WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t stopping the 2020 Birds in Art exhibit at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, though the event is being scaled back.
Marketing and Communications Manager for the Museum Amy Beck says there will be no meet and greet with artists this year, but residents are still encouraged to take in the pieces selected for this year’s show.
“The artwork will be spaced more widely apart to encourage social distancing. We are expecting people to wear masks as museum staff and volunteers are when they are in the building, and we have hand sanitizing stations available,” said Beck.
This year’s show will feature work from over 100 artists across the nation including 22-year-old Timothy David Mayhew who was selected as this year’s Master Artist.
Beck says anyone interested in hearing the artists talk about their work can do so via the Museum’s YouTube channel, where they’ve posted several videos.
“You’ll be able to hear from the artists in an online or virtual way, but they won’t be converging here as usual for the opening,” she said.
In addition to the YouTube content, Beck says they’ve also outfitted some pieces with an audio guide that will be accessible via headphones.
And in the spirit of the “work from home” trend that’s taken over since the COVID-19 outbreak began, Beck says several of the artists have also submitted pictures of their studio space to give visitors a sense of where they work every day.
The show officially opens at 9 AM on Saturday and will close at the end of November. Admission is free for all ages. Beck noted that if the exhibition floor gets too crowded they will reserve the right to have guests wait at the door until others leave to keep social distancing possible.
