After several months of closure, two of Solvang’s most prolific indoor museums have reopened their doors to the public. The first week of November marked a return for in-person visitations at both the Elverhoj Museum of History and Art and the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature, according to IDK Events—Solvang’s tourism marketing arm.
“With cooler temps around the corner, we’re happy to be able to offer Solvang locals and visitors the option of indoor cultural experiences,” Scott Shuemake, president of IDK Events, said in a statement.
For the Elverhoj Museum’s executive director, Esther Jacobsen Bates, the chance to finally reopen feels almost dreamlike. Less than a month before the museum’s closure in March, staff and volunteers had just celebrated the premiere of Legacy of Decency, a rare exhibition of 21 coveted Rembrandt prints, Bates explained.
“Just two weeks later, on March 15, we closed our doors and furloughed staff. It felt like we went from 100 to zero in the course of just a few days,” Bates told the Sun. “To finally reopen after eight months feels surreal.”
The Elverhoj Museum is able to open thanks to several safety measures put in place, including capacity limitations, a directed flow of traffic to accommodate social distancing between parties, and the installation of a touch-free hand sanitizer station.
“We are very excited to show off the results of all the hard work that’s taken place during closure, including reimagining and upgrading exhibit spaces as well as cleaning and restoring artifacts on display,” Bates said. “The most exciting aspect of the reopening is welcoming back visitors. They bring a wonderful energy that has been missed.”
Now that Elverhoj visitors can finally view the aforementioned Rembrandt exhibition, the museum plans to keep Legacy of Decency on display “at least through the end of the year—and potentially into 2021, if we are successful in extending the loan,” Bates said.
“The exhibition originally opened Feb. 29 and had only been on view for two weeks prior to the COVID closures,” Bates added. “It has been patiently waiting during our COVID closure, and we are excited to again share the experience with guests.”
Similar to Elverhoj’s circumstances with Legacy of Decency, Wildling Museum staff are excited for guests to experience two current in-person exhibits—20/20: A Retrospective, on view through Feb. 14, 2021, and Starry Nights: Visions of the Night Sky, on view through Jan. 31, 2021.
“We’re anxious to see both new and familiar faces and introduce them to great art we have here right now,” Wildling Museum’s executive director, Stacey Otte-Demangate, told the Sun. “Our Starry Nights exhibition was only open for a few weeks before we had to close, so we are excited to have people enjoying it.
“We’ve been closed for eight months, and it’s been so quiet here,” Otte-Demangate added. “We are doing a lot of work, but it’s been much too quiet and we can’t wait to hear the noise of happy visitors exploring our galleries.”
Even while open to the public once again, the Wildling Museum will continue to facilitate virtual programming as well, including a Zoom webinar with James Hines, conservation director for the Los Padres Chapter of the Sierra Club, on Thursday, Nov. 12, from 4 to 5 p.m.
One change most in-person visitors familiar with the Wildling Museum will probably notice is a lack of access to a particular floor, Otte-Demangate explained.
“For the first few months, our third floor will remain closed, as it has a long and narrow hallway,” said Otte-Demangate, commenting on the museum’s COVID-19 safety protocols. “We have new and frequent cleaning and sanitizing routines, and there are a few areas marked for one-way ‘traffic’ so we can insure social distancing.”
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood is feeling starry. Send comments to cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 12-19, 2020.
