6 downtown Dallas museums unveil plans to reopen after COVID-19 shutdown

Six major museums in downtown Dallas have jointly revealed plans to reopen their doors in the coming months. They include the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, Nasher Sculpture Center, Crow Museum of Asian Art, Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, and Perot Museum of Nature and Science.

The six museums have been collaborating over the past several months to determine appropriate reopening dates and new measures to ensure the health and safety of their staff and all visitors. All staff and visitors will be required to wear face masks, and each facility has added sanitizing stations, among other safety protocols.

In a group statement August 9, the museums said, "We have all been working together since our closures in March to prepare for the days when we can safely welcome visitors again. The past five months have been times of significant change. As cultural institutions, we each recognize our unique roles as places for visitors to find solace, joy, and connection. We are excited to finally reopen our spaces to the community."

Both the Dallas Museum of Art and Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum will come first, with each opening on Friday, August 14.

The DMA will temporarily only be open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 11 am to 5 pm. General admission will remain free, but tickets to visit must be booked in advance. The museum will admit up to 200 visitors at a time, who will have access to the building for two-hour periods.

All exhibitions that were on display when the museum closed have been extended, and the special exhibition "For a Dreamer of Houses," which was to have opened on March 15, will be available for view with the purchase of an additional ticket. It will now remain on view until July 4, 2021. Also opening on August 14 will be "Dalí’s Divine Comedy," which showcases selections from Salvador Dalí’s most ambitious illustrated series: his colored wood engravings of the Divine Comedy.

The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm. In addition, every Friday will have members-only hours from 9-10 am. The museum teaches the history of the Holocaust and aims to advance human rights to combat prejudice, hatred, and indifference. Their Pivot to America Wing, which explores the journey for civil rights in America, is currently housing the special exhibition, "The Fight for Civil Rights in the South," a photographic exhibit that chronicles the African American struggle for civil rights and social equality in the 1960s.

Next up will be Nasher Sculpture Center, which will be open Thursday through Sunday starting August 20. Hours on Thursdays and Fridays will be 11 am to 8 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am to 5 pm. Visitors must book their tickets in advance. Remaining on view will be the exhibition Barry X Ball: "Remaking Sculpture," which has been extended until January 3, 2021, and "Foundations: Barry X Ball," extended until January 10, 2021. Also remaining will be "Resist/Release" extended until January 17, 2021, and Nasher Prize Laureate: Michael Rakowitz, extended until April 18, 2021. The new series Nasher Windows, which features work by North Texas artists, will continue in the entrance vestibule of the museum until early September.

The Crow Museum of Asian Art will open on September 18, offering admission Friday through Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm. General admission will be free, and the museum will operate at a 25 percent occupancy. On view will be the special exhibition Beili Liu: "One and Another," and two exhibitions from the permanent collection, "The Art of Lacquer" and "Immortal Landscapes: Jade from the Collection."

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza will welcome visitors on a to-be-determined date in mid-September, and plans to be open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm. They plan to offer timed tickets that must be purchased in advance via the museum website at jfk.org. Capacity will be limited to 25 guests per entry time. Admission includes access to "Art Reframes History," a special installation of works of art from the museum’s collections that explores the variety of ways artists interpret history. The creative voices in the exhibition span time and geography but all share a common point of inspiration: the life and legacy of President Kennedy.

The Perot Museum of Nature and Science, which had previously announced plans to reopen on July 9 only to scuttle them due to an uptick in COVID-19 cases in Texas, has not determined an exact opening date. Museum officials will announce plans at a later date. For updates, go to perotmuseum.org or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.