This exhibition explores the profound engagement of Black artists and cultural figures with ancient Egypt across various forms of artistic expression, including visual art, sculpture, literature, music, and performance. Spanning nearly 150 years, the exhibition showcases almost 200 works, highlighting artistic and cultural contributions from the 19th century through the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s to contemporary times. The exhibition features thematic sections that include pieces from The Met’s collection as well as international loans from both public and private collections. These themes reveal how Black artists and cultural figures have utilized ancient Egyptian imagery to forge a unifying identity.

A notable aspect of this exhibition is the integration of performance art, a first for The Met. For the first time in The Met’s history, live performance is an integral part of a major exhibition. In collaboration with MetLiveArts, the “Performance Pyramid” will host live performances on select days throughout the exhibition’s duration. This multisensory approach enriches the visitor experience, allowing audiences to engage more deeply with the artistic and cultural narratives presented. Each Friday at 3pm & 7pm visitors can experience music, dance, and performance art that draws on ancient Egyptian themes at The Met Fifth Avenue.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 10th 2025 – Steffani Jemison presents Recitatif: Perfect Mind, a multimedia interpretation of a divine Coptic poem that expresses the mystery of the singular self. The piece draws a direct connection between spiritual and literary conventions of ancient Egypt and devices used by contemporary Black women writers.

FRIDAY 17th JANUARY – The Resurrection of Osiris. Karon Davis tells the story of the Egyptian deity Osiris’s murder and resurrection, which laid the basis for ancient Egyptian mummification and embalming practices. The durational performance takes viewers on a journey through a wrenching tale explored through procession, dance, and music. Performers include Ben Vereen, Belinda Becker, Fabricio Seraphin, Karon Davis, and Curtis Johnson. Music composed and performed by Yuka C. Honda. The performance is an excerpt of the full-length ballet Isis and Osiris, created by Karon Davis.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 24th – Landscapes of the North East, composer and artist Zekkereya El-magharbel presents new, graphic-score compositions that draw on Islamic mosaics and calligraphy prevalent in Egypt and North Africa. The artist uses an Afro-Modernist framework to explore the relationship between ancient Egypt, modern Egypt, and Black America.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31st – Assembling textiles, ceramics, and other props, Rashid Johnson collaborates with renowned spiritual jazz multi-instrumentalist Kahil El’Zabar to activate the Performance Pyramid.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7th – In her new work entitled G R A P H, choreographer and dancer Sidra Bell studies the relationship between existentialism and Black liberation, using the artwork presented in Flight into Egypt as a departure point for a dance that transmits ascendency, power and spirituality.

F.A.C.T.S