The Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria is offering an alternative for those opting out of watching the inauguration of the 45th president.
Located at 36-01 35th Ave., the museum, which usually charges $15 for adults, $11 for seniors and students and $7 for youth, will offer free admission to everyone from 10:30 a.m to 8 p.m.
A screening of the newly released movie “Loving” will also be shown for free. Staring Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga, the movie portrays the real life love story of Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple who were arrested for violating Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act of 1924. The act prohibited interracial couples from marrying.
The supreme court case in the late 1950s was a landmark civil rights decision that found that the prohibition was unconstitutional and subsequently ended race-based legal restrictions on marriage in America. Producer Sarah Green will participate in a discussion after the screening.
“Loving” will be screened at 2:30 p.m. and tickets will be on a first-come, first-serve basis at the museum’s Redstone Theater.
“Many museums around the country are offering free admission today, and we are joining them in the spirit of inclusivity and support for the arts,” said Tomoko Kawamoto, spokesperson for the museum. “In addition to offering free admission to our galleries all day, we are presenting a free screening of Loving, the story of Mildred and Richard Loving, the real couple at the heart of a landmark civil rights decision. This day is an extension of our year-round commitment to welcoming visitors from all walks of life and to engaging them in a dialogue inspired by and about the power of the moving image.”
