The Metropolitan Museum of Art has reached a major milestone.
“Unlike our friends at the Louvre [in Paris] and the Prado [in Madrid] and many other great encyclopedic museums around the world, which began with a royal collection, the Met began with nothing—not a piece of art, not a building,” Ken Weine, the museum’s chief communications officer, tells Artnet News.
This is how the story begins for The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which started its mission to bring art and art education to the American people on April 13, 1870, when the Legislature of the State of New York passed an act to establish the institution that has now opened to over 7 million visitors before the COVID-19 pandemic took over the city and the world. This current situation reminds us all that it’s important to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art as a public space capable of reflecting the energy and changing landscape of New York City, a global destination.
To celebrate this big date, you can head to the museum site and explore 5,000 years of art from comfort of your home. From its 360 project, which allows you to visit The Met’s art and architecture in a fresh and immersive way, to its Storytime at The Met feature, there is original content for art lovers, kids, students, critics, and teachers. If you’re thinking of listening experience, the Audio Guide for current exhibitions is also available, while it can also give you lavishly illustrated, must-read books, catalogues you can purchase today, as well as home-decor and accessories.
“The promise of the Met is that it can build in New York a place for all people to gather to celebrate human creativity. It is a wonderfully idealistic notion, and we are elated both to celebrate and to plan for the decades ahead,” said Ken Weine, the museum’s chief communications officer, to Artnet News in a March 3 interview, and although it is still impossible to gather visitors, the museum lives up to the the word, this is what Max Hollein, Director, and Dan Weiss, President, of The Metropolitan Museum of Art ensure through a message about the 150th anniversary of The Met and its resilience and contributions during times of crisis.
