Plan a road trip to these temporary museum exhibits, all within 4 hours of Wichita
I ventured out to my first museum during COVID-19 recently and felt comfortable and unexposed the entire visit. I was able to buy a ticket online, walk through automatic or already-open doors and explore the galleries without coming within 10 feet of other visitors or staff. I touched nothing besides my own cell phone while inside and saw staff regularly cleaning railings and other touchable surfaces.
Many museums were already designed to be self-guided expeditions and with enhanced coronavirus protocols and lower-than-usual attendance, they can offer some of us a welcome escape from scrolling screens.
Inspired by my local experience, I decided to look into what temporary exhibits our regional museums have on display. All of the following are currently open; we’ve listed them in order of closing date. If you’re still not ready to explore beyond your home, many museums are still committed to sharing their collections and exhibitions online.
“Salvador Dali’s Stairway to Heaven” through Nov. 1 at Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art, Shawnee, Okla.: See more than 140 works by Salvador Dali spanning two distinct timeframes in the Spanish artist’s work. The show features full sets of illustrations for two books: “Les Chants de Maldoror” in the early 1930s showcases his surrealist work while he had renounced surrealism by the time he illustrated “Divine Comedy” in 1960. Mabee-Gerrer, Oklahoma’s oldest art museum, is southeast of Oklahoma City and is the second-to-last stop on a nearly three year tour of the exhibition from the Park West Museum collection in Southfield, Michigan. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday and timed tickets are available at mgmoa.org.
“Saxophone Supreme: The Life & Music of Charlie Parker” through Dec. 31 at American Jazz Museum, Kansas City: Aug. 29, 2020, was the 100th birthday of Kansas City native Charlie Parker, considered a revolutionary figure in the evolution of jazz and modern music. This temporary exhibit takes an in-depth look at the pioneering composer and improviser who influenced generations of musicians. Co-curated by the American Jazz Museum and Chuck Haddix of University of Missouri — Kansas City Libraries and the La Budde Special Collections, displays feature groundbreaking research, album covers, sheet music and rare audio selections.
Reserve a timed entry Tuesday through Sunday and purchase tickets in advance at americanjazzmuseum.org.
“Nick Cave: Until” through Jan. 3, 2021, at The Momentary in Bentonville, Ark.: Nick Cave, known for his wearable sculptures called “soundsuits” has created an equally immersive experience using 24,000 square feet of gallery space at The Momentary. “Until” is a response to the question, “Is there racism in heaven?” The Chicago-based artist was born and raised in Missouri, and said the project emerged after the Michael Brown incident in Ferguson. The title references the phrase “innocent until proven guilty,” or, a reversal, “guilty until proven innocent.”
The free exhibit addresses gender, race, and gun violence in America through six installations, from a forest of 16,000 hanging wind spinners to a massive cloudscape made with more than 10 miles of crystals, 24 chandeliers and a garden full of found objects. Visitors can view “Crystal Cloudscape” from above by climbing one of four ladders up to the surface of the work or from a mezzanine. The Momentary is open Tuesday through Sunday; details on visiting are at themomentary.org.
“Ansel Adams in Our Time” through Jan. 3, 2021, at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark.: This exhibition organized by Museum of Fine Arts, Boston asks visitors to reassess a recognizable titan of photography in the current moment. More than 100 of Ansel Adams’ works are displayed throughout seven thematic sections based on the places and themes he shot. They are paired with images by a few predecessors and about 80 works by 24 contemporary photographers.
Crystal Bridges is open Wednesday through Monday with timed tickets and walk-ups welcome as capacity allows. General admission is free though access to the Adams exhibit is $12 for adults, free for veterans and ages 18 and younger. If possible, time your visit for late in the day so you can stay for North Forest Lights, a ticketed outdoor multi-sensory installation open at sunset. See crystalbridges.org for details.
“Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists” through Jan. 3, 2021, at Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa: This is the first major traveling exhibition devoted to Native women artists from across the U.S. and Canada. Organized by the Minneapolis Institute of Art, with cooperation from leading Native artists and scholars, the show includes more than 100 objects ranging across time and media to highlight Native art practices and the role of women in Native communities.
The museum – the former home of oil pioneer Waite Phillips and wife Genevieve – and the adjoining 25-acre gardens are open Wednesday through Sunday. Timed entry required; get advanced tickets at philbrook.org.
“Animationland” through Jan. 3, 2021, at Flint Hills Discovery Center in Manhattan: The latest temporary exhibit on the second floor of this interactive learning center encourages all ages to explore storytelling by experimenting with animation through storyboarding, sketching and stop-motion movie making. The center is open Tuesday through Sunday and because it’s a high-touch environment, capacity is limited and additional sanitation is happening. Learn more at flinthillsdiscovery.org.
“Robert Blackburn & Modern American Printmaking” through Feb. 28, 2021, and “Gordon Parks X Muhammad Ali” through April 4, 2021, at Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City: Nelson-Atkins closed in March and reopened in mid-September, so the museum has extended the run of the Gordon Parks photography collection. The exhibit showcases 55 photos, some never before published, taken of Ali by the native Kansan in 1966 and 1970 for Life magazine. The Blackburn retrospective is a Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition featuring about 60 prints and related materials by the master printmaker alongside the artists with whom he collaborated. Nelson-Atkins is open Thursday through Monday. Admission is free though the museum is requiring timed entry; details at nelson-atkins.org.
“Silk and Steel: French Fashion, Women and WWI” through April 11, 2021, National WWI Museum and Memorial, Kansas City: This exhibition brings attention to recent scholarship showing the role women’s fashion, especially in France, played in keeping up morale, maintaining ties with allies and helping war-time economies. Kansas City’s display builds on previous shows in New York and Paris that explored the impact of fashion during and after WWI. See original dresses, capes, hats, shoes and accessories from period French designers, including pieces from the museum’s collection as well as loans from other collections. This exhibit requires a separate ticket and does not require general admission to the museum and memorial, which is open Tuesday through Sunday. See theworldwar.org for more info.
“Environmental Impact II” through May 15, 2021 at Sternberg Museum of History in Hays: A whale sculpture formed from reclaimed plastic objects and a painting of a melting icebergs are among the 60 artworks from 20 national artists taking a different approach to showing our natural world. The exhibition produced by David J. Wagner is meant to warn and remind us of the impact of oil spills, wildfires, loss of bee populations and other environmental concerns.
The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday; details at sternberg.fhsu.edu.
“The Experience: Imagine” at ahha in Tulsa: This is a new semi-permanent art experience at ahha, originally called the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa. The large-scale interactive installation was created by six Oklahoma-based artists and opened in August. It spans an entire floor – about 7,000 square feet – at the arts center and takes the form of fantastical rooms, such as Justice David Gutierrez’s “Woo,” a highly-stylized environment based on the feeling of euphoria. Organizers have reduced touch points and are capping guests due to public health concerns. Ahha is open Wednesday through Sunday and advanced tickets are available at ahhatulsa.org.