As Storm Nears, Museums Brace for Impact -ARTnews

As Hurricane Dorian churns in the Atlantic Ocean, heading toward the United States, it is not yet clear where or whether it will next make landfall. Already, though, it has knocked out power and damaged buildings in the U.S. Virgin Islands while sparing most of Puerto Rico. Some forecasts have it building into a Category 4 hurricane before hitting South Florida. Below, updates on how arts communities are responding to the storm.

Friday, August 30

Miami-Area Museums Shutter, Deinstall Art
Though Hurricane Dorian isn’t expected to make landfall in Miami until Tuesday morning, some museums in the city and its surrounding area are closing. The Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami will shutter on Friday afternoon, along with the rest of the school. And the Bass Art Museum in Miami Beach has also begun preparing, having deinstalled Eternity Now (2015), a Sylvie Fleury neon sculpture that typically hangs on the museum’s facade, on Thursday. The Bass will close this afternoon, with plans to reopen Wednesday. The Jewish Museum of Florida at Florida International University likewise announced plans to close on Friday, and will reopen on Wednesday.

National Art Gallery of Bahamas Will Close
The Bahamas was under a hurricane watch on Friday morning, with the storm expected to reach many of its islands by Sunday. The National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, which is located in the capital city of Nassau, has said that it plans to shutter on Saturday in preparation and remain closed on Sunday. Monday is normally its off day, and so its aim is to reopen on Tuesday, business as usual, “with safe passage of the storm,” it said in a statement.

In West Palm Beach, the Newly Expanded Norton Preps
In February, the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida, completed an extensive expansion designed by Norman Foster. Now it is prepping for its first major hurricane since reopening. The museum will close at 5 p.m. today until further notice, and all the artworks outside the museum, including those in a new sculpture garden, have been protectively wrapped or moved inside. (That includes the iconic 19-foot-tall Typewriter Eraser, Scale X, 1999, by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, which has pride of place on the grounds.) Museum staffers are planning to be on hand at the museum throughout the storm.