Event Date: Saturday, November 5, 2016, noon–5 pm Event Location: The Met Fifth Avenue, at 82nd Street
The Metropolitan Museum of Art will host its first ever World Culture Festival on Saturday, November 5, from noon to 5 p.m. with the theme of Epic Stories. Through performances, art-making activities, storytelling, and more, participants of all ages will discover larger-than-life characters and tales from cultures around the world. The festival is free with Museum admission. Unless otherwise noted, experiences are best for those age three and up; special gallery conversations are geared towards adults who wish to have peer-to-peer engagement. Exhibitions on view at both The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Breuer will be open during the festival.
World Culture Festival: Epic Stories is made possible by the Great Circle Foundation and the Tiger Baron Foundation.
Performances
Music, dance, and theater performances will take place at The Met Fifth Avenue during the five-hour festival. Performances are all first come, first served, and include:
- An energetic, kick-off performance by the all-female Afro-Caribbean music group Legacy Women
- Music and dance performances by East-West School of Dance to celebrate Diwali, the annual Indian Festival of Lights
- The Fifteen Minute Hamlet, Tom Stoppard’s rapid-fire retelling of Shakespeare’s classic, presented by Titan Theatre Company
- Cherokee and Choctaw songs performed by leading contemporary Native American singer/songwriter Martha Redbone
Art Activities and Demonstrations
Several hands-on art programs will be offered as part of World Culture Festival: Epic Stories. Activities include comic bookmaking with Women in Comics Collective; large-scale, collaborative weavings inspired by medieval tapestries; pop-up bookmaking inspired by myths throughout time with author and illustrator Robert Sabuda; and ancient Egyptian message decoding and hieroglyphic character writing,
Storytime
In a gallery of the American Wing that features art from the Civil War era, Brooklyn-based storyteller Tammy Hall will inspire visitors with her remarkable recounting of the African American journey. In the Nolen Library in the Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education, bilingual storytime will be presented in English and Spanish.
Adult Programming
In addition to festival performances and art-making activities, conversations in various galleries will give adults an opportunity to explore the Museum’s collection through discussion.
Exhibitions and Installations
Exhibitions on view at The Met Fifth Avenue during the festival include Jerusalem 1000–1400: Every People Under Heaven (through January 8, 2017), Valentin de Boulogne: Beyond Caravaggio (through January 16, 2017), and Max Beckmann in New York (through February 20, 2017).
At The Met Breuer, the exhibitions diane arbus: in the beginning (through November 27) and Kerry James Marshall: Mastry(through January 29, 2017) will be on view.
A Stunning Season, a blog post by Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of The Met, describes the Museum’s current season of exhibitions.
General Event Information
World Culture Festival: Epic Stories program information and directions to events will be available at the information desks in the Great Hall (at the main entrance at Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street) and the Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education (at the ground-floor entrance at Fifth Avenue and 81st Street). Large-print schedules and assistive listening devices will also be available at the information desks. The festival is free with Museum admission.
World Culture Festival: Epic Stories is organized by The Met’s Department of Education.
The cafeteria on the Museum’s ground floor will celebrate World Culture Festival: Epic Stories by offering a special menu.
A full list of the programs offered as part of World Culture Festival: Epic Stories, along with further details and a schedule of events, is available on the Museum’s website at www.metmuseum.org/culturefest.
The event will also be featured on the Museum’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts using the hashtag #MetFest.
# # #
October 26, 2016
Image: A performance by the East-West School of Dance in celebration of Diwali, the annual Indian Festival of Lights. Photograph by Don Pollard © The Metropolitan Museum of Art