With most major countries outside of the United States - and individual states within the U.S. - going through reopening procedures, social distancing strategies are being implemented to help stagnate or reduce the number of COVID infections. These procedures come with an assortment of challenges, including both attracting and protecting staff/volunteers, performers, and audiences. These challenges affect different factions of the arts and entertainment sectors differently, each requiring unique considerations. This 3 part series will highlight case studies for the Fine Arts, Theatre, Orchestra, Dance, and motion picture Industries, showing measures that have been implemented or recommendations in place for each. Part 1 will focus on the museum sector.

Social Distancing in Museums

When considering the reopening of museums, similar strategies commonly used by essential businesses have been adopted by a vast majority of reopened institutions. This is largely due to the nature of how the Hong Kong Museum of Art regulated its reopening process, being one of the first museums to open its doors, starting with partial access in March and complete access on May 6th, 2020, where the museum made “roughly half its galleries accessible to give space to spread out. Like most Asian institutions, it is taking temperatures at the entrance and providing disinfectant mats for shoes” (Apollo Magazine). Other measures included enforced social distancing, floor markers, hand sanitizer stations, plexiglass shields for staff, and contactless payments. However, mask-use, while advised, is not mandatory across all institutions, cities, regions, or countries. This inconsistency can make it difficult for audiences to anticipate what is required of them. Many museums are adapting and, “The wearing of masks, increasingly a feature of our communal spaces, is widely advised, although to what extent public museums can enforce this varies by country. In most cases where masks are required, they will be made available for purchase” (Apollo Magazine).

Figure 1: List of Suggested Reopening Strategies for Arts Organizations. Text Source: Artnet. Graphic Source: Author.

Another subjective safety measure that is not universally enforced across differing locations pertains to how many attendees can be inside a building at once. While many industries announce a percentage of their normal capacity being allowed inside, others have turned to a mathematical approach to maximize the number of attendees within their space, while maintaining a safe atmosphere. “With the requirement that all visitors keep at least 1.5 metres between them, most museums have calculated their new capacity according to a desired ratio of people to some metres squared of floor space” (Apollo Magazine). Some museums have taken other steps to avoid crowds within their walls: “Groups are almost universally banned and it is wise to book tickets in advance online” (Apollo Magazine). In the case of institutions with limited space or unique/challenging architecture, more precautions or creative solutions are required. For example, “The Ateneum in Helsinki, conscious of its narrow corridors, will introduce both a one-way system and a recommended route … The Kunstmuseum Basel has cushioned its more popular galleries with spacious waiting areas. Fondation Giacometti … will admit just 10 people every 20 minutes into its space of 350 sq m” (Apollo Magazine). Some museums have turned to outdoor spaces in order to avoid these challenges and restrictions. “LACMA, Art Omi, Glenstone, and the Whitney all displayed publicly viewable works through the pandemic, and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art projected videos onto the city’s blank-slate Bauhaus facades” (Metropolis).

While there aren’t any concrete steps or strategies being used across all arts institutions, museum leadership and other industry powers understand that consistency is needed in order to regain public confidence in the daily operational safety of visiting in-person arts locations. In order to do so these powers are, “seeking to coordinate efforts regionally and locally, in order to pool expertise and procurement power; to instill public confidence; and to encourage the adoption of agreed upon practices in visitors and audiences. Professional and sectoral bodies, including the AAM [American Alliance of Museums), AAMD [Association of Art Museum Directors], ICOM [International Council of Museums], and CIMAM [International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art], have put out initial guidance, as have organizations in the adjacent fields of entertainment, performing arts, retail, sport, and tourism” (Artnet). Such collaborations have led some museums to allow local performing arts talent to use their space for shows in order to attract greater amounts of visitors. “The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, plans to use the spacious, well ventilated Old Masters Museum to stage small-scale music and theatre productions in an effort to revive the country’s devastated cultural scene. Without throngs of tourists, interested only in the highlights reel, he hopes the museum’s one-way system might encourage more prolonged engagement with the collection” (Apollo Magazine).

Figure 2: Visitors Having Their Temperature Checked Upon Entry, Wearing Masks and Having Access to Hand Sanitizer. Source: Artnet.

Technologies have also been combined with institutional changes to help reinforce safety measures. While these measures include unique ideas such as, “Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen … install[ing] traffic lights that indicate when it’s safe for visitors to proceed through its labyrinthine sequence of 17thcentury rooms … regulating the visit without diminishing the experience,” one piece of technology has started to capture wider-spread attention in the arts space (Metropolis). Starting with an assortment of Italian locations, including the Duomo di Firenze, Florence Cathedral, and Scuderie del Quirinale, the use of wearable devices that vibrate when within 6 feet of one another are used to enforce social distancing among visitors. Created by “Italian company Advance Microwave Engineering, the rectangular devices can sense when they are within roughly six feet of each other. If users are too close for comfort (and safety), their necklaces will begin to flash and vibrate much like a noisy cell phone or restaurant pager” (Smithsonian Magazine). This device has breached into the international market through New York’s Magazzino Italian Art Museum. The director of this museum, Vittorio Calabrese, describes these devices as “a product that is intuitive, easy to use and sanitize, [and] that protects our visitors’ privacy” (Observer).

Figure 3: Mockup of New Features Proposed by Cueseum. Source: Cueseum

For purely digital strategies, arts-based apps such as Cuseum’s have also integrated contactless products into their mix. Such offerings include virtual guides, revenue streams, membership cards, communications, and queuing. In a description of some of these new services, the company states “Offering membership cards in a digital form is one quick and easy way to reduce physical touch-points while providing new conveniences to your members … visitors can easily sign-up to reserve their place in line and will receive an alert when it’s their turn to enter the museum, gallery, or specific area” (Cuseum).

Read Part 2 of this series to learn about how the performing arts are adapting safety measures in light of COVID-19. Read Part 3 to learn about tv and film industries.

RESOURCES

Blander, Akiva. “As Art Museums Reopen, They Are Experimenting With Social Distancing Techniques.” Metropolis. Metropolis Magazine , July 24, 2020. https://www.metropolismag.com/design/arts-culture/museums-social-distancing/.

“COVID-19.” Cuseum. Accessed August 13, 2020. https://cuseum.com/covid-19.

Ellis, Adrian. “How Does a Museum Reopen in a Post-COVID World? Two Leading Consultants Have Compiled an Exhaustive Checklist Here.” artnet News. Artnet, May 27, 2020. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/museum-reopening-table-1867743.

Holmes, Helen. “Are These Wearable Social Distancing Devices What Museums Need to Reopen Safely?” Observer. Observer, May 20, 2020. https://observer.com/2020/05/social-distancing-devices-egopro-active-tags-help-museums-reopen/.

Lawson-Tancred, Jo. “Museums in a Socially Distanced Era.” Apollo Magazine. Apollo Magazine, June 9, 2020. https://www.apollo-magazine.com/museums-social-distancing-measures/.

Machemer, Theresa. “Italy's Museums Reopen With Vibrating Social-Distancing Necklaces, Limited Admission.” Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian Institution, May 22, 2020. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/italys-museums-use-vibrating-necklaces-and-limited-groups-reopen-social-distancing-180974955/.