Photo by Gerardo Suter, courtesy of the Denver Art Museum
Audio By Carbonatix
The Denver Art Museum plans to remain open at least through November, even as the Clyfford Still Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Arts, the indoor galleries at the Museum of Outdoor Arts and the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art will shutter on November 20 as counties across the state go into Level Red COVID-19 restrictions.
But things can change at any minute, and it’s far from business as usual at the DAM. This week the museum suspended ticket sales, both to special exhibits and the museum itself.
The DAM, along with the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and Wings Over the Rockies, was granted a special variance by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which allowed it to reopen earlier than many other institutions earlier this year, under strict public-health guidelines. But the CDPHE is now reviewing all variances in Level Red counties.
The museum, well aware of the new Level Red guidelines for Denver County, is working with city and state officials to figure out how to best proceed, DAM spokesperson Shadia Lemus told Westword earlier this week. “The museum will continue to operate on current reduced capacity and continue to focus on creating the safest possible in-person environment to experience art,” she said.
Whether the DAM shuts down or not, the staff is well aware that many people are heeding Governor Jared Polis’s advice to stay home whenever possible, so it’s offering plenty of stay-at-home options.
“The museum has developed a set of online and virtual resources to stoke creativity during this time,” Lemus added. “Museum From Home online resources offer videos, tours, hands-on projects and more. Furthermore, the Creativity Resource site includes videos, educational resources and online lesson plans for parents and kids to work with together – as well as other exciting digital content related to the Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Mexican Modernism exhibition.”
As of early November 20, you could still purchase tickets to go to Wings Over the Rockies and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
Update: On the afternoon of November 20, the DAM announced that it would resume tickets sales for members on November 25. But this notice still appears on the general admission page: “Due to uncertainties around COVID-19, tickets to the Denver Art Museum are unavailable for future dates at this time. We will announce the rollout of additional exhibition tickets via our website, social media platforms and news media outlets as soon as they become available. Be sure to follow us on social media for the most up to date info.”
