The Met to Host Daylong Opening Festival for The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing on Saturday, May 31

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Episode Transcript

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The celebration will feature performances, live music, food,
art making and more to commemorate the museum S new
galleries for the arts of Africa, the Ancient Americas and
Oceania. The day will begin with a ribbon
cutting ceremony from 9:00 to 10:30 AM and festival activities

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will take place across the museum from 12:00 to 6:00 PM,
marking the public S first chance to view the new wing,
which has been closed since 2021to undergo a transformative
renovation. On Saturday, May 31st, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art will commemorate the official
reopening of the Michael C Rockefeller Wing with an

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exciting day of festivities. The festival celebrates the
public S first chance to explorethe newly remagent galleries for
the Arts of Africa, the Ancient Americas and Oceania following a
multi year renovation and will feature live music, art making
activities, performances, film screenings, artist

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demonstrations and workshops, food experiences and more across
the museum S 5th Ave. location and outside on the Met S Plaza.
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

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registration is required. This celebration for the Michael
C Rockefeller Wing reflects the extraordinary spirit of
creativity and community that isso essential to the Met and New
York City itself, said Max Holland, the Met's Marina
Kellen, French director and CEO.After four years of
transformation, we are delightedto welcome everyone to celebrate

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this reopening with a festival that will offer opportunities
for art lovers of all ages to experience the historic
remagening of these collections through the objects, ideas,
music and dance of the cultures represented in the galleries.
Opening day begins with a ribboncutting ceremony from 9:00 to
10:30 AM, and festival activities will take place

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across the museum from 12:00 to 6:00 PM.
Festival highlights will includeQueens Night Market.
Vendors and independent chefs from Queens Night Market will
participate in the festival, offering specially curated pre
colonial menus inspired by the Wing S collections and
histories. Chefs with indigenous ancestries

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or deep local roots will each present carefully researched
dishes from Sierra Leone to Nigeria, Ethiopia to Hawaii, New
Zealand to Peru and beyond. Made to order.
Meals made mainly without postcolonial ingredients will be
served from 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM, giving visitors a rare
opportunity to taste culinary history art making with

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contemporary artists. Renowned visual artist Manny
Vega will host a workshop on theDavid H Cook Plaza in
partnership with The Clemente, responding to artwork from the
Met Collection to craft mosaic and personal emblems.
These creations will form a large scale communal artwork
designed by Vega, capturing the diverse and personal diasporic

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pathways that intersect in New York City.
Additionally, artists Nilda Kalanopa Alvarez and Tiocodai
Peytai will demonstrate weaving techniques from Peru and
Oceania, inviting visitors to create their own work.
Other activities will include drum making workshops and a
collaboration on a community mural Community Hub outside on

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the Plaza. Visitors can engage with New
York City as diverse communitiesthrough the work of community
based organizations that celebrate cultural heritage and
creativity, including artistic noise.
Asian Pacific American Instituteat NYU Caribbean Cultural
Center. African Diaspora Institute.
Akadi Catalystly Novocampa. Hala Y NYC Forgotten Lands.

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Pishamima. Peruvian Arts and Pacific Island
Film Festival of NYC Global rhythms Throughout the museum,
visitors will experience music and dance from Africa, the
Americas, and Oceania, includinga spirited showcase of
traditional Hawaiian and Tahitian dances by Tea Omana.

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The electrifying beats of Max Percussion S Senegalese drumming
Assasiac Cultural Arts Foundation S Youth Ensemble in a
spirited performance of traditional W African dances and
the rich, soulful melodies of Mariachi Rio de Mexico.
The day will also feature livelymusic and engaging dialogue

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about Hawaiian hula dance with renowned hula instructor
Snowbird Bento. A performance by Femoro Diabate
1 of West Africa. S Balafone Maestro's dance
workshops with Kambei Center forAfrican and Diaspora Dance and a
talk by Mario Uliberi and performance of the Cancion
Bolero by Jose Adan Perez, voice, Uliberi Guitarin, Ramon

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Ponce, guitar, and Jairo Marin Raquintu Met curators, artists
and scholars will be available throughout the afternoon to
share insights about the newly renovated galleries along with
their expertise about the museum.
S collections from Africa, the ancient Americas and Oceania.
Ethiopian American filmmaker Sosina Solomon will present a

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series of films she directed capturing Africa as distinctive
cultural landmarks. Developed by the Metropolitan
for the new Africa Galleries in collaboration with the World
Monuments Fund WMF. She will be joined by regional
experts featured in the films for an engaging conversation
that delves into these powerful narratives.

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The celebration will culminate with a presentation by architect
Kulapat Yantris Sast, founder ofY Architecture, who will be
joined in conversation with the Met S Director and CEO Max
Holland to discuss the design approach for the remagening of
the wing, offering behind the scenes insights into this
transformative renovation, and exploring the evolving role of

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architecture in museums today. For a full list of activities
and programs, visit the Met S website.
Registration is required for some programs.
Credits. We thank all who have made
possible the renovation of the Michael C Rockefeller Wing,
including leadership commitmentsfrom the Carson Family,

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Charitable Trust, Kively and George Economu, Bobby Kodak, DRS
Daniel and Marian Malcolm, Adam Lindeman and Amalia O'deian,
Samuel H and Linda M Lindenbaum,Samuel and Gabrielle Lurie, the
Maron Family, Natazie Foundation, the City of New
York, the estate of Abby M O'Neill and Drallee, Pearson and

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Rappaport family, the estate of Ruth J Prager Seal and Michael E
Pulitzer, Carlos Rodriguez, pastor, and Gabriella Perez,
Rochietti, Alejandro and Charlotte Santo Domingo, and the
Scarcet family. Major support was provided by
Mr. and Missus Richard Lockwood,Chilton Junior, Mariana and

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Raymond Hareman, Mary R Morgan, and Laura G and James J Ross.
Events and programming related to the reopening of the Michael
C Rockefeller Wing are made possible by the Brayer Family
Foundation, the Ford Foundation,Samuel and Gabrielle Lurie, the
Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Thompson Family Foundation.

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Additional support is provided by Stephen M Cutler and Wendy
and Zimmerman, Kiveley and George Economu, Ed and Dale
Mathias, the Mex M Cultural Foundation, incorporated, and
two anonymous donors. About the Michael C Rockefeller
Wing The Met S Michael C Rockefeller Wing includes the
three distinct collections The Arts of Africa, The Ancient

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Americas, and Oceania, displaying them as discrete
elements in an overarching wing that is in dialogue with the
museum S collection as a whole. The Mets collection of art of
the Peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands and
North, Central and South Americacomprises more than 11,000 works

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of art of varied materials and types representing diverse
cultural traditions from as early as 3000 BCE to the
present. Highlights include decorative
and ceremonial objects from the court of Benin in Nigeria,
sculpture from West and Central Africa, images of gods,
ancestors and spirits from New Guinea Island Melanesia,

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Polynesia and Island Southeast Asia, and objects of gold,
ceramic and stone from the pre Columbian cultures of Mexico and
Central and South America. Opening May 31st, 2025 following
a multi year renovation led by YArchitecture in collaboration

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with Bayer, Blinder, Bell Architects LLP and the Met S
Design Department. The Remagent Galleries have been
designed to transform the visitor experience and
incorporate innovative technologies that allow the Met
to display objects in new ways. In galleries dedicated to each
of the distinct collection areas, design elements reference

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and pay homage to the architectural vernaculars of
each region.