The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has inaugurated its first-ever Audio Guide in Korean. The tour – called The Director's Selections – features commentary by Museum Director Philippe de Montebello about 58 masterpieces, which have been selected by him from the Museum's world-renowned collection of more than two million works of art.
The Korea Foundation generously provided support for the translation and recording of the program in Korean.
The masterpieces – which date from the ancient world through modern times – are on display throughout the Museum, and they include a highlight of the Arts of Korea Gallery – Pensive Bodhisattva from the mid-seventh century, which the Metropolitan Museum acquired in 2003.
Soyoung Lee, Assistant Curator in the Department of Asian Art at the Metropolitan, assisted in the development of the Korean-language Audio Guide.
The Met's Audio Guide program provides valuable insights into the Museum's vast permanent collection and special exhibitions – all in one player. Constantly updated, the program currently contains more than 75 hours of audio commentary. With the addition of the Korean-language program, The Director's Selections tour is available in eight languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, and Mandarin.
Audio Guides are available in the Great Hall or at the entrance to selected special exhibitions for a $7 rental fee ($6 for Museum members, $5 for children under 12, and $4 for groups larger than 15).
Founded in 1870, The Metropolitan Museum of Art is now one of the largest and finest art museums in the world. Located in Manhattan and spanning four blocks along Fifth Avenue, it has nearly five million visitors annually. It houses and displays collections from the past 5,000 years around the globe, including Egyptian, ancient Near Eastern, Greek and Roman, American, and Islamic art, as well as European paintings including Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works, European sculpture and decorative arts, and modern and contemporary art.
The Audio Guide at the Metropolitan is produced by Antenna Audio, the leading provider of audio and audio-visual interpretation to museums, exhibitions, historic sites, and visitor attractions around the world. Antenna Audio is a fully owned subsidiary of Discovery Communications, LLC.
The Audio Guide program at the Metropolitan Museum is sponsored by Bloomberg.
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December 14, 2007
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