Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art reopens in Tarpon Springs

Nestled on St. Petersburg College’s Tarpon Springs campus, the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art has been closed since March due to COVID-19.

Now that the college has resumed a portion of on-campus classes, the museum will open to the public with new guidelines and hours.

The museum will be open Tuesday through Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Docent tours, group tours and in-person programs and gatherings have been temporarily suspended.

Masks must be worn at all times and will be provided if a guest arrives without one. Signs on the floor help direct the flow of traffic in a one-way pattern, and guests are asked to maintain a 6-foot distance from others.

Hand-sanitizing stations will be stationed throughout the museum. Wheelchairs are still available and will be sanitized before and after each use.

The museum will reopen with the exhibitions that were on display when it had to close. “Louisa Chase: What Lies Beneath” celebrates the career of the contemporary painter and printmaker who emerged out of the male-dominated New York art scene in the 1970s. It remains on view through Sept. 6. A virtual talk and closing celebration hosted by curator Christina Renc-Carter happens on Aug. 27 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Zoom.

A related exhibition, “Woman Made: From the Collection,” is also on display. It’s a selection of works by internationally known female sculptors and printmakers, including Miriam Schapiro and Lesley Dill. It’s in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which granted women the equal right to vote. It remains on display through Feb. 7.

Also on display are two exhibitions drawn from the permanent collection. “Artistic Journeys” features works by Abraham Rattner, Esther Gentle and Allen Leepa. “Elemental: Fine Crafts From the Collection” is an ongoing exhibition.

The museum is now offering online art education courses led by executive director Teresa Wilkins, Ph.D. The topics are “Art of Mesopotamia” and “Art of the Northwest Coast.” Each course meets from 9 to 11 a.m. Thursdays. Enroll at app.donorview.com/yW18n.

If you go

Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, 600 E Klosterman Road, Tarpon Springs. $10, $8 seniors, free for members, students with ID, children 17 and younger and active military. 1-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. (727) 712-5762. leeparattner.org.