International African American Museum delays opening

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The International African American Museum in Charleston has announced they are delaying their grand opening.

The museum says it was originally set to open the weekend of Jan. 21, 2023, however officials say they’ll revisit the opening plans next year due to challenges regarding the building’s humidity and temperature controls.

The museum sent a statement regarding the reschedule on Friday evening, saying:

Museums require extremely stringent humidity controls in order to display the most sensitive of items for extended periods of time. This delay is necessary to ensure that the museum building achieves the conditions necessary to preserve and protect our most sensitive objects, artifacts, and art. In the meantime, we are monitoring humidity controls, which are suitable for all objects currently installed.

We are working diligently in partnership with the City of Charleston and third-party advisors to remedy the matter and expect to welcome visitors in the first half of 2023.

We regret this turn of events and any inconvenience to our loyal members, sponsors, and community. In making this decision, we foreground the responsibility to ensure the highest standard of safety and preservation for our most sensitive objects, art, and artifacts that honor the journey of our ancestors and the tell critical stories of our nation’s history.

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