Alexis Rockman, Lusitania, 2020, part of “Shipwrecks,” ongoing at the Peabody Essex Museum. Oil on wood. Jonathan O'Hara photography
Wear a mask. Keep a healthy distance apart from others. Wash your hands.
Yes, museums are open. After a fitful 2020, when everything closed in the spring, then opened somewhat in the summer, only to close again in December, art museums in Massachusetts are hoping to return to normal.
The recent uptick in new Covid cases—despite the vaccine—will not help. But a weekday trip to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem showed that visiting a museum is certainly no more risky than shopping for groceries, and in many ways can be more health-and-safety friendly.
You can’t just walk in the front door though. Timed entry through pre-registration is a must for PEM, and the museum is limiting its schedule to Thursdays through Sundays for the foreseeable future.
Galleries have limited occupancy, even with the restricted entry. In a space as vast as PEM, that hardly matters. Extra seating, isolated for safety, gets regular sanitizing. One-way paths proliferate. The once-bustling atrium is just a pass-through. The shop and bathrooms are open, but the café remains closed.
Some terrific exhibitions are available though, and with reduced crowds, that part of the museum experience gets enhanced. In East India Marine Hall—the original museum space—American painter Alexis Rockman’s “Shipwrecks” revisits the maritime catastrophe genre in a fanciful way. Zarah Hussain’s “Breath” offers a meditative space of sound and light.
A permanent home for the East Asia collection is now open in PEM’s newest wing, and the spectacular display of contemporary art from India—from the collection of Chester and Davida Herwitz—is certain to become a centerpiece of the museum’s future identity.
“When we formulated plans, we thought if we focused on the safety of our staff, that would translate into greater safety for our visitors,” says Bob Monk, acting chief operating officer of the museum. “That has guided us. For the foreseeable future, we’ll stay with this model.
“I don’t think we’ve turned anyone away during the course of the pandemic,” he says. “There are days when we come close to occupancy limits, and there have been difficult situations when people have traveled here from out of state, who were not familiar with the governor’s travel guidelines. But we’re blessed with an abundance of space, and we can keep it safe for visitors and staff.”
As safe as the exhibition space is, the eerie hush in the normally busy atrium, and the empty children’s areas—the PEM Pals program for preschoolers was a phenomenal success prior to the pandemic, as were performing arts and community celebrations—cast a strange quiet over the museum’s common areas.
“Speaking personally,” Monk says, “what brought the most joy to work every day was seeing people interacting with the art, and the artists, and each other. Hanging over the arcades, watching a performance. Things like the Chinese Lunar New Year festival, and the mix of cultures. We are all eagerly awaiting some return to normal.”
The Peabody Essex Museum is open Thursday–Sunday. Advance ticketing for entry is required. Visit pem.org or call 978 542-1511.
Keith Powers covers music and the arts for Gannett New England, Leonore Overture and Opera News. Follow @PowersKeith; email to keithmichaelpowers@gmail.com.