On Saturday, October 27, The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s third annual World Culture Festival will explore the theme “Our Future,” showing how art creates a space in which the past, present, and future live together. A series of performances, art-making activities, and demonstrations that invite visitors to engage with The Met collection will serve as a bridge across time, providing an opportunity to reflect on the past as well as look toward the future. This Museum-wide event, held from noon to 5 p.m. throughout the galleries, will highlight ways in which culture and traditions are celebrated and shared across generations. The festival is free with Museum admission—pay-as-you-wish for New York State residents as well as New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut students—and experiences are designed for ages 3 and up.
The festival will begin in the Great Hall with a dance performance, “Welcome to the Future,” by the Calpulli Mexican Dance Company, inspired by Mexico’s diverse cultural traditions. Other highlights include a tlayuda demonstration with indigenous chef Carolina Saavedra that shows how family history is preserved through a traditional Oaxacan dish; an experimental drawings session with multidisciplinary artist Pelenakeke Brown in which participants explore through their own drawing the Samoan concept of the Va (the relationship between people and their environment); and a celebration of Diwali, Let There Be Light: Lanterns, in which participants are invited to create their own lanterns.
Storytelling activities will include Duo 1717: Krik! Krak! Songs and Music from Haiti, the Philippines, and Beyond, featuring baritone Jean Bernard Cerin and pianist Veena K. Kulkarni; an exploration of the narratives of people of African descent with performing artist Thérèse Folkes Plair; and, to close the event, a song and movement performance titled The Art of Storytelling, by Oneida/Ojibwe Nation artist Ty Defoe, that offers messages of the interconnectedness of all living things.
World Culture Festival: Our Future is made possible in part by the Tiger Baron Foundation.
A list of more of the day’s highlights appears below:
Performances
Boda Mexicana (Mexican Wedding) with Calpulli Mexican Dance Company
1–1:30 p.m., 2–2:30 p.m.
Experience a vibrant array of color, rhythm, and movement with dances inspired by Mexico’s diverse cultural traditions.
Floor 1, The American Wing, Gallery 700, The Charles Engelhard Court
Battle! Hip-Hop in Armor
1–1:20 p.m., 1:30–1:50 p.m., 2–2:20 p.m., 2:30–2:50 p.m.
The world of hip-hop dance collides with the bygone age of armor, and unexpected parallels between hip-hop and historical ceremonial combat traditions come to light, when freestyle dancers from It’s Showtime NYC meet chainmail, leather, and metal armor from around the world.
Floor 1, Arms and Armor, Gallery 371, Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Arms and Armor Court
Saṃhāra Revisited
3–3:20 p.m., 3:30–3:50 p.m.
Experience India’s celebrated classical dance company Nrityagram and Sri Lanka’s Chitrasena Dance Company as they showcase brilliant dance traditions with shared ancient roots. This performance is in celebration of Diwali.
Floor 1, Egyptian Art, Gallery 131, The Temple of Dendur in The Sackler Wing
Closing Performance
The Art of Storytelling, with Ty Defoe
3:30–3:45 p.m., 4–4:15 p.m., 4:30–4:45 p.m.
Explore song, movement, and storytelling with Ty Defoe—Giizhig, from the Oneida/Ojibwe Nation—as he shapeshifts and offers messages of the interconnection of all living things.
Floor 1, The American Wing, Gallery 700, The Charles Engelhard Court
Art Activities and Demonstrations
Tlayuda Demonstration with Carolina Saavedra
1:30–2 p.m., 2:30–3 p.m., 3:30–4 p.m.
Tickets distributed 15 minutes prior to each session at event location.
Meet indigenous traditional chef Carolina Saavedra as she shows how family history is preserved through an Oaxacan dish.
Ground floor, Studio, Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education
Project Your Future, with Joyce Yu-Jean Lee
Join artist Joyce Yu-Jean Lee and play with light and color to create an illuminated sculpture that shares your future with the world.
Ground floor, Carroll Classroom, Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education
Drawing Your Narrative, with Pelenakeke Brown
Explore the Samoan concept of the Va with multidisciplinary artist Pelenakeke Brown by connecting this traditional way of seeing with your own experimental drawing.
Floor 1, Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, Gallery 354
Let There Be Light: Lanterns
From Diwali to Lunar New Year, light represents hope for a bright future. Create your own lantern and explore how color and light illuminate cultural practices across the globe.
Floor 2, Asian Art, Gallery 209, The Astor Forecourt
Storytelling and Quiet Spaces
Duo 1717: Krik! Krak! Songs and Music from Haiti, the Philippines, and Beyond
1–1:20 p.m., 1:30–1:50 p.m., 2:30–2:50 p.m., 3–3:20 p.m.
Baritone Jean Bernard Cerin and pianist Veena K. Kulkarni transform classical music into storytelling experiences by bringing new sounds to stories from around the world.
Ground floor, Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall, Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education
Oral History, with Thérèsé Folkes Plair
1–1:20 p.m., 1:30–1:50 p.m., 2–2:20 p.m., 2:30–2:50 p.m.
Join performing artist Thérèsé Folkes Plair as she explores narratives of people of African descent through music, oral traditions, and literature.
Floor 1, Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, Gallery 350, The Lester Wunderman Collection of Dogon Art
A full list of the programs offered as part of World Culture Festival: Our Future, along with further details and a schedule of events, is available on the Museum’s website.
General Event Information
World Culture Festival: Our Future program information and directions to events will be available at the information desks in the Great Hall (enter at Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street) and the Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education (enter on the ground floor 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: Our Future is organized by The Met's Department of Education.
The cafeteria on the Museum’s ground floor will offer a special menu and The Met Store will celebrate with special in-store discounts.
Large-print and Braille activity schedules and assistive listening devices are available upon request. Sign Language interpretation is available free of charge by request with at least one week’s notice.
The event will also be featured on the Museum’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts using the hashtag #MetFest.
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October 23, 2018
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