View our previous as-it-happened COVID-19 information and sector response information
While our buildings and sites have been closed to the public for the last 6 weeks, governments and organisations have now started planning to ease restrictions on services and gradually reopen some facilities. AMaGA advises that museums and galleries should follow the rules and guidelines applying in their state/territory jurisdiction (as they did in deciding when to close in March). Clearer guidance will be forthcoming, from governments and from the range of industry bodies and fellow professional associations which support the cultural sector. We are all assessing evidence, past practice, current innovations and what the “new normal” might be.
In the meantime, AMaGA will locate, review and post right here the most useful, evidence-based advice that we can find. This is from around Australia, and around the world. Please let us know what you find useful and what you need more of.
Re-opening Checklists and Tools
Government
- Planning tool to help businesses reopen and be COVIDSafe: The online planning should take about 30 minutes to complete and leave businesses with a clear idea about what they will do to keep people safe, how they will get their business back up and running and how they might adapt their operating model.
- Safe Work Australia resources for Cultural Institutions (including museums, galleries and libraries) on work health and safety, workers’ compensation and COVID-19
- Create NSW Museums and galleries safety plan and checklist
- Creative Victoria Arts and Culture Return-to-Business Guidelines
- Australia Council for the Arts Re-activate practical guide to reopening
Sector
- AMaGA Victoria Reopening Guidelines v1.8: a living document developed by the AMaGA Victoria Branch
- Reopen. Recover. Rise Up: A guide to support Western Australian museums and galleries to reopen. Has specific guidelines for WA organisations based on WA State Government advice (created during Phase 3 of the COVID-19 coronavirus: WA Roadmap).
- COVID-19 Safety Plan: Museums & Galleries Queensland has prepared this resource to guide you in this process with the aim of preventing the spread of COVID-19 and protecting your staff, volunteers and visitors against infection.
- ALIA’s Checklist for Re-opening Libraries: You can find the report and the checklist here
- Resources and historical and heritage societies, during and after Covid-19, from the Federation fo Australian Historical Societies
- ReCap: This resource has been developed through the Recovery Capitals (ReCap) project, which aims to support wellbeing after disasters by providing evidence-based guidance. It emphasises the interacting elements of recovery, using a framework of ‘community capitals’ – natural, social, financial, cultural, political, built and human.
International
- Post Covid Balancing Act: A Strategy Primer for Museums from Museum Next
- A downloadable resource guide for re-opening from the American Alliance of Museums
- Infographic from American Alliance of Museums on potential visitor attitudes, desires and concerns (note information is based on the situation in the US, but includes from useful, broader sector information for dealing with visitors)
What's happening in your state/territory?
New Zealand Aotearoa
Museums Aotearoa have shared their information on stages of reopening during their lockdown.
Strategic and support issues to consider in deciding to re-open
- A clear and sobering statement from the UK Museums Association
The decision to reopen any museum will be based on government and scientific advice, but it is increasingly clear that reopening will be a risky and difficult process for many museums, with a range of financial and operational considerations for directors, funders and policy-makers to take into account. - CUSEUM WEBINAR: Preparing to Reopen - Strategy, Planning & Process on the Road to Reopening Museums
Join Brendan Ciecko (CEO and Founder @ Cuseum), Mark Sabb (Senior Director of Innovation, Marketing & Engagement @ Museum of African Diaspora), Holly Shen (Deputy Director @ San Jose Museum of Art) & Ellen Busch (Director of Historic Sites Operations @ Texas Historical Commission) as they talk through the strategy, operations, process, and planning involved in reopening your museum successfully. - Safe Work Australia website provides a central hub for workplace health and safety guidance and tools to help Australian businesses return to work safely and confidently. It includes guidance about physical distancing, personal protective equipment, cleaning, workers’ compensation, how to conduct risk assessments and design emergency plans, as well as providing case studies to help explain how to manage the risk of COVID-19 in the workplace.
- AMaGA's endorsed insurance broker, Gallagher, have compiled information guides and resources to help businesses manage their risks and navigate insurance implications during COVID-19
Precautions for Museums During COVID-19 Pandemic
CIMAM, the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art, is sharing this document based on the examples of the National Gallery Singapore, M+ Hong Kong, and Mori Art Museum in March in response to the outbreak of Covid-19.
This downloadable Response Table has been provided by NZ’s Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) and modified by Museums Aotearoa to help guide organisational planning.
Caring for collections
Blue Shield Australia Closed by COVID-19 – Checklist for GLAMs and Historical and Heritage Sites (updated 29 April)
