UPDATE: Institutions across Europe have adopted precautionary measures to limit the spread of coronavirus such as The Louvre with several countries such as Italy closing all of its museums. Cultural establishments in the U.S. are next to take preventative action against the virus such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City - one of the largest institutions worldwide - announcing recently that it will shutter all three of its sites in the state beginning March 13, as per ARTnews.
"The Met's priority is to protect and support our staff, volunteers, and visitors, and we have been taking several proactive precautionary measures, including discouraging 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," said Daniel H. Weiss, The Met's president, in a public statement.
According to the New York Times, two staffers at the Met have seemingly contracted coronavirus symptoms with one employee waiting for test results. There are over 200 cases of the virus in New York alone. Apart from the Met, landmarks such as The White House and the U.S. Capitol have canceled tours until April 1, as per a report by .
The Brooklyn Museum and The Noguchi Museum in New York City have also announced closures beginning March 13 with the latter institution set to reopen on March 31. The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C. is also closing its doors from the public starting on March 14. On the west coast, the Asian Art Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art have also announced temporary closures effective March 14.
We will be closing all three locations-The Met Fifth Avenue, The Met Breuer, and The Met Cloisters-temporarily starting tomorrow, March 13, to support New York City's effort to contain the spread of COVID-19. The Museum will undertake a thorough cleaning and plans to announce next steps early next week. " 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. We look forward to soon announcing when we'll be able to welcome our staff and visitors back to the Museum."-Dan Weiss, President and CEO For more information on Museum response, policies, and event cancelations visit the link in our bio.View this post on Instagram
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Original article (March 12, 10: 51 a.m. EST): The World Health Organization recently declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic with over 120,000 infected. As the virus continues to spread, two forthcoming art fairs have decided to change their plans for launch.
Printed Matter 's LA Art Book Fair, which was slated to run through April 3-5 at the Geffen Contemporary space of LA's Museum of Contemporary art, is now canceled. Paris Photo's inaugural New York edition - the largest art fair celebrating photography worldwide - made the decision to postpone the installment with new dates to be announced soon.
"Our annual L.A. Art Book Fair is both a celebration and a critical platform for artists' books and publishing activity from across the globe. We are grateful for the understanding of our participating artists and publishers, and want to acknowledge the time and effort they have dedicated to developing creative publishing projects for the fair. We encourage everyone to continue to support their work," said LA Art Book Fair organizers in a statement.
Michel Filzi, the president of Reed Expositions in France - the organization behind the planning of Paris Photo New York - announced the fair's postponement this past Wednesday. "The health and well-being of exhibitors, visitors, sponsors, media representatives, cultural institutions, and our employees from around the globe is and will always be our first priority," he expressed.
Stay tuned for further developments surrounding any closures of art fairs and events stateside.
Dear Printed Matter Community, We are deeply saddened to announce the cancellation of the 2020 LA Art Book Fair scheduled to take place at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA on April 3-5, 2020. We have been closely monitoring the escalating spread of coronavirus COVID-19 outbreaks in California and globally, and in light of recent news and advisories, it will not be feasible to stage the Fair in a way in which everyone's safety can be assured. Our annual LA Art Book Fair is both a celebration and a critical platform for artists' books and publishing activity from across the globe. We are grateful for the understanding of our participating artists and publishers, and want to acknowledge the time and effort they have dedicated to developing creative publishing projects for the Fair. We encourage everyone to continue to support their work. For the full program, and more information about the Fair, browse the 2020 LA Art Book Fair site. A full list of 2020 LA Art Book Fair exhibitors and links to their websites can be found pmabf.org We extend our gratitude to our host MOCA for their support, and we also thank our Fair Partners and the many dedicated individuals and vendors who have worked tirelessly toward the production of the 2020 LA Art Book Fair. The decision to cancel this year's edition of the Fair is an incredibly difficult one, but the health and wellness of our exhibitors and of the public is our main priority. We look forward to a spectacular return to Los Angeles in 2021. If you have any questions, please contact laartbookfair@printedmatter.org ? of @unitypress mural LAABF 2019 @printedmatter_artbookfairsView this post on Instagram
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Elsewhere in art, KAWS just launched EXPANDED HOLIDAY augmented reality sculptures featuring his signature Companion.
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