While major European museums like the Louvre have reopened for several weeks, New York museums have only been allowed to do so since this week. With a capacity limited to 25%, body temperature controls at the entrance and strict distancing measures.
Under these conditions, and with a tourist sector at a standstill, only a few art lovers had reserved a time slot for this first day of reopening. These measures allowed these people to see many of the museum’s masterpieces like never before.
For Alan Orenbuch, 66, retired, the visit was like a trip back in time. I like it when it’s not too crowded, when people aren’t talking and taking pictures, it’s all great
, told AFP this regular of the place.
A masked woman walks in front of Picasso’s work “Les demoiselles d’Avignon”.
Photo : afp via getty images / TIMOTHY A. CLARY
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Over the past few years, the museum has attracted people who just wanted to tick a box on their list of things to do in New York, it wasn’t the same anymore… It’s a bit sad that it took all of that to find the experience of my youth.
For now, MoMA is limited to welcoming 100 people per hour, although it hopes to be able to gradually increase this number, explained Sonya Shrier, in charge of visitor relations and visitors to the museum.
It’s a great time to visit the museum, it’s less crowded, and it’s also a great opportunity to get together safely […] in this difficult period
, she added.
The reopening has been carefully prepared, and it’s really gratifying to see it implemented, to see the doors open and the visitors coming back
, she emphasizes.
Few showed up when the MoMa Museum reopened in New York City.
Photo : afp via getty images / TIMOTHY A. CLARY
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The largest of New York’s museums, the Metropolitan Museum, will reopen on Saturday, and most other museums are due to reopen by early October.
Hit hard in the spring by the coronavirus, with more than 23,600 dead, the American economic and cultural capital is now a model for controlling the epidemic, with a contamination rate of around 1%.
But this metropolis, synonymous with hyperactivity and mass tourism is still idling, as the fear of a second wave is strong.
Many people are still telecommuting, business districts are deserted, and many stores still have not reopened.
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