On Saturday, October 22, The Metropolitan Museum of Art will host its annual World Culture Festival, an afternoon filled with performances, storytelling, interactive gallery activities, and artist-led workshops. This year’s theme celebrates all art, culture and makers, exploring how people around the world find inspiration through materials and technology. Events will take place throughout the Museum from noon to 5 p.m. All programs are free with Museum admission (which is pay-as-you-wish for all New Yorkers and students from Connecticut and New Jersey) and no registration is required.
Activities will celebrate cultural traditions from across the globe. Thunderbird American Indian Dancers, the oldest resident Native American dance company in New York, will kick off the day and perform in observance of Native American Heritage Month; Brooklyn Raga Massive, an artist collective dedicated to creating cross-cultural understanding, will celebrate Diwali with Indian classical and Raga inspired music; Ballet Hispánico will host workshops throughout the day featuring Latin social dance forms like salsa and bachata in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Programming will be available both in person and online and offered in multiple languages.
PERFORMANCES
Thunderbird American Indian Dancers
Dance with the oldest resident Native American dance company in New York.
12–12:30 p.m., David H. Koch Plaza, near 80th Street (weather permitting)
Rain plan: Floor 1, Great Hall
1–1:30 p.m., 2–2:30 p.m., Floor 1, Great Hall
Brooklyn Raga Massive
Celebrate Diwali with Indian classical music.
3:30–4 p.m., 4:30–5 p.m., Floor 1, Great Hall
ART ACTIVITIES AND DEMONSTRATIONS
Drop-in Art Making
Meet artists and make art inspired by The Met collection! Drop in anytime. Hands-on opportunities available.
Unless otherwise noted, activities are best for ages 3 and up.
Community Mural
Come together to create a group mural inspired by Michael Lin’s site-specific installation Pentachrome at the Great Hall escalator.
David H. Koch Plaza, near 81st Street (weather permitting)
Rain plan: Ground Floor, Carson Family Hall West, Uris Center for Education
Let the Bells Ring
Learn how to use your body as an instrument with custom ankle bells.
Ground Floor, Carson Family Hall West, Uris Center for Education
Pottery & Poetry
Create a clay pinch pot and a short poem inspired by the work of African American potters in the 19th-century American South.
Ground Floor, Carroll Classroom, Uris Center for Education
Amazing Animations
Collaborate with professional animator Lisa LaBracio and other visitors to create a stop-motion animated film inspired by ancient Egyptian art in The Met collection.
Floor 1, Egyptian Art, Gallery 135
Drop-in Drawing: Wire Sculptures
Draw in 3D! Sculpt in wire to examine movement.
Floor 1, Gallery 548, Carroll and Milton Petrie European Sculpture Court
More about the event, including directions to programming throughout the Museum, will be available at the Welcome Desk in the Great Hall and information table on the plaza.
STORYTELLING AND GALLERY ACTIVITIES
Bilingual Storytime
Look, listen, sing, and have fun with picture books in English and Spanish.
1:30–2 p.m., 2:30–3 p.m., 3:30–4 p.m., Ground Floor, Art Study Room, Uris Center for Education
Latin Social Dance Class
Get moving with Ballet Hispánico, the nation’s largest Latinx cultural organization and one of the United States’ cultural treasures! Explore a variety of Latin social dance forms like salsa, bachata, and more in this fun-filled class open to all ages and levels.
12:30–1 pm, 1:30–2 pm, 2:30–3 pm, Ground Floor, Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall, Uris Center for Education
How Did They Do That?
Explore the intersection of art and science as you peek at technique and learn—through handling tools and materials—how works of art were created.
Reconstruction, Floor 1, Greek and Roman Art, Gallery 154, The Judy and Michael H. Steinhardt Gallery
3D Imaging, Floor 1, Greek and Roman Art, Gallery 154, The Judy and Michael H. Steinhardt Gallery
Pottery, Floor 2, Asian Art, Gallery 202, Great Hall Balcony
Architectural Adornment, Floor 2, Asian Art, Gallery 202, Great Hall Balcony
Accessibility
Stop by the welcome tables in the Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education (Ground Floor) and the Great Hall (Floor 1) to request an assistive listening device, an American Sign Language interpreter, a sighted guide, large-print or Braille schedules of events, or to learn more about access accommodations, programs, and resources at The Met. You can also access The Met’s sensory-friendly resources online and take a break in the Quiet Space.
Additionally, a series of programming for adults, teens, and families will take place at the Museum this fall, including a new Teen Fridays welcoming high school students from New York’s five boroughs starting November 4. The program will occur every first and third Friday of the month from 4:30-6:30pm, offering teens snacks, music, and drop-in artmaking activities that promote collaboration and creativity.
The full World Culture Festival schedule is available on The Met’s website.