Worcester Art Museum Celebrates National Batman Day

The Batsuit from the 1989 film, currently on view at "KNIGHTS!" at Massachusetts's Worcester Museum of Art. Photo: courtesy the Worcester Museum of Art.

There’s just one question on everyone’s minds today: How can we observe National Batman Day? As the caped crusader celebrates his 75th birthday, having made his comic book debut three quarters of a century ago today, the Worcester Art Museum (WAM) is joining the festivities with a special event, reports Mass Live.

For today only, visitors to WAM who show up dressed as the Dark Knight will be rewarded with free admission (unclear if a Robin or Riddler costume would do the trick).

While it may seem like an odd fit for the museum to host a Batman-themed event, there is a connection here: The museum’s “KNIGHTS!” exhibition contains one of two original Batsuits used in the first Warner Brothers Batman film (1989), directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton in the title role. Sounds like a great selfie opportunity to artnet News!

With the obvious exception of the Batman costume, much of the permanent exhibition, which opened this spring, is drawn from the recently acquired collection of the former Higgins Armory Museum, also in Worcester, which closed late last year.

The museum sees the Batsuit as an important representation of armor in pop culture. Though he started out as an avenger and outlaw, “Batman developed a moral compass and became an advocate for law and order—and a gentleman—who would have done well serving in King Arthur’s elite round table,” Julieane Frost, the museum’s manager of marketing, communications, and design, told Mass Live. “In fact, at WAM, Batman presides over the Knights of the Round Table section of ‘KNIGHTS!'”

“We wanted to have some fun with the exhibition and give Batman fans a chance to dress up as their favorite Dark Knight,” Frost added. “Part of the Worcester Art Museum’s vision is to connect art with individual experiences, joy, and discovery. There are almost an infinite number of ways that people connect with art, and we’re hoping Batman Day is one of them.”

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