LOS ANGELES (CNS) — The downtown Los Angeles contemporary art museum The Broad announced Friday it will reopen to the public on May 26 with free exhibitions featuring works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Roy Lichtenstein, Kara Walker and Andy Warhol. 

Before the museum opens to the public, health care workers and community organizers who have spent the pandemic keeping the region safe will have early access during two preview weekends on May 13-16 and May 20-23.

The museum's free planned exhibitions include:

• The Broad's 13 Basquiat works together for the first time, including three that have never been on display at the museum: "Santo 2" (1982), "Deaf" (1984) and "Wicker" (1984);
• 22 Lichtenstein artworks, with almost half of them on view at The Broad for the first time, including "Purist Still Life" (1975), "Female Figure" (1979), "Two Paintings: Radiator and Folded Sheets" (1984) "Reflections: VIP! VIP!" (1989) and "Nude with Pyramid" (1994);
• The Broad's 10 Walker works, six of which are going on view for the first time, including two new acquisitions: "Testimony: Narrative of a Negress Burdened by Good Intention" (2004), Walker's first film, which tells the story of a fictitious past where the antebellum south is occupied by Black enslavers and white slaves; and "The White Power 'Gin / Machine to Harvest the Nativist Instinct for Beneficial Uses to Border Crossers Everywhere" (2019), a series of paper works; and
• a collection of Warhol works, 11 of which are going on view at The Broad for the first time, including a new acquisition, "Liz [Early Colored Liz]" (1963).

The Broad will also have a special exhibition titled "Invisible Sun" in the first floor galleries, featuring works in its collection "that resonate with our unprecedented period of rupture and collective desire for healing and recovery. While not created in response to these specific events, works on view speak to profound transitions both personal and global, and form an appeal for healing."

Artists featured in the exhibition, who include El Anatsui, Alexander Calder, Keith Haring, Jenny Holzer, Julie Mehretu, Nathaniel Mary Quinn and Cindy Sherman, "collectively grapple with revolution and change, loss and recovery, and how the freedoms and prosperity of powerful countries come at the expense of others," according to The Broad.

"The exhibition intends to be a site for reflection, education, and dialogue towards confronting current issues and offers space for contemplating a more just world," according to a museum statement.

"Experiencing art in person offers unique healing, joy, and insights that we hope can play a meaningful role in collective recovery," said The Broad's founding director, Joanne Heyler. 

"We cannot wait to welcome back our community to The Broad's galleries, safely, after the long and unprecedented closure of the past 14 months," she said. "The safety of our staff and visitors is our first concern and we have worked diligently to alter our protocols to enhance the experience for all, including greater amenities for a touchless visit."

The Broad has incorporated safety measures to protect visitors, including:

• 50% capacity inside the museum;
• required face coverings and temperature checks for all staff and visitors 2 years old and up;
• hand sanitizer stations throughout the museum;
• contactless features, including maps, guides, audio tours and more on The Broad's mobile app;
• UV light sterilizers on escalator handrails;
• increased cleaning of frequently touched surfaces; and
• increased cleaning of HVAC system and replacement of air filters.

Visit thebroad.org/visit for more information.