Art Museums in Asia Set Standards for Re-Opening

The International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art, known as CIMAM, is urging museums to follow the best practices of museums in Asia on how to keep visitors and staff safe while re-opening amid the global Covid-19 pandemic.

On April 29, CIMAM released a 20-point list based on the experiences of the National Gallery of Singapore, M+ in Hong Kong, and the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, all of which were open for periods of time in February and March after the first wave of coronavirus cases had subsided or had been contained.

CIMAM’s list includes recommendations such as mandatory temperature checks, obtaining contact information, and the requirement to wear a mask for admission. Additionally CIMAM recommends that large events, guided tours, and programs for seniors be curtailed. For staff members and facility management, CIMAM recommends twice daily temperature checks, the wearing of masks, especially for front-of-the house staff, and measures to ensure cleanliness and routine disinfection.

The final recommendation advocates that museums take on a more general public service role: “Encourage visitors, participants, and partners to acquaint themselves with the facts of the outbreak and its spread, sharing them with the community to avoid Covid-19-related stigmatization or discrimination.”

In an earlier statement from March 23, CIMAM called on all museums and collecting institutions to “support artists and independent cultural professionals whose livelihoods are being put at risk due to the closure of museums and cancellation of activities and events.”

The second wave of Covid-19 hit Asia in March and April, forcing museums in Singapore and Japan to close, as well as the museums in Hong Kong, which had briefly reopened after the initial closure after Chinese New Year in January. Elsewhere in Asia, museums in Beijing and Shanghai are beginning to welcome visitors again, while Taiwan’s museums were never forced to close due to the low number of cases there. The Taipei Fine Arts Museum and other institutions in Taiwan required temperature checks and mask-wearing from the outset of the pandemic.

The board members of CIMAM for 2020–22 including the Mori Art Museum’s director Mami Kataoka; Suhanya Raffel, executive director of M+; and Eugene Tan, director of the National Gallery Singapore and the Singapore Art Museum. Museums in Hong Kong may reopen after May 4 as daily reported cases in the city has fallen to zero for several consecutive days. Singapore remains under lockdown through June 1.

HG Masters is the deputy editor and deputy publisher of ArtAsiaPacific. 

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