Teens Take The Met! returns on Friday, November 9, from 5 to 8 p.m. The dynamic Museum-wide program will bring together teens from New York's five boroughs for a night of teen-centric activities. Since the program’s inception in 2014, the event has brought together over 22,000 teens for what has emerged as one of the most anticipated nights at The Met. The event encourages teens—many of whom are visiting The Met for the first time—to immerse themselves in hands-on experiences while exploring the Museum. A range of innovative activities will be available, including workshops, performances, art making, demonstrations, and more, offered by over 40 youth and cultural organizations that are partnering in the evening. Teens Take The Met! is free for all teens (age 13 or older) with a middle school or high school ID.
The event is made possible by the Gray Foundation.
“Teens Take The Met! was created to offer an open space for young people to be their creative and original selves,” commented Sandra Jackson-Dumont, The Met’s Frederick P. and Sandra P. Rose Chairman of Education. “Young people are excited about art and culture! The 22,000 teens that have attended this event in the past are a testament to the enthusiasm of this audience. We appreciate the incredibly positive response we have had from them, their parents and teachers, and our very generous community partners.”
In collaboration with the event’s community partners, an array of interactive stations, performances, and activities have been co-created for the event. Hands-on opportunities will include button-making in the Nolen Library with New-York Historical Society in celebration of their Harry Potter exhibition; Epic Theatre Ensemble will present Locked, written and performed by young people; and The National Museum of the American Indian will lead an art making station, taking inspiration from The Met’s recently-opened exhibition Art of Native America: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection and contemporary Native artists. Teens’ creativity will be encouraged throughout the evening and activities will include a project created by The Met’s own teen interns called #TeensMemeTheMet, in which participants will develop memes from works of art found across the Museum.
The evening will also offer teens a chance to watch performances by the Bronx-based street and subway dance organization It’s Showtime NYC in the Arms and Armor galleries. The performers will also lead dance workshops in The Charles Engelhard Court. The night of dancing will continue, as Teen DJ’s from Building Beats will DJ the Silent Dance Party in the Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall.
Sign Language interpretation, assistive listening devices, sighted guides, large print, and a designated quiet space will be available, as will free snacks—including special Teens Take The Met! themed cookies for the first 100 teens to enter the event—and photo opportunities.
To participate, teens will need a special-event wristband, which they can pick up at either of the Museum's two Fifth Avenue entrances (at 81st and 83rd Streets), where pop-up performances by Bard High School Early College Panther Team Steppers will entertain the crowds during check-in. The wristbands will provide access to teen-only activities throughout the building.
The event will be featured on The Met's website, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter via the hashtag #metteens.
Community Partners
92Y Center for Arts Learning & Leadership; Art and Resistance Through Education; The Art Students League of New York; ArtsConnection Teen Programs; Bard High School Early College;Brooklyn Museum; Building Beats; Center for Architecture; The Center for Book Arts; Dedalus; DemocracyNYC; Epic Theatre Ensemble; The Filomen M. D'Agostino Greenberg Music School; Free Arts NYC; Games for Change; Global Action Project; Hudson River Museum; Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy; Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum; It's Showtime NYC!; The Korea Society; Lewis Latimer House Museum; Lincoln Center Education; Manhattan Theatre Club; Museum of Arts and Design; Museum of Chinese in America; MyLibraryNYC; The New York City Writing Project; New York Film Academy; New-York Historical Society; New York Public Library; No Longer Empty; The Noguchi Museum; NURTUREart; NYC Department of Youth & Community Development; NYU Tisch School of the Arts Department of Photography & Imaging; Park Avenue Armory; Pioneer Works; Roundabout Theatre Company; Scholastic Art & Writing Awards; Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; The Studio Museum in Harlem; Teens@Graham; TITAN Theatre Company; Ultimaker; Urban Word NYC; UrbanGlass; Wave Hill; West Side YMCA.
About the Gray Foundation
The Gray Foundation was founded in 2014 by Jon and Mindy Gray. The Foundation is committed to maximizing access to education, healthcare and opportunity for low-income children in New York. In addition, the Basser Initiative @ Gray Foundation is focused on funding initiatives to advance the care of individuals living with BRCA gene mutations.
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October 26, 2018
Image: Courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All photos by Filip Wolak.
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