New York (AFP)
The Metropolitan Museum of New York plans to reopen in mid-August, "or maybe a few weeks later," with reduced hours and no guided tours to maintain social distancing, the museum said on Tuesday.
The institution, closed since March 13, is the first major museum in the city to announce a reopening date, while New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has not yet officially given a deadline.
His plan calls for a reopening in four phases for each region of the state, the hardest hit in the country by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The restarting of artistic activities only takes place in the fourth and last phase. New York City has not yet been authorized to enter the first phase.
In addition to the adapted schedules and the absence of guided tours, the Metropolitan Museum will also not organize conferences or concerts until the end of 2020, in order to avoid gatherings conducive to the spread of the new coronavirus .
The reopening will mark the official start of the exhibition "Making the Met", which celebrates the museum's 150th anniversary and was originally scheduled to open on March 30.
"As we go through a difficult and uncertain period, we are encouraged by the prospect of this day when we can once again allow everyone to enjoy the Met's collection and exhibitions," said its chairman, Daniel Weiss, quoted on Tuesday. in a press release.
The latter and the director of Met Max Hollein had indicated in mid-March, expecting a reopening in July, a loss of nearly 100 million dollars in the current year due to the closure, according to an internal document cited by the New York Times.
The museum also announced Tuesday, unsurprisingly, the definitive cancellation of the Met gala, worldly event of the year in New York, which had already been postponed.
The exhibition, usually opened immediately after this gala, organized by the Costume Institute, will finally start on October 29.
This year it is devoted to the relation of fashion to time and entitled "About Time: Fashion and Duration".
© 2020 AFP