The Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA) announced on Monday that it will reopen its doors in just over a week, on August 27, with free tickets after being closed for five and a half months as a result of the rules established in the Big Apple to curb the contagion of the coronavirus.

The first month, as detailed by the institution in a statement, will open with reduced hours, from 10 in the morning to 5.30 from Tuesday to Sunday, when visitors will not have to pay to access, while on Monday only members of the museum will be able to attend.

“We have been preparing to reopen the Museum of Modern Art for months to ensure the safe return of our staff and visitors, and we are ready to welcome everyone to our newly expanded and reconfigured museum,” said MoMA Director Glenn Lowry, who hopes citizens can find “comfort and inspiration” in his galleries.

The director of MoMa hopes that citizens can find “comfort and inspiration” in their galleries

As other leading institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum and the Whitney have already announced, anyone who wants to access MoMA must book tickets that set a specific entry time, which will be available starting next Friday, August 21, at the same time while limiting the number of visitors per hour to 100 or up to 25% of the maximum capacity of the building.

All of them, with the exception for children under 2 years age, must wear masks at all times in the museum, where social distancing will be mandatory and where hydroalcoholic gel dispensers have been distributed, while audio guides can only be accessed on individual mobile devices.

Visitors will be greeted in the entrance hall with a special installation of Milton Glaser’s iconic “I Love New York” logo (1976), designed in 1975 during various crises that occurred that year and which has been for almost half a century a symbol of hope and undying love for the Big Apple.

“Exhibiting ‘I Love New York’ at MoMA’s reopening underscores New Yorkers’ resilience to unimaginable losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the hope that New Yorkers will resurface stronger than ever,” explains the statement from the Museum.

Two new exhibitions will also debut: “Felix Feneon: The Anarchist and the Avant-Garde”, dedicated to the influential French art critic, editor and collector, which can be seen until January 2, and the Cinematic Illumination” by Shuzo Azuchi Gulliver, one of the most well-known multiple screenings of the 1960s.

The announcement of the reopening of the MoMA comes a few days after the governor of New York announced that the museums have permission to reopen as of August 24 after a continued low rate of coronavirus infections.

In recent days, they have also announced that major New York cultural institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York (MET) on August 29, the Whitney on September 3 will return to activity, and the New York Museum of Natural History on September 9.