The free evening for teens features activities across the Museum, including art making, performances, music, and more.
The event will begin at 4 p.m. with a teen-created immersive experience, Harlem Then & Now, in The Met’s Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium. A pop-up samul nori (traditional Korean percussion) performance by the New York Korean Performing Arts Center will take place outside the Museum at 5 p.m.
(New York, May 21, 2024)—On Friday, May 31, The Metropolitan Museum of Art will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Teens Take The Met! by welcoming students from across New York City’s five boroughs for an evening filled with more than 70 programs throughout the galleries, ranging from art making and writing to activities and demonstrations led by The Met and more than 55 partner institutions. Highlights include a silent dance party in the Temple of Dendur; a community collage activity inspired by works from the exhibition The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism presented by The Met-NYCHA Art and Culture Scholars; a botanical art-making session with Snug Harbor; riddle writing with Writopia Lab; a dance performance by the NYC Department of Youth & Community Development’s Step It Up NYC; and many ongoing photo opportunities and giveaways from multiple organizations.
This event is made possible by the Gray Foundation.
Max Hollein, The Met’s Marina Kellen French Director and CEO, said: “One of the most vibrant, energetic and fun nights at the Museum, Teens Take The Met! invites students from all over the City in for a free evening of creative expression and celebration, coordinated by and for teens and an incredible network of community partners from across the five boroughs. We want everyone to feel at home at The Met, and this event—in addition to our year-round programs and activities for students—is here to show teens that The Met is their museum.”
Norman Sorokin, Met Teen Intern, said: “Working on Teens Take The Met! is such a beautiful experience. To be able to hear and synthesize so many diverse voices from my fellow interns into a big project that the teens of New York City will be able to experience is so inspiring. Not only did we, the interns, learn about it, but soon so will the teens of New York City. The best part of this is having the chance to cultivate people’s minds, which is what art does best.”
Heidi Holder, Frederick P. and Sandra P. Rose Chair of Education, said: “The 10th anniversary of Teens Take The Met! celebrates The Met’s commitment to being a welcoming and safe place for our City’s young people to engage with art, each other, and the world we live in. It builds on relationships we nurture throughout the year with teens who intern to learn about museum professions, drop in to draw or make music, or just show up to spend time with friends. Join us and our local community partners for an evening of making, writing, dancing and our first immersive experience, where we take teens back to Harlem in the 1920s. We can’t wait to welcome you!”
“Congratulations to The Metropolitan Museum of Art for ten years of Teens Take the Met!,” said Council Member Gale A. Brewer. “I love to see young New Yorkers immerse themselves in museums—especially those visiting for the first time. The thousands of teens who participate are a testament to the importance of arts education. My message to the teens of New York City: Get your wristband and check out something new!”
Council Member Keith Powers said: “I’m always impressed with The Met’s dedication to reaching new audiences, and Teens Take The Met! is a great example. For 10 years, The Met has encouraged teenagers to engage with and understand the artwork in their collection, and to discover their creative voices. I’m looking forward to celebrating this incredible milestone at this year’s event!”
To participate, teens will need a special-event wristband, which they can pick up upon arrival at either of the Museum’s two Fifth Avenue entrances (at 81st and 83rd Streets). The wristbands will provide access to teen-only activities throughout the building.
Mehrin Chowdhury, Met Teen Intern, said: “In working on our TTTM project, I felt I was able to really indulge myself in one of the most meaningful exhibits at the Met. I was able to learn more about the city that I live in and the culture of Harlem, an area I have been familiar with since I was little. The creative expressions of the artists resonated deeply with me and were inspiring when we were forming our project which reconstructs the messages created by those artists in the Harlem Renaissance exhibit.”
Tasnim Khanom, Met Teen Intern, said: “Working on the Teen Take event project was immensely fascinating since it allowed me to delve into the rich history of the Harlem Renaissance and Romare Bearden's creative masterwork "The Block". It was a fulfilling opportunity to study Harlem's colorful culture and discuss its relevance with peers, using art and history to bridge the gap between the past and the present.”
Kimberly Vergara, Met Teen Intern, said: “Engaging with the TTTM project has been a deeply fulfilling journey. Especially collaborating with Alayna and the other interns have been very lovely, helpful, and creative to work with. This project and department definitely resonate a reflection of who I am and my interests.”
A full schedule of events can be found in both English and Spanish on the Teens Take The Met! online hub.
Large-print and Braille activity schedules, American Sign Language interpretation, sighted guides, and assistive-listening devices will be available at the event welcome table in the Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education. For information about accessibility, programs, and services for visitors with disabilities at The Met Fifth Avenue, visit metmuseum.org/access, email access@metmuseum.org, or call 212-650-2010.
The event will be featured on The Met’s website as well as on social media using the hashtag #metteens.
Community Partners
92nd Street Y; Aalokam; All City Chorus; Alphonso Horne and the Gotham Kings; Art and Resistance Through Education (ARTE); Art in the Park, Inc.; ArtsConnection; Art Students League; Ballet Hispánico; Bangladesh Academy of Fine Arts; Bard High School Early College (Manhattan); Bronx Museum; Brooklyn Museum Teen Programs; Brooklyn Public Library; Building Beats; Center for Anti-Violence Education; Center for Architecture; Center For Book Arts; Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum; Dorill Initiative; El Museo del Barrio; Girls for Gender Equity; Harlem Children's Zone; Hill Art Foundation; Intrepid Museum; JAZZ HOUSE KiDS; Kaufman Music Center; Lewis Latimer House Museum; Loisaida Inc.; Manhattan Theatre Club; Museum at Eldridge Street; Museum of Chinese in America; Muslim Girl; New York City Department of Youth & Community Development; New York Hall Of Science; New-York Historical Society; New York Korean Performing Arts Center; New York Public Library; Noguchi Museum; NYC Scholastic Awards; Parsons Scholars Program; Planned Parenthood of Greater New York; Poster House; Roundabout Theatre Company; Sadie Nash Leadership Project; Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Gardens; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Studio Museum in Harlem; Susan E. Wagner High School Marching Band; Teens@Graham; The Door; The Whitney Museum of American Art; Titan Theatre Company; UrbanGlass; Wave Hill; Writopia Lab
About The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Met presents art from around the world and across time for everyone to experience and enjoy. The Museum lives in two iconic sites in New York City—The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters. Millions of people also take part in The Met experience online. Since it was founded in 1870, The Met has always aspired to be more than a treasury of rare and beautiful objects. Every day, art comes alive in the Museum's galleries and through its exhibitions and events, revealing both new ideas and unexpected connections across time and across cultures.
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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May 21, 2024
Contact:
Communications@metmuseum.org
Image: Photo by Filip Wolak
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