Asian museums reopen

Wang Xu’s poster for Power Station of Art. Source: Power Station of Art/The Art Newspaper

Museums in China, South Korea and Japan gradually reopen after weeks of self-isolation and quarantine, the measures that along with testing regimes helped prevent the spread of COVID-19, according to the Art Newspaper.

Shanghai’s public contemporary art museum Power Station of Art (PSA), known for hosting the Shanghai Biennale, and the state-funded Shanghai Museum have opened their doors to visitors. Both institution had been closed since late January, when mainland China took drastic measures to contain the coronavirus.

In South Korea, which was severely hit by the coronavirus, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) has announced plans to reopen its four locations on March 23. The Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art, one of Japan’s oldest museums, will hold private previews and reopen on April 4 after the 2017 expansion. The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo and Aichi Prefecture's Toyota Municipal Museum of Art meanwhile plan to reopen on March 31.

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul plans to pre-book visitors from March 23 as a precaution, but the exact plan will be decided next week depending on the situation, the museum's public relations representative Tiffany Yun said.

“As a prolonged shutdown would create a bad atmosphere for the economy and society, I think it would be better for the nation's cultural and artistic museums and institutions, with thorough disinfection and management, to open their facilities first,” the spokesperson emphasised.

Along with China, where the coronavirus emerged, South Korea was among the first countries to face the disease that is now spreading across Europe and the US. As COVID-19 is contained in the country, the Korean government plans to allow cultural institutions and school to reopen from March 22.