INDIANAPOLIS — The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art will be back in business soon.
The museum, which closed along with just about everything else in mid-March, will reopen June 20. The announcement Monday came just three days after the Eiteljorg's neighbor, the Indiana State Museum, said it would reopen June 19.
The first week at the Eiteljorg will be for members only, with the general public admitted starting June 27.
“We greatly appreciate the understanding of our members and supporters during the temporary closure, and are grateful for the way they embraced our interactive online website, Eiteljorg.org/AtHome [eiteljorg.org]. Now we are looking forward to welcoming back our visitors in person,” Eiteljorg Museum President and CEO John Vanausdall said.
“The Eiteljorg is a calming, open and clean space. Once people can make plans to visit cultural attractions again, we hope they will visit the Eiteljorg Museum first – and when here, experience the exhibit Quilts: Uncovering Women’s Stories first,” Vanausdall added.
Three exhibitions originally scheduled to close during the summer will remain open for several additional months at the Eiteljorg, so that more visitors can experience them:
- A show that explores quilts as a storytelling medium, Quilts: Uncovering Women’s Stories[eiteljorg.org], and that includes works by African American, Native American and Latino American women, will remain open through Jan. 3, 2021, as part of the museum’s commitment to cultural diversity.
- An exhibition of bronze sculptures by a renowned Native American artist who is blind, Please Touch: The Sculptures of Michael Naranjo[eiteljorg.org], will remain open through Feb. 9, 2021.
- A traveling exhibition on loan from the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, For A Love of His People: The Photography of Horace Poolaw[eiteljorg.org], will be open through Aug. 9, 2020. It features photographs by a Kiowa photographer of his family and community.
Here's what visitors can expect in the way of new safety and health features at the museum.
- Upon entering the building, guests are required to wear face masks and will receive a non-invasive temperature check.
- Guests must follow the blue “permission lines” marked on the floor to maintain social distancing around exhibits and follow other directions of museum staff.
- Hand sanitizing stations are located around the building.
- Seating capacity is reduced in the Museum Café so that customer tables can be spaced at appropriate distances.
Visitors also are encouraged to order their tickets online at www.eiteljorg.org [eiteljorg.org] in advance of their visit, and thus avoid having to make an in-person counter purchase.
The Eiteljorg has been closed to visitors since March 17, when state and local authorities issued orders to slow the spread of COVID-19. While most Eiteljorg employees worked remotely, a few remained in the museum to protect the art collections and building. And the down time offered a chance for a complete cleaning of the building.
Recent state and city government orders now allow the Eiteljorg and other Indiana museums to reopen at 50 percent capacity to visitors. Beginning June 20, the museum’s regular hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
