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Art galleries including Syracuse University Art Museum, Point of Contact Gallery and ArtRage Gallery are hosting some of their first in-person exhibitions after being closed for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ArtRage will open on Sept. 3 and is featuring an exhibition by local painter and editorial cartoonist Tim Atseff.

Kimberley McCoy, the community engagement organizer at ArtRage, said the gallery has changed a lot to adapt to the pandemic. The gallery is open for reservation only, and about eight people are allowed into the gallery at once.

Admission to the gallery is still free, but guests must sign up in advance. Guests are also required to wear masks and practice social distancing, and hand sanitizer is provided at the door.

The biggest change ArtRage will implement is that it will not host community events or opening receptions. In the past, many community members would come in for reception events, McCoy said.

ArtRage is also holding virtual exhibitions so people can experience the artwork without physically going into the gallery. The virtual exhibitions will use Google Slides and will take viewers through the works of art in the exhibition while giving them a 360 degree view of the gallery. The virtual exhibitions will also include the text that would be displayed on the wall in a physical exhibition.

Point of Contact Gallery is also open to visitors who make appointments ahead, said director Sara Felice. Visitors can call, email or access a form to make an appointment.

The gallery is currently installing an exhibition called “Rewriting History” from Haitian-American artist Fabiola Jean Louis.

In today’s current moment, art can draw attention to calls for social change, Felice said.

“I’m hoping that we’re seeing a lot more social change from this. There’s so much more going on right now than just COVID, and I think art has definitely paved the way for social movements,” Felice said. “And I think it’s important for museums or galleries to be able to show this work.”

Point of Contact Gallery is currently installing an exhibition called “Rewriting History” from Haitian-American artist Fabiola Jean Louis. Courtesy of Point of Contact Gallery

She added that viewing art virtually is not the same as viewing it in person.

“I’m not sure that we can necessarily convey the depths of their beauty all in just online,” she said.

The SU Art Museum opened on Tuesday for SU students, faculty and staff without appointment. It is also open to class visits that are booked in advance, said Vanja Malloy, the museum’s director and chief curator.

Some classes have already made successful visits to the exhibition, said Malloy. The SU Art Museum also recently held a virtual “Art at Home” series in which artists gave talks about their work.

An exhibit called “Being Human” is currently on view at the museum. Art exhibits foster dialogue and help people with mindfulness, Malloy said.

“Art offers access to something that provides good mindfulness: introspection, thinking about bigger ideas and how they relate to yourself,” she said. “But I also think it offers an opportunity to come together with people that you might not otherwise in normal life be in the same classes with or work in the same building with.”

Published on August 26, 2020 at 10:44 pm

Contact Mandy: ackrayna@syr.edu | @MandyKraynak