Updated, June 23 at 5:15 p.m.: Additional details about the museum’s capacity have been added to this story.
The Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University announced it will reopen to the public on July 7. Closed since March 17, it’s the first major art museum in Dallas to set a welcome-back date after COVID-19 forced institutions across North Texas to shut their doors.
The news comes a day after Fort Worth’s three major art museums — the Kimbell Art Museum, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth — announced their reopening dates, which range from mid-June to July 1.
The Meadows will reopen with regular hours, but at no more than 25% capacity. Its downstairs portions will host a maximum of 131 visitors, and upstairs, 66. New signage throughout the museum will indicate how many people are permitted in each space.
Tickets will be available for advanced purchase through the Meadow Museum’s website beginning July 1, though visitors may still purchase tickets in person depending on availability. The museum will regularly sanitize frequently touched areas such as door handles, and staff will receive “additional training to support effective engagement with visitors,” according to a press release.
Museum staff will be required to wear masks. Guests will not, though they are encouraged to. Cloth and disposable masks will be available on-site for a small fee.
“We are so excited to be able to welcome visitors back to the Meadows Museum, and to share our outstanding collection of Spanish art with them,” museum director Mark A. Roglán said in the release.
The museum is known for its world-renowned collection of Spanish art. Berruguete Through the Lens: Photographs from a Barcelona Archive, an exhibition featuring photographs of the Spanish artist Alonso Berruguete drawn from the museum’s holdings, will be displayed beginning July 7. The museum hopes to showcase its special exhibition Alonso Berruguete: First Sculptor of Renaissance Spain, this fall. It was originally planned for March.
Healthcare workers, first responders and other essential workers will receive free admission to the museum in July.