Barbara Elleman holds a signed copy of Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola, at her home in Amherst.
Barbara Elleman holds a signed copy of Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola, at her home in Amherst.

The Currier Museum of Art is planning to reopen to the public on Thursday, with new exhibits, and programs for veterans.

“The museum belongs to the community as a place of discovery and learning, but also as a place to escape from a tough year,” Alan Chong, director of the museum, said in a statement Monday.

The Art for Vets Studios will host expanded veterans and community programs in renovated classrooms.

A new exhibit, “The Body in Art: From the Spiritual to the Sensual,” will explore the creative ways artists through the ages have used the human body as a means of expression. Another will celebrate original drawings of Tomie dePaola, the book illustrator and author of “Strega Nona” who died last year. The exhibit will launch a fund set up in his honor to support art education for young people.

Also on view is “Critical Cartography: Larissa Fassler in Manchester,” in which the museum’s artist-in-residence used large-scale maps to capture the strange and sometimes humorous interactions in Manchester.