World Culture Festival: Journeys Explores the Connections between Art and Culture

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will engage visitors in an afternoon that explores the different ways people, cultures, objects, and ideas have traveled our world for centuries during the World Culture Festival on Saturday, November 4, from noon to 5 p.m. The second edition of this Museum-wide event, with the theme of Journeys, will celebrate how cultures and civilizations have been shaped by people on the move through performances, storytelling, interactive gallery activities, and artist-led workshops. The Festival is free with Museum admission. Unless otherwise noted, experiences are recommended for ages three and up.

From China’s Silk Road to the navigation charts of the Marshall Islands, each activity illuminates a different global voyage and cultural experience, and visitors are invited to join in participatory art making and demonstrations. Highlights include: Our Stories of Migration: World Map Project, a collaborative tapestry incorporating visitors’ personal migration stories with artist Natalia Nakazawa, as well as an exploration of textiles from across The Met collection; an examination of how objects and ideas traveled along the Silk Road through Asia in Silk Road: Travel Journal; and through The Refugee Journey with the United Nations Association of the United States (UNA-USA) participants will use virtual reality to envision the journey and life of a refugee living in a camp.

Visitors will also be invited to create their own expedition through the Museum’s galleries with performances throughout the building that include the Youth Chorus: Odyssey in The Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Arms and Armor Court as the Young People’s Chorus of New York City perform excerpts from their opera retelling of Homer’s epic tale and Fuerza y Animo (Strength and Encouragement) in The Charles Engelhard Court where storyteller Christiamilda Correa will share a collection of anecdotes about her desire to collect, interpret, and safeguard her culture’s stories.

World Culture Festival: Journeys is made possible by the Great Circle Foundation and the Tiger Baron Foundation.

PERFORMANCES INCLUDE

Opening Performance
FANFARE
12–12:15 pm
Listen for the sound of a conch shell horn to kick off the festival.
Floor 1, Great Hall

Danced Storytelling
12:15 pm, 12:45 pm, 1:15 pm, 1:45 pm, 2:15 pm, 2:45 pm, 3:15 pm, 3:45 pm, 4:15 pm, 4:45 pm 
Classical Indian dancers from Navatman Dance and Barkha Dance Company tell stories through movement.
Ground floor, Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall, Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education

Abhang Poetry Performance
2:30 pm, 3:15 pm, 4 pm 
Discover abhang, a form of devotional poetry, with Hindustani classical vocalist Samarth Nagarkar, accompanied by tabla player Narendra Budhakar and harmonium player Rohan Prabhudesai.
Floor 2, Asian Art, Gallery 241

Youth Chorus: Odyssey
3:30–4 pm, 4:30–5 pm
Members of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City perform excerpts from their opera retelling of Homer’s epic tale. 
Floor 1, Gallery 371, Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Arms and Armor Court

ART ACTIVITIES AND DEMONSTRATIONS INCLUDE

Three Sister Fried Rice with Brian Tatsukawa
1:30–2 pm, 2:30–3 pm, 3:30–4 pm 
Join chef Brian Tatsukawa as he infuses traditional Japanese recipes with ingredients from his wife’s Native American heritage. Tickets distributed 15 minutes prior to each session at event location.
Ground floor, Studio, Uris Center for Education

Our Stories of Migration: World Map Project 
12–5 pm 
Artist Natalia Nakazawa invites the public to sew their personal migration stories into a collaborative tapestry while exploring important textiles from across The Met collection. 
Ground floor, Carson Family Hall West, Uris Center for Education

The Refugee Journey with the United Nations Association of the United States (UNA-USA) 
12–5 pm 
Meet field experts from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and 
learn about the life of a refugee living in a camp through virtual reality.
Ground floor, Carson Family Hall East, Uris Center for Education

Silk Road: Travel Journal 
12–5 pm 
Learn how paper traveled on the Silk Road, and design a travel journal inspired by Islamic manuscripts.
Floor 2, Islamic Art, Gallery 455

Nautical Navigation
12–5 pm 
Create a map inspired by navigation charts of the Marshall Islands and use your map to navigate through the galleries. 
Floor 1, Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, Gallery 353 and 354

Letters from Home: Printmaking 
12–5 pm 
Hear how artist Zarina Hashmi uses correspondence, calligraphy, and images to mark significant moments in her family’s lives, and create your own print.
Ground floor, Carroll Classroom, Uris Center for Education

STORYTELLING AND QUIET SPACES

Journeys of Afro-Descendants Shaping the World with Black in the World 
1–1:20 pm, 1:30–1:50 pm, 2–2:20 pm, 2:30–2:50 pm
Discover how art and culture travel beyond borders with members of the Chief Joseph Chatoyer Garifuna Folkloric Ballet of New York and their renowned director Felix Gamboa. 
Floor 1, Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, Gallery 350, The Lester Wunderman Collection of Dogon Art

Fuerza y Animo (Strength and Encouragement)
1–1:20 pm, 1:30–1:50 pm, 2–2:20 pm, 2:30–2:50 pm 
Join storyteller Christiamilda Correa for interactive excerpts of Fuerza y Animo, a collection of anecdotes about her desire to collect, interpret, and safeguard her culture’s stories.
Floor 1, The American Wing, Gallery 700, The Charles Engelhard Court

A full list of the programs offered as part of World Culture Festival: Journeys, along with further details and a schedule of events, is available on the Museum’s website.

General Event Information

World Culture Festival: Journeys program information and directions to events will be available at the information desks in the Great Hall (at the main entrance at Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street) and the Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education (at the ground-floor entrance at Fifth Avenue and 81st Street). Large-print schedules and assistive listening devices will also be available at the information desks. The festival is free with Museum admission.

World Culture Festival: Journeys is organized by The Met’s Department of Education.

The cafeteria on the Museum’s ground floor will celebrate World Culture Festival: Journeys by offering a special menu.

The event will also be featured on the Museum’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitteraccounts using the hashtag #MetFest.