A series of nefertiti busts transitions from historical to contemporary styles, symbolizing the evolution of art influenced by ancient egypt from 1876 to the present, titled "flight into egypt and ancient artists.
Exhibition

Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876–Now

Through February 17, 2025
Free with Museum admission

Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876–Now examines how Black artists and other cultural figures have engaged with ancient Egypt through visual art, sculpture, literature, music, scholarship, religion, politics, and performance. In a multisensory exploration of nearly 150 years of artistic and cultural production—from the 19th century to the Harlem Renaissance to the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s to the present day—the exhibition includes nearly 200 works of art in a wide range of media.

Thematic sections featuring works from The Met collection and international loans from public and private collections trace subjects including how Black artists and other agents of culture have employed ancient Egyptian imagery to craft a unifying identity, the contributions of Black scholars to the study of ancient Egypt, and the engagement of modern and contemporary Egyptian artists with ancient Egypt.

In a first for The Met, performance will be an integral part of the exhibition itself in the form of a dedicated gallery. Organized in collaboration with MetLiveArts, the “Performance Pyramid” will both present a documentary history of Black performance art incorporating ancient Egyptian themes and host live performances on select days throughout the run of the exhibition.

The exhibition is made possible by the Gail and Parker Gilbert Fund, the Jane and Robert Carroll Fund, the Ford Foundation, and the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.

Ford Foundation Logo

Additional support is provided by The Hayden Family Foundation, Allison and Larry Berg, The Holly Peterson Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The catalogue is made possible by Mellon Foundation and Denise Littlefield Sobel.

Additional support is provided by The Witten Family Foundation, Lonti Ebers, the Jeffrey and Leslie Fischer Family Foundation, and Kent Kelley.

The Performance Pyramid performances are made possible by Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon B. Polsky, and the Adrienne Arsht Fund for Resilience through Art.

#MetFlightIntoEgypt

To access a large-print version of the exhibition text, click here.

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Flight into Egypt: Luke Stewart

December 13 3:00 PMThe Met Fifth Avenue

Flight into Egypt: Luke Stewart

December 13 7:00 PMThe Met Fifth Avenue

Flight into Egypt: Clifford Owens

December 20 3:00 PMThe Met Fifth Avenue

Flight into Egypt: Clifford Owens

December 20 7:00 PMThe Met Fifth Avenue

Flight into Egypt: Steffani Jemison

January 10, 2025 3:00 PMThe Met Fifth Avenue

Flight into Egypt: Steffani Jemison

January 10, 2025 7:00 PMThe Met Fifth Avenue

Flight into Egypt: Karon Davis

January 17, 2025 3:00 PMThe Met Fifth Avenue

Flight into Egypt: Karon Davis

January 17, 2025 7:00 PMThe Met Fifth Avenue

Flight into Egypt: Zekkereya El-magharbel

January 24, 2025 3:00 PMThe Met Fifth Avenue

Flight into Egypt: Zekkereya El-magharbel

January 24, 2025 7:00 PMThe Met Fifth Avenue

Flight into Egypt: Rashid Johnson

January 31, 2025 3:00 PMThe Met Fifth Avenue

Flight into Egypt: Rashid Johnson

January 31, 2025 7:00 PMThe Met Fifth Avenue

Flight into Egypt: Sidra Bell

February 7, 2025 3:00 PMThe Met Fifth Avenue

Flight into Egypt: Sidra Bell

February 7, 2025 7:00 PMThe Met Fifth Avenue

Flight into Egypt: M. Lamar

February 14, 2025 3:00 PMThe Met Fifth Avenue

Flight into Egypt: M. Lamar

February 14, 2025 7:00 PMThe Met Fifth Avenue
Fred Wilson (American, born 1954). Grey Area (Brown Version), 1993. Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of William K. Jacobs, Jr. and bequest of Richard J. Kempe, by exchange (2008.6a–j)

Plan Your Visit

Dates
Through February 17, 2025
Free with Museum admission
A series of nefertiti busts transitions from historical to contemporary styles, symbolizing the evolution of art influenced by ancient egypt from 1876 to the present, titled "flight into egypt and ancient artists.