The National Gallery of Australia (NGA) and National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) have cancelled their education programs and member events in the wake of recent advice from the National Cabinet in relation to COVID-19.
The NFSA announced the cancellation of its education program, site screenings, exhibitions and special events until the end of April in response to the coronavirus pandemic, while the NGA remains partially open, with access to the Collection Study Room, Research Library and Archives closed until 13 April.
“We will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation daily and publish relevant updates about our activities on our website and social media,” the NFSA said.
It encouraged visitors to instead view NFSA collections online.
“You will find hundreds of hours of content from our collection online, so you can continue to explore Australia’s audio-visual history during this time.”
It said any tickets purchased to upcoming events would be refunded.
While the National Gallery has closed its education programs, public access to its current Matisse & Picasso exhibition was still available this week.
“If you do not feel well or you have recently arrived from overseas, we ask that you do not visit the Gallery,” the NGA said in a statement.
“The health and safety of staff and visitors is the NGA’s top priority as we take action to mitigate the risk posted to the community by COVID-19,” it said.
“We have increased our already strong sanitation measures throughout all public and administration spaces in the Gallery.
“As a public institution we take our responsibility to minimise the risk of infection very seriously and will continue to do out utmost to safeguard the health and safety of all our stakeholders.”
Both facilities said they would continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation daily and post relevant updates on their websites.
