London's Tate Modern and Tate Britain art galleries, both from the Tate family of four art museums in the UK, are planning to reopen to the public in August, according to director Maria Balshaw. She told The Art Newspaper that the galleries were planning to reopen, but would have to change their plans if COVID-19 intensified.

Balshaw said in the interview that the UK's Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), which oversees the country's cultural policy, had not ordered its museums to close or open, but that the gallery was working closely with the authorities. "We are also working within government guidelines, so museums can potentially reopen at Stage Three, that is at some point after 4 July," she said.

All museums and galleries are in different situations, said Balshaw. "We are coordinating our schedules and all feel it would be unwise for everyone to open on the same day, partly because we are reliant on a public transport system which won't be working at full capacity." She said the reopening of other museums in the UK will probably be from mid-July until the end of August.

Although attendance is expected to drop to 30 percent when the museum re-opens, "It will cost as much to open for 30 percent as for 100 percent," Balshaw said. On the other hand, she added, the museum would not hire more front-line staff to help with the epidemic and control. "Filling the galleries with more staff is not very helpful when people need to keep a distance from each other."

Most of Tate's income is self-generated. If the number of visitors drops to 30 percent, the museum's revenue will more than halve. Balshaw said they are looking at savings across all their businesses. "Exhibitions will be extended and spread over a much longer time scale. That not only means people will have the time to see them, but it also spreads the costs over a number of financial years." Balshaw said the gallery was working with the entire UK Department of Culture to meet this huge financial challenge.

In March, when the Tate Modern's exhibition of Andy Warhol was announced as the first major exhibition in the UK to close because of the COVID-19 epidemic, tickets that had been sold were returned after just six days.

The exhibition, the first Andy Warhol retrospective by Tate Modern in nearly 20 years, not only showcases his famous work but also presents Andy Warhol's early hand-painted works, allowing the audience to see Warhol's creativity in different media. For now, the exhibition can be viewed online.

In fact, the Tate Gallery was not only one of the first batch galleries in the UK to declare its closure due to the coronavirus outbreak, but also the first major gallery in the UK to announce plans to reopen. The National Gallery in London remains closed after reports that it will open in July or August.

The exhibition "Titian: Love, Desire, Death" at the National Gallery, which opened on March 16, was suspended after just two days. Now, the exhibition will be extended for an undisclosed period.

The Royal Academy has yet to open, but earlier announced changes to its planning – its annual summer exhibition was postponed to autumn, while an exhibition by Marina Abramovic, which had been scheduled for this year, has been postponed to next year. The British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) have yet to announce any plans but have launched a series of projects online.

(Cover image via VCG)