The great re-opening: cultural spaces
While many of the world’s cultural spaces are still locked away from visitors, thoughts have turned towards a grand reopening of those doors. With a date set in the UK for the reopening of cultural institutions (May 17) and many other nations soon to follow suit, what kind of experience are culture-thirsty consumers looking for?
Many trend forecasters predict a drop in demand for blockbuster exhibitions and packed-out shows; even in a post-vaccination world, many will remain shy of large gatherings, long queues and rubbing shoulders with thousands of other attendees.
An increase in private museums and galleries in recent years has seen the spotlight shone on experimental cultural spaces, with the ability to innovate, free of the red tape that government funding incurs. While COVID-19 has taken a toll on the smaller museum scene, many have been able to pivot to offer online events and shows to supporters at home.
Will late 2021 see a surge in interest in the smaller museum and gallery as lockdowns fade? Private museums are already well versed in the need for reduced ticket allocations, crowd control and their quirky, off-beat exhibitions may be just the cultural salve we’re looking for.
The Hunt Museum preserves and exhibits the original artefacts gathered, over a lifetime, by John and Gertrude Hunt. © Tourism Ireland
Hunt Museum, Limerick
The Hunt Museum is an iconic presence in the Irish cultural sector, containing one of the country’s greatest private collections of art and antiquities. In normal times, Picasso, Renoir, Gauguin, Jack B Yeats and Paul Henry are all on show in Limerick’s 18th-century Palladian-style building, once The Custom House. While The Hunt Museum remains closed, pending confirmation of a reopening date by the Irish Government, their Museum from Home collection offers a glimpse of their collections for those staying at home.
The beautiful Georgian rooms of the Little Museum of Dublin are filled with items that tell stories of 20th century Dublin.
Little Museum of Dublin, Dublin
One of the capital’s quirkier cultural attractions, the Little Museum of Dublin was voted “Dublin's best museum experience” by the Irish Times. Dedicated to telling the remarkable history of the Irish capital, the museum was launched in 2011 with a public appeal for historic objects. Its collection of over 5,000 artefacts has been donated or loaned directly from the people of Dublin and is showcased across three floors of exhibition space in the Georgian townhouse building. While the venue is currently closed, you can attend its weekly 120 Stories series for free on Zoom. To attend these 120 Stories, please email robbie@littlemuseum.ie.
Zabludowicz Collection, London
There’s more hope on the horizon for UK-based culturephiles, with museums and galleries due to reopen there in a matter of weeks. High on the list of priorities must be the Zabludowicz Collection in Chalk Farm, North London. Founded in 2007 by Anita Zabludowicz, this beautiful nineteenth-century former Methodist chapel is now a focal point for experimental contemporary art, enabling emerging artists to create experimental new work. Zabludowicz Collection is currently closed to the public but will reopen on May 20 with their ongoing exhibition by Trulee Hall and a new exhibition, Zabludowicz Collection Invites: Tal Regev. While you wait, a virtual walkthrough of the Trulee Hall exhibition is available to explore online.
Newport Street Gallery, London
This free private gallery in South London is dedicated to showcasing the personal art collection of the artist Damien Hirst and makes its home in a striking terrace of listed industrial buildings. One of its chief attractions is the Murderme collection; started by Hirst in the late 1980s, it contains over 3,000 works by artists like Banksy, Francis Bacon, Richard Hamilton, Jeff Koons, Tracey Emin and Pablo Picasso, as well as a number of young and emerging artists. While the gallery is currently closed, it’s expected to reopen in late May.
Genesis Tramaine, Forgive Yourself, 2020, acrylic, oil sticks, spray paint, oil pastels, Lawry’s Sea Salt, and the Holy Spirit, 72 x 72 in. (182.9 x 182.9 cm), acquired in 2020
Rubell Museum, Miami
The Rubell Museum, located in Miami, Florida, is the only one of our chosen museums that is currently open to the public — albeit with a raft of social distancing measures in place. One of the biggest private contemporary art collections in North America, the Rubelll Museum was founded by Mera and Don Rubell to showcase the work of artists early in their careers and those who have been overlooked. Today art lovers from across the world come to the Rubell seeking first-hand views of work by Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Cindy Sherman, Yoshimoto Nara and Kara Walker, amongst others.
Current exhibitions include Genesis Tramaine: Sanctuary, a series of eight paintings the artist created during her six-week residency at the museum. Heavily influenced by her spiritual upbringing and study of the Bible, Tramaine depicts biblical figures and portraits in this series. Also on show is the romantic and classical images of Hernan Bas, one of South Florida’s most celebrated artists, and Yayoi Kusama: Narcissus Garden, an immersive landscape installation that contains 700 stainless steel spheres, inviting each viewer to play the role of Narcissus.
Installation View, Robert Mangold: A Survey 1981–2008, April 12 – May 22, 2021, Pace Gallery, London ARS, NY and DACS, London 2021. Photo: Damian Griffiths, courtesy Pace Gallery
PACE Gallery, London
The London branch of international gallery PACE opened in Burlington Gardens in 2012, with a showstopping exhibition that juxtaposed late paintings by Mark Rothko with photographs by Hiroshi Sugimoto. This April 12, PACE will exhibit the work of Robert Mangold, the artist’s first solo show in London in 12 years. It will be the final event to take place at the Burlington Gardens location, before PACE moves to its new address in Hanover Square. Showcasing the artist’s lifelong balancing of shape, line, and colour, the paintings on view demonstrate Mangold's commitment to pushing his work beyond the conventions of traditional painting.