The Smithsonian Institution and the National Gallery of Art (NGA), two federally funded cultural institutions, will begin reopening on Friday, November 14, after the longest government shutdown in United States history.
Two of the Smithsonian museums — the National Museum of American History and the National Air and Space Museum and its annex, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center — will open tomorrow. The rest of the institution’s 21 museums and zoo will begin to open on November 17. Only the NGA’s sculpture garden and West Building will open on Friday, followed by its full campus and a long-awaited Aboriginal art exhibition on Saturday. The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art was originally slated to open on October 18.
While the shutdown began on midnight on October 1, the Smithsonian Institution and NGA kept their doors open for days afterward. The Smithsonian’s museums and zoo continued to welcome visitors through October 12 using “prior-year” funds, including money from a private trust fund and federal appropriations. Similarly, the NGA remained open through October 4, using unexpired appropriation funds, according to a shutdown contingency plan published by the institution.
The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery (NPG) preemptively postponed an exhibition associated with its triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition scheduled for October 18. The announcement of prizes, including $25,000 and a commission for the museum, was also postponed. A spokesperson for the NPG told Hyperallergic that the museum has not yet set a date for the postponed activities. A letter sent to artists last month warned that a government shutdown could create installation delays.
According to figures provided in a contingency plan published in September by the Smithsonian Institution, 2,594 of its reported 3,860 staffers were expected to be furloughed. Only employees involved in securing the “life and property” within the institution, including museum collections and zoo animals, were retained during the shutdown period. The NGA expected to retain 488 of its 840 reported employees in its contingency plan.
A spokesperson for the NGA told Hyperallergic that the institution is “still determining the impacts of the temporary closure.”
“At this stage, we remain focused on resuming normal operations and welcoming our visitors back to the museum,” the spokesperson said.
The Smithsonian did not immediately respond to inquiries about whether any programs would be delayed or affected as a result of the lengthy shutdown.
