performances — underscored the extent to which major institutions of all kinds are trying to prevent large gatherings of people in the hopes of slowing the spread of the disease.
“The Met’s priority is to protect and support our staff, volunteers, and visitors,” Daniel Weiss, the Met’s president and chief executive, said in a statement. He added that the museum had been taking proactive precautionary measures, including discouraging staff travel “to affected areas, implementing rigorous cleaning routines, and staying in close communication with New York City health officials and the Centers for Disease Control.” “While we don’t have any confirmed cases connected to the museum, we believe that we must do all that we can to ensure a safe and healthy environment for our community, which at this time calls for us to minimize gatherings while maintaining the cleanest environment possible,” Mr. Weiss said. “It would be irresponsible to continue having performances when clearly what is being called for is social distancing,” said Peter Gelb, the general manager of the Metropolitan Opera, which, along with the Philharmonic and Carnegie Hall, is canceling performances through the end of the month in an effort to protect audiences and performers alike.
The Met said it has two employees who have showed symptoms of the virus — one is awaiting a test; the other is at home. The museum — which made its decision in consultation with the mayor’s office — also said it has been preparing for this possibility for several weeks, and is implementing an operational plan, which includes provisions to support salaried and hourly staff. The Metropolitan Museum said it would temporarily close its Fifth Avenue flagship and two other locations — the Met Breuer, on Madison Avenue, and the Met Cloisters in northern Manhattan — starting Friday. It did not announce a target date to reopen, but said it would undertake a thorough cleaning and announce further steps early next week.
The announcement comes at a time when the Met is embarking on celebrations of its 150th anniversary; just this week the museum decided to postpone the opening viewing and reception for its anniversary exhibition, “Making The Met, 1870—2020,” planned for March 23. “The Met’s priority is to protect and support our staff, volunteers and visitors,” Daniel Weiss, the museum’s president and chief executive, said in a statement. He added that the museum had been taking proactive precautionary measures, including discouraging staff travel to affected areas as well as “implementing rigorous cleaning routines, and staying in close communication with New York City health officials and the Centers for Disease Control.”
The Met had previously closed for two days on two occasions:after 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy. The Met said it has two employees who have showed symptoms of the virus. One is awaiting a test; the other is at home. The museum — which made its decision in consultation with the mayor’s office — also said it has been preparing for this possibility for several weeks, and is implementing an operational plan, which includes provisions to support salaried and hourly staff.
The city’s other major museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Guggenheim, have yet to announce similar plans to close, but like many institutions were alert to the potential for closing if confirmed cases of Covid-19 rise. “While we don’t have any confirmed cases connected to the museum, we believe that we must do all that we can to ensure a safe and healthy environment for our community, which at this time calls for us to minimize gatherings while maintaining the cleanest environment possible,” Mr. Weiss said.
Even when not closing, museums are scaling back public events and activities. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is canceling “Making Brooklyn Bloom,” planned for March 14, as a precautionary step. The Frick Collection canceled its annual Young Fellow’s Ball, which was to be held on Thursday night. The Smithsonian Museums in Washington and New York remain open but events such as the Earth Day symposium have been canceled or postponed. In the event of a government shutdown, its museums will be closed in consultation with local public health officials. Broadway producers were also contemplating the possibility of a shutdown, but no decisions had been made as of early Thursday afternoon. Lincoln Center said that its constituent organizations — with the possible exception of Lincoln Center Theater, which will follow the guidance of the Broadway League — would stop performing as of Thursday evening.
The announcement comes at a time when the Met museum is embarking on celebrations of its 150th anniversary; just this week the museum decided to postpone the opening viewing and reception for its anniversary exhibition, “Making The Met, 1870—2020,” planned for March 23.
The museum had previously closed for two days on two occasions, after 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy.
The city’s other major museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Guggenheim, have yet to announce similar plans to close, but, like many institutions, were alert to the potential for closing if confirmed cases of Covid-19 rise. The Frick Collection said Thursday that it would close.