After being closed for over a year, the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) will reopen to the public on June 18 — which will also kick-off the museum's three free community access days.

Like San Francisco's roster of cultural institutions, OMCA has contended with the pandemic by hosting virtual panels and digital galleries, mixed in with the occasional outdoor happening. But no longer will Oakland's foremost museum have to shackle itself to WiFi speeds and 3D renderings; starting June 18, both the on-site galleries and campus will reopen to the public.

Announced in a press release, OMCA will again be open to the public after a long period of closure due to COVID-19, which inadvertently allowed for construction work on OMCA’s campus renovation project that included the reinstallation of its sculpture garden.

In its initial phase, the museum will be open to the public Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in order to manage capacity and prioritize safety. (Though California is set to drop its mask-wearing and social-distancing mandates on June 15, it's unclear how this will affect the museum’s capacity limits.) And from June 18 to June 20, admission into OMCA will be free of charge as part of their community access program.

The newly-redesigned outdoor gardens — which will be accessible for free — are set to open in tandem with the museum’s Galleries of California Art, History, and Natural Sciences; guests will need to purchase and reserve tickets in advance to access the latter galleries.

Visitors can expect to see exhibits like 2020's You Are Here: California Stories on the Map, and also other ongoing exhibitions, Dorothea Lange: Photography as Activism and Black Power, IRL... as opposed to viewing them behind a computer or phone screen.

“We are thrilled to finally be reopening, and to welcome back the community that has done so much to help sustain us during this challenging time,” said OMCA Director and CEO Lori Fogarty in the release. “We’re excited to share the updates that have taken place on campus during the closure, which have enhanced the Museum’s role as a public gathering place by creating new spaces for the community to convene."

Set to debut alongside the museum galleries later this summer is OMCA's new cafe, Town Fare — Brown Sugar Kitchen owner Tanya Holland's newest project, featuring a predominantly plant-based, environmentally sustainable menu. Also opening this summer will be the first major temporary exhibition since the museum closed: Mothership: Voyage Into Afrofuturism, a celebration of Black imagination and the ways in which Afrofuturism is present in our everyday lives.

For more information on OMCA's current on-display exhibits, as well as ticket information, visit museumca.org.

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Image: Courtesy of OMCA