Black History Month

James Van Der Zee, the world-renowned chronicler of Black life in New York City during the Harlem Renaissance and for decades thereafter, was a virtuoso portraitist and one of the most celebrated artists of the 20th century.

Civic Practice Partnership artist-in-residence Rashida Bumbray is a performance artist, curator, choreographer, and the Director of Culture and Art at the Open Society Foundations. Her work focuses on Black urban spaces and communities, and what it means to be in a space that has layers of generational trauma.

Powered by Afrofuturism—a transdisciplinary creative mode that centers Black imagination, excellence, and self-determination—this period room on view in Gallery 508 is a proposition for what might have been, had Seneca Village been allowed to thrive into the present and beyond.

On view in Gallery 767, this special display explores ongoing resonances between past and present artistic expressions—specifically, modern and contemporary responses to Emanuel Leutze’s epic Washington Crossing the Delaware (1851).

On Tuesday, February 14, join composer Matthew Evan Taylor and friends for a digital premiere and special online conversation about the composition process and lasting impact of Life Returns, a 2021 MetLiveArts commissioned work. 

On Friday, February 17, teens ages 15–18 are invited to enjoy special programs and activities to mark Black History Month.

On Thursday, February 23, join artists and scholars as they reflect on Robert Colescott’s groundbreaking work and the power that artists have in reinterpreting dominant historical narratives, specifically those that have excluded Black bodies and identities.