Which museums have reopened under Level Red?

Metro- area museums that had planned to stay dark through the new year are reopening in the waning days of 2020, and public officials are hoping would- be visitors will support them despite an alarming surge of coronavirus deaths in Colorado.

“Good news!” the city and county of Denver’s Twitter account declared this week. “Thanks to a new public health order, many smaller museums that have been closed for a long time can now open at limited capacity. Pls ( sic) wear a mask, check for reservations, & only visit with members of your household. # NoSeriously we’d hate to see them close back down.”

Despite that noble sentiment, December brings fresh challenges to those who market indoor cultural experiences. A quarter of the state’s nearly 4,000 coronavirus- related deaths arrived in the last month, and the deadliest week of the pandemic ended on Dec. 6, as Colorado recorded the deaths of 382 people who had COVID- 19.

No matter how comfortable people feel with distancing and cleaning procedures, those numbers will likely

weigh on the minds of people buying tickets to indoor programming. Even museums that previously offered free entry, such as History Colorado’s statewide network of museums, require tickets now.

“( History Colorado Center) maintains strict capacity limits and has been converted to a noto low- touch environment,” officials wrote last week. “Mandatory advance tickets and more information, including details about additional History Colorado museums open to visitors around the state, are available at historycolorado. org.”

Downtown Denver’s History Colorado Center, which sits across from the Denver Art Museum and other major institutions, had been closed since Nov. 20 before it reopened last week. But it’s not just museums. The public health order that allows them to operate at 25% capacity under Colorado’s Level Red coronavirus restrictions announced Dec. 8 also allows zoos and aquariums to have guests indoors in counties that are at Level Red on the state’s dial framework.

Those settings are limited to 25% of capacity or 25 people per room, whichever is fewer. That means museums can operate at a higher percentage of capacity than gyms and non- critical offices, but lower than retail stores, The Denver Post has reported.

“Along with other cultural partners around Denver, we have lobbied hard for the revision of the Level Red public health order by demonstrating our commitment to safety and public health,” said Renée Albiston, associate museum director at the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art, in a press statement. “Not only will a visit to Kirkland Museum be a touchless experience,

The Art Deco Gallery in the Modern Art Gallery at the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art. The museum reopened last week under amended Level Red coronavirus rules. but you will more than likely explore our beautiful galleries in quiet solitude, finding respite and renewal.”

Kirkland Museum, which reopened Dec. 11, touted its ” stateofthe- art dual- air HVAC system designed to constantly create a mix of outside and inside air” in its current home, which was built in 2017.

Last week’s amended order does not affect the city’s two largest museums, Denver Art Museum and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science — both of which are still selling timed- entry tickets to special exhibitions. They’ve held variances and shifted their cleaning procedures to remain at 25% capacity throughout the run of their current shows.

Still, Denver Art Museum stopped selling tickets to its popular Frida Kahlo/ Mexican Modernism show briefly last month,

and has been forced to reschedule or refund some tickets to the exhibition.

“This particular change does not affect our operations at this time,” said Shadia Lemus, senior communications manager at Denver Art Museum. “Tickets are available on the museum’s website on a rolling basis one week in advance of visit date.”

For popular nonprofits such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver or the Molly Brown House Museum, last week’s rule change was a surprise opening to earn some last- minute, 2020 revenue.

“We ( were) relieved that the state amended the public health order to reflect that museums are among the lowest- risk activities someone could participate in right now,” said Courtney E. Law, communications director at

MCA Denver, which reopened Dec. 11. “We’ve been operating at

25% capacity since July, so our timed ticketing and safety and cleaning procedures will remain the same.”

The Clyfford Still Museum, which is also touting its cleaning procedures, will extend its current exhibition “The Late Works: Clyfford Still in Maine,” through March to accommodate visitors who were unable to see it thus far. It doesn’t reopen until Jan. 5, although timed tickets are on sale now.

Despite last week’s amended order, some inherently hightouch museums are staying closed, such as the Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus. Starting in late October, Aurora’s Hangar at the Stanley Marketplace was hosting the virtual- reality show “Carne y Arena,” a program more or less designed to be pandemic- proof with its inherent social distancing and low capacity.

“Diego on My Mind” by Frida Kahlo is one of the 150 artworks on display as part of the current Mexican modernism exhibition at the Denver Art Museum.

As of press time, the exhibition was closed and not selling tickets.

“Carne y Arena” organizers are mounting virtual programming in the meantime to keep attention focused on the VR experience, which won a Special Academy Award for director Alejandro G. Iñárritu (“The Revenant”) and its harrowing, interactive depiction of an undocumented border crossing from Mexico into the U. S. ( see more at stanleymarketplace. com).

Given that Aurora marked the premiere of the show’s national tour, it would be a shame to see it move out — as it’s scheduled to do Jan. 30 — without many Coloradans getting a chance to experience it, organizers said.

“There’s no specific date yet, but the ‘ Carne’ team is working on figuring out all the logistics now — staffing, ticketing platform, etc.,” said a Stanley spokesman. “We’re eager for them to reopen, especially since their capacity is naturally so low.”