Are you still changing exhibitions as you would if open and are the exhibitions virtual-only now? How’s that going?
We continue to have our exhibitions onsite and our new one, HERland, will open on August 22. Our online initiative through the MOLAA en Casa program allow us to open up our archives and bring back past exhibitions to share with our audiences while also giving us an amplified platform to share our current exhibitions and explore additional ways to interact with our visitors.

Museums seem like a natural for social-distancing, i.e., museumgoers usually respect others’ personal space when viewing art and they aren’t allowed to touch anything. Is that being discussed as you begin to reopen?
Physical distancing in the galleries and the sculpture garden is something we have been constantly discussing. An exhibition’s layout is key as we consider physical distancing of the group that come, but there has always been that mutual respect the visitors display among each other to have enough space to enjoy their experiences with the art showcased. Right now there are guidelines we need to follow and we’ll be more vigilant during the free days we offer to the public.

Does your staff work from home or do any staff members come into work? It would seem if everyone has their own offices, that that could be low-risk.
Some of our staff was able to work from home, while others worked onsite at the museum to ensure the safety and proper care of the artwork. Once the government allowed office spaces to reopen, we created a rotating schedule for the staff to keep density low while easing the team back to the workplace, with the proper precautions in place.

How has the closure of your venue affected your museum budget? Did your institution put much stock in the admission fee? Did you have to furlough some staff and if so, will they be re-employed?
Early on during the pandemic, we restructured our budget, know that this situation would impact multiple revenue streams for us – admission, store sales, private event rentals, tours and workshops, among others. In April we had to furlough some staff, but applied for and received a PPP loan that enabled us to re-employ most or our staff early in May.

Is there anything surprisingly positive you have noticed so far for the art world as we know it today? Or something you feel you or we all could learn from this?
Through technology, we have discovered new ways to communicate through this situation – how many of us have reconnected with friends from the past you hadn’t seen in years? As we look at new ways to communicate and support our communities, we have also had to rethink our traditional strategies, [like] getting outside our comfort zone to propel us. At MOLAA, to move forward to the next level of evolution. This is a catalytic moment for any organization as it looks towards the future, what it will be and how we stay relevant to our communities.

Solimar Salas, Vice President of Museum Content & Programming
Museum of Latin American Art
628 Alamitos Ave, Long Beach, CA 90802
molaa.org