Palmer Galleries Reopen for the First Time in Over a Year

Story posted March 19, 2021 in CommRadio, Sports by Trevor Grady

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.  — Penn State’s Palmer Museum of Art had been closed since last March due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it has reopened for the first time since. It won’t be the exact experience that Penn Staters are used to, though. There are plenty of new regulations that have been put into place due to the pandemic.

Patrons are required to reserve their tickets online before they arrive to help maintain the museum’s occupancy limits. All visitors are also required to social distance and wear masks all throughout the gallery.

Anthony Pero, a junior at Penn State talked about his thoughts on the museum returning.

“I’m pretty excited about it, I’ve visited it a couple of times and it has great exhibits,” Pero said. “I’ve always been pretty into art, and it does a good job of including the art side of Penn State on campus.”

The experience won’t only be different because of the new protocols but also because of the new look. The museum has undertaken plenty of new projects, including renovations, rehousing collections, and digitizing art.

Pero spoke on the new additions to the museum as well.

“It’s nice when museums like to keep things fresh because once you’ve been in and seen it, you feel like you’ve seen the whole thing,” Pero said. “But now with this new digital art stuff, I’m excited to see it.”

“They picked a pretty good time to do it: over quarantine,” Pero continued.

There were some other types of renovations as well. Over the summer, there was a pipe leak in the museum that damaged the walls and ceiling; luckily, no artwork was damaged. The lobby and museum store had to be repainted for the first time since 1993.

Just like nearly everything the world over, the Palmer Museum of Art has had to adjust and adapt to pandemic life. It has had to utilize tools like video, photography and other avenues to help make the leap into the virtual museum space.

The staff at the museum has had to benchmark its own progress by taking a look at different examples of museums and how they have been adapting to the new world we live in. There are still no in-person events allowed, but the Palmer is continuing to offer its online services and events like live talks and “Art After Hours.”

The museum is now open, and whether you have never been before or you are itching to see all of the new additions, the opportunity is there. All you have to do is go to palmermuseum.psu.edu to plan your visit.

 

Trevor Grady is a junior majoring in management information systems and minoring in journalism. To contact him, email tmg5685@psu.edu.