As of today, Friday 29 October, the ACT’s health restrictions have eased to allow Canberra’s cultural institutions, museums and galleries to reopen to the public.
The National Museum of Australia, National Portrait Gallery, National Gallery of Australia, National Film and Sound Archive, and Canberra Museum and Gallery all told Canberra Daily how they’ll be proceeding and what they have in store for the months ahead.
National Museum of Australia
The bouzoukis were on hand and perhaps a few snifters of ouzo were clinked behind closed doors to a cheer of ‘yamas‘ as the National Museum of Australia reopened to the public today.
There is a strong sense of anticipation for Museum staff ahead of the 17 December opening of the long-awaited summer blockbuster exhibition, Ancient Greeks: Athletes Warriors and Heroes.
Closed for 11 weeks due to the ACT’s lockdown and subsequent health restrictions, Museum director, Dr Mathew Trinca, told Canberra Daily he was relieved to reopen the institution to the public this morning.
“Museums exist to be open,” he said, “it’s a landmark moment when we can reopen, we can welcome people back on site and start having our staff back on site in earnest from next week.”
For weeks leading up to today, staff have been working on the necessary plans and arrangements to allow the Museum to reopen in line with all public health requirements.
Dr Trinca said the process of reopening is more difficult than that of closing.
“The act of closing is hard enough, but the planning, the preparation and the work that goes in to being properly arranged and prepared for welcoming people back on site is a very great deal,” he said.
Deemed an essential worker over lockdown, the Museum director spent a lot of time working in solitude on site, having the colossal building practically to himself.
He described it as an “eerie” time to be in the building with the security staff and no one else.
“To think that several weeks ago the place felt shuttered, cold, dark, and now there’s a real sense of light that’s flooding back into the place as we open up, it’s quite stark,” he said.
Ancient Greeks will feature over 170 iconic objects from the British Museum’s collection including the marble statues and ornate amphorae Greece is known for, and will enjoy an extended four-month stay in Canberra.
Many of the items have never been to the Antipodes nor the southern hemisphere before.
Dr Trinca was thrilled Ancient Greeks will go ahead, noting large-scale cultural events like it will be important for Canberra during the months ahead.
“We’re so delighted that we’ve been able to save this show,” he said. “Canberra needs a big blockbuster exhibition like this over the summer.”
Initially slated to open December 2020, in August 2020 the exhibition was pushed back to 17 December 2021 due to logistical complications relating to transporting the priceless works during a global pandemic.
National Portrait Gallery
To celebrate their reopening today, the National Portrait Gallery is offering free entry to the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2021 exhibition on 29-31 October.
Their collection displays will also be open for viewing, as will their shop and café.
All visitors must pre-book for one of their hourly sessions available daily. Each session will have a maximum of 270 people allowed as per the one person per four square metre rule.
There is no time limit on how long patrons can spend at the Gallery.
National Film and Sound Archive
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia will welcome people back from next Friday, 5 November, returning with a rich Arc Cinema program sure to attract an eager cinemagoing audience.
Highlights include a Laura Dern retrospective from 19 to 21 November; a screening of David Lynch’s 1984 film, Dune, on 12 November; Justin Kurzel’s new Australian indie Nitram, based around the events leading up to the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, on 25 November; and Rolf de Heer’s 1993 Australian global indie hit, Bad Boy Bubby, on 26 November.
Alongside the Arc Cinema program, visitors can once again enjoy the Archive’s interactive onsite experience, Hive, as well as Starstruck: On Location, and their daily Vintage Australia program.
Tickets are on sale for the November Arc season now; see the full program here.
National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery of Australia reopened to the public today at 10am after being closed for 11 weeks since 5pm Thursday 12 August.
All visitors are required to book free General Entry tickets, which can be done online here or in person at the Concierge Desk in the Gallery foyer.
Everything you need to know about visiting the NGA is available here.
On display will be new two exhibitions – part two of Know My Name: Australian Women Artists 1900 to Now, and Project 1: Sarah Lucas – which opened just prior to the lockdown, as well as highlights from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art collection, and collection displays, Towards Abstraction and Emotional Body.
Tickets are also on sale for the Gallery’s major exhibition, an eponymous exhibition celebrating the work of Australian artist Jeffrey Smart, which will open to the public on 11 December.
Canberra Museum and Gallery (CMAG)
Canberra Museum and Gallery (CMAG) also reopened to the public today, showcasing three new exhibitions.
Starting from today, National Gallery Touring exhibition Spowers & Syme, Brenda Croft’s hand/made/held/ground, and Mandy Martin: From Queanbeyan to New York: 1978-1984 / Art & Life are all on display at the Civic venue.
Spowers & Syme celebrates the artistic friendship of Melbourne artists, Ethel Spowers and Eveline Syme.
Mandy Martin: From Queanbeyan to New York: 1978-1984 / Art & Life developed by CMAG, takes us to an early point in Martin’s career and presents little known but extraordinarily sensitive works created when she first arrived in the Canberra region.
Brenda Croft’s mixed media installation, hand/made/held/ground (2019), reimagines customary objects jimpila (spearhead) and kurrwa (stone axe) originally created on Gurindji homelands.
Regular hours now see CMAG open Monday to Saturday 10am-5pm; visit cmag.com.au for more.
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