The Met Fall Festival will feature performances, art-making activities, gallery chats, and interactive behind-the-scenes stations for kids of all ages and their families
From engaging discussions to film screenings, cultural celebrations, and a diverse breadth of events, The Met’s fall programming lineup offers New Yorkers several unique ways to engage with the Museum and its robust suite of exhibitions
(New York, October 11, 2024)—The Metropolitan Museum of Art today announced highlights of its seasonal programming lineup, including the inaugural edition of The Met Fall Festival on October 19, a day filled with performances, art making, family-friendly activities, programs, and more. The festival will usher in the Museum’s rich lineup of autumn educational programming while bringing the community together to celebrate the changing seasons and engage with The Met collection and exhibitions. Weather permitting, activities will take place at the Museum’s Fifth Avenue location both outside, on The Met’s Plaza, and inside from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. The event is for all ages and programming will be offered in multiple languages. All outdoor events are free; indoor events are free with Museum admission and no registration is required.
“Kicking off with The Met Fall Festival, this autumn will be a season of creativity and celebration at the Museum, with a range of diverse and dynamic offerings—from vibrant performances to art making activities to lively discussions on culture—available for visitors of all ages," said Max Hollein, The Met’s Marina Kellen French Director and Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to extending a warm Met welcome to art lovers from across New York City and beyond this fall.”
“As we deepen our relationships with existing community partners and friends and invite new friends and communities we are yet to get to know, let’s come together to learn, play, and create at The Met Fall Festival,” said Heidi Holder, The Met’s Frederick P. and Sandra P. Rose Chairman of Education. “The Met invites visitors from near and far to immerse themselves in art and culture this fall, whether you love music, conversations with curators and other experts, make art or celebrate a holiday, there’s something for you here. We are excited to meet you at The Met Fall Festival, as you explore and enjoy our lineup of fall programming.”
The festival will kick off at noon with an electrifying musical performance by Mariachi Real de Mexico on The Met’s iconic steps. From there, guests will be invited to sample the expanse of special programming offered within the Museum, including family-friendly activities, art making, community tours, talks and gallery chats, and more.
The Met Fall Festival will also spotlight a number of exhibitions featured this fall, including, Mexican Prints at the Vanguard,Mandalas: Mapping the Buddhist Art of Tibet, Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300–1350, Mary Sully: Native Modern, Ink and Ivory: Indian Drawings and Photographs Selected with James Ivory, and Materialized Space: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph.
The Met Fall Festival kicks off the fall season of programming, building on the Museum’s successful educational and community initiatives. So far in 2024, over 70,000 New York City students have visited the Museum, and The Met’s recent marquee festivals and events have welcomed thousands of New Yorkers to learn and celebrate at the Museum. A testament to The Met’s diverse and robust suite of programs and exhibitions, including The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism, which welcomed more than 464,000 visitors during its run (February 25–July 28, 2024), and the annual Lunar New Year Festival, held this year on February 3, which drew 26,700 visitors, BIPOC visitors accounted for a record-high 56 percent of The Met’s visitors from the United States. Additionally, the number of local New York City visitors exceeded pre-pandemic figures, a 102 percent recovery compared to 2019.
The Met’s upcoming programming this fall includes lectures and presentations, new programming series, holiday festivities, heritage month celebrations, and more. Highlights of the season are below.
A Celebration—Día de los Muertos at The Met Cloisters
At The Met Cloisters on October 13, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., The Met invites the community to come together for a day filled with joy and celebration in honor of Día de los Muertos, a day of remembrance honoring loved ones who have passed away. With family reading sessions, community storytelling, traditional art-making projects, music, and so much more, The Met Cloisters will host a vibrant day of bilingual activities that honor loved ones and heritage. Program highlights include collaborative community design with Bronx-based artist Blanka Amezkua, a musical performance by Juntas Chicas that blends traditional Mexican music with inspirations from New York’s vibrant cultural scene, and an art-making workshop led by New York–based Indigenous facilitators. The celebration is organized in collaboration with several community and cultural partners based in Inwood, Washington Heights, and across Brooklyn and the Bronx, including Dominican Writers Association, whose members will lead bilingual storytelling workshops designed to celebrate culture, tradition, and community.
The American Wing at 100
To celebrate the 100th birthday of The Met’s American Wing and a reinstallation of its galleries, the Museum is presenting a full weekend of special programming and events Friday, November 8, through Sunday, November 10. The American Wing galleries that have reopened for the 100th anniversary, called The American Wing at 100, will highlight fresh narratives and dialogues from the mid-17th to mid-20th century while including contemporary expressions to foreground meaningful and relevant storylines today. The programming is free with Museum admission.
In conjunction with the special installation, celebrations will begin with performances inspired by the 100th anniversary of the American Wing, including “Johnny Gandelsman: This is America,” a solo violin performance of the violinist’s commissioned project performed in the American Wing's galleries over two marathon days from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, November 8, and Saturday, November 9. On Sunday, November 10, The Met will host an afternoon of music, performances, demonstrations, gallery talks, and hands-on activities, plus birthday cake served in the American Wing.
Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876–Now: A Creative Convening
On December 7, 2024, The Met will host a Creative Convening centered on the exhibition Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876–Now, on view November 17, 2024–February 17, 2025. The convening will bring together artists, scholars, and community members for discussions, performances, and reflections on exhibition themes including the significance of ancient Egypt and its diaspora on contemporary artistic practice, identity, and continued cultural resonance.
Flight into Egypt examines how Black artists and other cultural figures have engaged with ancient Egypt through visual art, sculpture, literature, music, scholarship, religion, politics, and performance. In a multisensory exploration of nearly 150 years of artistic and cultural production—from the 19th century to the Harlem Renaissance to the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s to the present day—the exhibition includes nearly 200 works of art in a wide range of media.
Explorations Program
This year, The Met unveiled an exciting new interdisciplinary programming series, Explorations. As part of The Met Speaks programming series, artists working across specialties—including poetry, theater, design, and more—respond to works on view and engage audiences through this dynamic perspective. The next Explorations program takes place on October 25, 2024, featuring artist Eva Marisaldi, who will lead an interactive experience based on her archaeological research on the Etruscan city of Kainua in partnership with The Pompeo Aria National Etruscan Museum. The Met invites guests to explore the Greek and Roman Art galleries accompanied by handmade objects that Marisaldi will activate with prompts that create a bridge between past and present civilizations, landscapes, and memories.
For more information on upcoming events and programming at The Met, please visit https://www.metmuseum.org/events
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About The Met’s Education Department
Dedicated to making art accessible to everyone, regardless of background, disability, age, or experience, the work of The Met’s Education Department is central to the Museum’s mission to engage local and global audiences, making our collection accessible to all. The Education Department currently presents over 29,000 educational events and programs throughout the year. These programs include workshops, art-making experiences, specialized tours, fellowships supporting leading scholarship and research, high school and college internships that promote career accessibility and diversity, access programs for visitors with disabilities, K–12 educator programs that train teachers to integrate art into core curricula across disciplines, and school tours and programs that spark deep learning and lifelong relationships with and through art.
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Contact:
Communications@metmuseum.org