The Met today revealed a new season of live performances and the selection of a new Artist in Residence for 2019–20, visual and performance artist Nikhil Chopra. This fall, Chopra’s eight-day durational performance will take place in multiple galleries throughout the Museum.
“MetLiveArts is an extraordinarily successful and impactful program at The Met. It expands and galvanizes the possibilities of The Met, creates unique experiences for our visitors and activates the Museum’s collection and galleries in entirely new ways” said Max Hollein, Director of The Met. “Expect the unexpected when discovering that the entire Museum is a stage and a platform for outstanding artistic productions.”
The 2019–20 season also includes a performance by the New York-based Black Rock Coalition celebrating black pioneers in the rock and roll canon; a creative culinary evening at The Met Cloisters hosted by chef and writer Yotam Ottolenghi that will delve into the exhibition The Colmar Treasure: A Medieval Jewish Legacy and the history of the flourishing Jewish community of Colmar’s wine region through a sumptuous feast; and a Met debut performance by musician Rhiannon Giddens at The Temple of Dendur in The Sackler Wing in a concert that traces the movement and impact of instruments, sounds, and musical language through various regions and cultures.
“Each season we ask artists to look anew at the collection and special exhibitions, to challenge themselves and the audience, and to create unprecedented and often genre-bending work,” said Limor Tomer, General Manager for Live Arts. “The 2019–20 season includes some of the most exploratory and innovative performances staged at The Met, bringing rare and unusual opportunities for audiences and Museum visitors to have a shared and meaningful experience alongside these artists.”
Performances will be both ticketed and free with Museum admission, and Bring the Kids for $1 tickets are available for almost every performance.
Artist in Residence: Nikhil Chopra
Reflecting on his performance installation for The Met, Indian artist Nikhil Chopra said: “The Metropolitan Museum of Art epitomizes the definition of a museum. Its collection of objects spans history across time, space, and cultures—some living and some long dead. I am compelled to think about my body along with the millions of other bodies that visit the Museum as consumers of the objects we look at and then containers of these memories—what they evoke in the present as well as what they stood for in the past. I’ll use this opportunity to think through my body—past, present, and future—and its rituals and processes in the form of a weeklong performance art installation.”
Lands, Waters, Skies
Thursday, September 12–Friday, September 20, Museum hours, various galleries
At the heart of Nikhil Chopra’s durational performances is the contemplative act of drawing. Lands, Waters, and Skies is a live performance by Chopra, created for The Met’s galleries. For eight consecutive days, he will transform into various personae using costumes, makeup, wigs, and masks; make a large-scale drawing on fabric mounted in the galleries; and interact with The Met collection. Akin to a nomadic traveler, Chopra will move through the Museum, following an itinerary of his own making that will query the Museum’s own organizational principles and logic.
Free with Museum admission.
For tickets and information, visit http://www.metmuseum.org/performances or call 212-570-3949. Tickets are also available at the Great Hall Box Office, which is open Monday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
Tickets include admission to the Museum on day of performance.
Bring the Kids for $1 tickets for children (ages 6–16) are available for all performances (unless specifically noted) when accompanied by an adult with a full-price ticket. While MetLiveArts productions are not specifically designed for children, they are all appropriate for kids 6 and up. For more information, visit https://www.metmuseum.org/events/programs/met-live-arts/bring-the-kids, call 212-570-3949, or visit the box office.
