Bainbridge Island Historical Museum & Bainbridge Island Museum of Art are set to reopen on Friday, Feb. 19.

Bainbridge Island, WA – Bainbridge Island museums were thrilled to hear from Governor Jay Inslee’s office that the Northwest Region in his Roadmap to Recovery plan has been moved to Phase 2, allowing museums to reopen at 25% capacity. The Bainbridge Island Historical Museum (BIHM) and Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (BIMA) will reopen to the public on Friday, February 19 with the following hours respectively:

  • BIHM will open Friday-Sunday, 10am-4pm.

  • BIMA will open daily from 10am-5pm.

Both museums are following State safety guidelines including required face coverings, limited capacity, one-way flow, and removal of interactive elements.

Bainbridge Island Historical Museum

In order to abide by social distancing regulations and guidelines for museums, BIHM will have a maximum capacity of 10 visitors with a group size limit of 5 people. Their research library will remain closed to the public until further notice.

BIHM will open with a new exhibit, Vanishing Bainbridge in a collaboration with Island photographer, Joel Sackett. The exhibit explores Bainbridge history through the built environment with Joel’s latest body of work. It is highly personal and selective—composed mostly of older homes that are still in use, repurposed, or in disrepair.  All of Joel’s photographs come with stories of Island lives and history. The exhibit is sponsored by the Bainbridge Community Foundation and Arts Humanities Bainbridge and will be on view through September 12th 2021.

Be sure to check out the Historical Museum’s new lobby installation with cultural materials collected during the pandemic. The installation highlights some creative ways Islanders responded to the COVID-19 crisis with new ideas and innovations.

Bainbridge Island Museum of Art

BIMA’s reopening includes all galleries and the Museum Store. The BIMA Bistro will continue its popular Tuesday night take-out dinner service and will reopen for daily service at a later date. Due to restrictions on events, BIMA has refocused many of its popular programs to virtual offerings. Check www.biartmuseum.org for more information on upcoming virtual events.

BIMA will be opening with all-new exhibitions throughout the museum:

  • Paul Rucker: FOREVER
    Rucker (Seattle) created this series to acknowledge civil rights martyrs that have not, and will probably never, appear on US Postage Stamps. They include Four Little Girls, victims of the 1963 church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, and Edwin T. Pratt, former Executive Director of the Seattle Urban League, who was murdered in 1969 at his home.

  • Breathe
    This group exhibition, inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr., is part of BIMA’s Untold Stories series this winter. Works focus on social justice and human rights, addressing diverse and connected issues.

  • Kimberly Trowbridge: Into the Garden
    Trowbridge (Seattle) is featured in a large solo exhibition. This body of paintings reflects images, ideas, and methods developed over the past two years as Creative Fellow at The Bloedel Reserve, on Bainbridge Island.

  • Water is…
    A water-themed exhibition, from the Cynthia Sears Collection of Artist’s Books.

  • Selections from the Permanent Art Collection
    BIMA features a diverse array from the Collection, several including new acquisitions.

BIMA’s exhibitions are made possible through support by Laird Norton Wealth Management, Stoel Rives, LLC, Ames Family Foundation: Cultural Diversity Series, and Leslie & Michael Lebeau.

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