The Met Museum recently announced a new exhibit dedicated to Black artists and their exploration of ancient Egyptian culture.
The exhibit, titled “Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876-Now,” will be on display from Nov. 17, 2024, to Feb. 17, 2025. It will feature almost 200 pieces of art that highlight the impact ancient Egypt has had on the works of Black artists.
The works of art will reportedly come from Africa, the Caribbean, Asia, and Europe and will be based on sculptures, music, literature, religion and politics. Through the exhibit, the history of how Black artists connected to the ancient civilization and honored their own identity through that connection will be shared, going against Eurocentric ideas attached to ancient Egypt. With “Flight into Egypt,” curators are celebrating art created throughout historic movements such as the Harlem Renaissance as well as the 60s and 70s Black Arts Movement to the present day.
Artists included in the exhibit include Lorraine O’Grady, Tremaine Emory, Awol Erizku, Terry Adkins, Jean-Michel Basquiat, George Washington Carver and Renee Cox.
Pieces expected to be on display include Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich’s “Cleopatra at the Mall” film, Edmonia Lewis’ “The Death of Cleopatra” as well as a picture of Solange Knowles’ twin pyramids stage set.
For the first time in the museum’s history, performance will also be included as part of the exhibit. Through the Performance Pyramid, a documentary will trace the history of Black performance art inspired by ancient Egypt. Live performances will also be held on a set amount of nights.
“This is a modern history of how an ancient civilization became a wellspring of inspiration for Black creatives to craft a unifying identity after generations of it being underrepresented and undervalued,” said Darren Walker, the Ford Foundation President, per a statement. “This is an exhibition that only The Met can do by pulling inspiration from its own collection stretching back 5,000 years and connecting it to today and our communities in New York City and beyond.”
The newest exhibit will join two current main exhibits that celebrate Black artists. On display until Sunday, the “Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism” exhibit explores the work of artists from the 1920s to 1940s in New York. Featuring work by Aaron Douglas, Augusta Savage and Henri Matisse, over 160 paintings, sculptures and films are currently available for viewers to see.
“The African Origin of Civilization” exhibit is also currently on view. Set to run through Jan. 19, 2025, the exhibit honors the impact of ancient African civilizations as explained by Senegalese humanist Cheikh Anta Diop.
