SB art museum safely unveils new exhibits after extensive remodeling

August Lawrence, Arts & Entertainment Editor

November 2, 2020

From left Sammie Lock, Kylie Brewer and Isabelle Clayton discuss the small details in the gallery on Oct. 31 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara, Calif. Lock, Brewer and Clayton stumbled upon the gallery while visiting Santa Barbara for the Holiday weekend.

The free-to-enter Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara officially reopened their doors on Thursday, Sept. 22, utilizing a reservation system to manage numbers and filling the emptiness in the town’s cultural heart.

“We’ve had our doors closed for so long, we miss our visitors,” Museum Administrator Alexandra Terry said.

To keep itself running, the museum is following a strict set of safety guidelines.Visitors that are two-years-old and older are required to wear protective face coverings upon entry and museum staff wipe down any potential “high touch” areas after each patron leaves.

They are doing their best to avoid having visitors touch anything they don’t have to.

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“We open the doors so people don’t even have to touch the door,” Terry said. “When they leave we use sanitary bleach wipes to wipe down any potential high touch areas.”

The museum has also implemented an online scheduling system for visitors to reserve private blocks of time to visit the museum.

“We hope that the appointment system won’t deter people,” Terry said. “But we want to maintain a safe space for visitors as well.”

Appointments must be made 24 hours in advance over the phone or online.

“We made sure to set it up so it’s as simple as possible,” Terry said.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara requires a reservation 24 hours in advance; however if there are unfilled reservations on that day, they will allow up to six guests in at a time after they fill out a questionnaire and follow the contact tracing form. The front desk also has other information regarding the current installation from LA-based artist Genevieve Gaignard’s solo project "Outside Looking In," which will be viewable through Dec. 31, 2020, in Santa Barbara, Calif. (<a href="https://www.thechannels.org/staff_profile/desiree-erdmann/">Desiree Erdmann</a>) — The Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara requires a reservation 24 hours in advance; however if there are unfilled reservations on that day, they will allow up to six guests in at a time after they fill out a questionnaire and follow the contact tracing form. The front desk also has other information regarding the current installation from Los Angeles-based artist Genevieve Gaignard’s solo project “Outside Looking In,” which will be viewable through Dec. 31, 2020, in Santa Barbara, Calif. (Desiree Erdmann)

The museum is currently displaying an array of pieces by Genevieve Gaignard.

The installation artist, based in Los Angeles, is known for working with a wide range of mediums including photography, sculptures and collages. Gaignard’s art experiments with differences in femininity and gender, class and intersectionality.

“A lot of her work explores the spaces between identities,” Terry said. “How we create that identity, how we show that identity.”

The museum is known for the wide array of pieces it displays and the educational value they bring to Santa Barbara’s culture.

Recently, the museum also held their annual fundraiser: the “Perfect Match” campaign.

Since the museum does not charge an admission fee, it relies on fundraising and donations for their income.

Donations are accepted at the door.