Having been closed for months due to the shelter-in-place mandate, two of San Francisco’s most popular museums — the de Young and the Legion of Honor — are now set to reopen.
The de Young museum opens to the public on Sept. 25, featuring the keenly anticipated Frida Kahlo exhibit, “Appearances Can Be Deceiving,” which had been scheduled to open right around the time that the pandemic shut down much of the Bay Area’s museums and performing arts venues. The Legion of Honor will follow in mid-October.
“As the city’s museums, we have been eager to be able to share the multifaceted art collections and exhibitions, with airy galleries, and green park settings of the de Young and Legion of Honor with our Bay Area audiences again,” says Thomas P. Campbell, director/CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. “After many months of quarantine, we are thrilled to open our doors, and look forward to seeing members of our community engaging with art in our galleries.”
“Rigorous” new health and safety measures, based on city guidelines, will be in place when the two musicians reopen “to ensure a safe and healthy environment for visitors and staff,” according to a news release.
These include reducing visitor capacity to 25 percent and directional signage will be utilized inside the museums to help maintain social distancing. Organizers will use a timed entry basis in admitting visitors to the galleries to further prevent crowding. However, while the entry is timed, the exit is not — so, once inside, patrons are able to explore the museums at their leisure.
It’s strongly recommended that tickets are booked online in advance, since there will be only a limited number of ducats available on site.
Face coverings (masks) will be required to be worn by both museum staff members and visitors at all times while inside the buildings.
Some areas of the museums where it is difficult to promote proper social distancing measures — such as the Hamon Tower observation level and de Youngsters Studio — will remain closed.
For more information on the new health and safety measures, visit deyoungmuseum.org/safety-guidelines.
The de Young opens on Sept. 25 to the general public — and Sept. 22-24 for members only — with Bay Area premiere of “Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving” The exhibit offers “unique insight into Frida Kahlo’s life through a treasure trove of clothes and personal items found in her home, La Casa Azul, upon her death, as well as a series of paintings, mostly self-portraits, and a gallery featuring photography” and “examines Kahlo’s relationship to San Francisco — the first city she visited in the US and where she began to cultivate her now-iconic Tehuana style and her identity as a painter,” according to a news release.
The exact date of the Legion of Honor reopening has not yet been announced. But it is scheduled to occur sometime in mid-October, with visitors getting the chance to see the film and installation “Alexandre Singh: A Gothic Tale,” which has been extended through the fall.
Essential workers will receive free admission to the museums, as well as a $15 discount on tickets to special exhibitions, once the museums reopen and continuing through December 2021.
For more information, visit legionofhonor.famsf.org and deyoung.famsf.org.
