After a year-plus closure, the Broad will reopen on May 26 with a new collection exhibition to mark the occasion. Free timed reservations will be released starting May 12.
But there are a couple of big changes in store: Capacity will be limited, the standby line will be suspended for the time being, and Yayoi Kusama’s two twinkly-but-tight Infinity Mirror Room installations will remain closed until it’s safe to reopen them. (We reached out to the museum to see if California’s mid-June target for full reopenings will have any bearing on the installations’ timeline, but a representative just reiterated that they’ll reopen when it’s safe.)
Back to the good news, the Broad promises a mix of returning favorites alongside new installations of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Roy Lichtenstein, Kara Walker and Andy Warhol. On the ground floor, the museum will open with a free collection exhibition dubbed “Invisible Sun.” The show, which takes its name from a hazy painting by Julie Mehretu, features works that have responded to various periods of unrest from the likes of El Anatsui, Alexander Calder, Keith Haring, Jenny Holzer, Julie Mehretu, Nathaniel Mary Quinn and Cindy Sherman. The Broad notes that, of the 59 works on display, 24 of them will be on view for the first time at the museum.
Before the museum opens to the public, the Broad will welcome select health care workers and community organizers for two preview weekends on May 13–16 and May 20–23. Invited organizations include Keck Medicine of USC, Chrysalis, Homeboy Industries, Hyde Park Library, L.A. Public Library Children’s Literature Department, 826LA, A New Way of Life, Extraordinary Families, School on Wheels and Las Fotos Project, among others.
To actually access the galleries, you’ll need to wear a mask and pass a temperature check at the entrance. You’ll also find hand sanitizer stations throughout the building, and the museum has transitioned to other enhanced cleaning and contactless procedures. The measures look pretty familiar if you happened to keep up with museum closures last spring. In the narrow window between California’s ban on large gatherings and L.A.’s initial “safer at home” order, the Broad was one of the few L.A. museums to remain open. At that time, it scrapped its standby line in favor of reservations only, and it axed access to Kusama’s installations.