The Saint Louis Art Museum announced Friday morning that it would close through the end of January. A statement issued by Barbara B. Taylor Director Min Jung Kim cited a surge of positive COVID cases among the staff and their families, as well as the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, as reason for the closure.
SLAM will close to the public at 5 p.m. on January 7 and anticipates reopening on Tuesday, February 1. During the closure, the museum plans to continue its virtual programming and, according to the statement from Kim, “explore ways to further strengthen procedures that will allow [the museum] to open safely.” Currently, the museum requires its employees to be vaccinated, and both visitors and staff must wear masks.
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Among the events affected by the closure is the final weekend Art Along the Rivers: A Bicentennial Celebration, which was scheduled to close January 9. The exhibition will not be extended, and previously purchased tickets will be refunded via MetroTix.
Information regarding the return of museum events, member programs, and public tours will be announced later in the month. SLAM’s next main exhibition, Paintings on Stone: Science and the Sacred 1530-1800 is scheduled to open on February 20.
