Little Rock, Arkansas – The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts is once again open after a four-year hiatus.
Saturday’s grand re-opening was a special day for everyone concerned, and hundreds attended.
The official reopening of the Arkansas Fine Arts Museum was celebrated with happy voices and music.
“They went above and beyond. I want to see more of this in our community,” visitor Javier Del Cid Barroso said.
For years, people have been waiting for the doors to open.
“It’s been a long road, it’s been almost 4 years that we have had the museum closed to the public and we are just over the moon to just allow people to come in,” Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts Executive Director Dr. Victoria Ramirez said.
Visitors, like Javier, who were eager to check it out were greeted by engaging exhibitions, a lovely flower garden created by local kids, and a host of other lovely features.
“Beautiful, awesome, so much history, so much culture, especially as a person of color, there are a lot of representative things in here. It’s very multicultural,” Javier said.
The museum’s “Together” exhibition is one of its offerings because the curators think that art has the power to unite people from all walks of life.
After everything the tornado caused Little Rock and central Arkansas to experience, according to Ramirez, this is extremely crucial.
“When we think back to what happened to our city a couple of weeks ago, with the devastating tornados, in many ways it is a reminder of how important the arts are and how important museums are,” Ramirez said. “Museums are a place where we can gather, where we can come together, where we can get away.”
Javier said that this is such a positive action to witness in the neighborhood.
“I love the region around it, we must have to continue to invest in it, and that includes the arts,” said Javier.
The museum is celebrating with events all weekend long.
They will reopen on May 2 with regular hours of 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.
Although admission is free, everyone is asked to reserve seats for the inaugural season.