More and more often, institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, commonly known as the Met, are prioritizing the showcasing of artworks from Black and Brown artists. Themuseum’s recent “Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism” exhibition was a massive success and has contributed to a culture shift in the institution.
The Met will continue to spotlight African-diasporic art with the upcoming “Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876–Now,”opening Nov. 17. Characterized as an artistic, scholarly, and scientific engagement of modern Black artists and cultural figures with the art and culture of ancient Egypt, the exhibit serves to challenge racist, eurocentric constructions of the celebrated civilization.
Curator Akili Tommasino anticipates a continuing evolution of exhibitions focusing on Black and African diasporic art. “Certainly, the shifts in museum leadership have opened up avenues for previously marginalized perspectives to be highlighted,” Tommasino said.
Having held curatorial positions at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston as well as the Museum of Modern Art, Tommasino became an associate curator at the Met in 2021 and was promoted to curator in the summer of 2024. Only approximately 4% of museum curators in the United States are Black, according to data from the Mellon Foundation.
Met curator Akili Tommasino (Brenika Banks photo)
Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859–1937), Flight Into Egypt, 1923 (Courtesy Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Iman Issa (Egyptian, 1979), Heritage Studies #7, 2015 (Courtesy the artist and Sylvia Kouvali, London/Piraeus)
Still from Space is the Place, 1974. Directed by John Coney (Courtesy North American Star System Production; John Coney)
Lauren Halsey (American, 1987), FreedomEx, 2022 (Photography: Allen Chen/SLH Studio. Courtesy of David Kordansky Gallery)
While coming up in the museum world, Tommasino had envisioned a project for the past several years that would be transhistorical and interdisciplinary. Because of his Black and Caribbean background growing up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, he recognized and was aware of his global Africanness. “I was surrounded by the kinds of vernacular esthetics that exist throughout the African diaspora and Black communities, expressing a connection with ancient Egypt,” said Tommasino. He conceptualized this project as a “Pan-African phenomenon” and designated Egypt as a symbol for people of African descent globally. “The exhibition really is a product of my whole lifetime of collecting images, memories, and experiencing things growing up,” he said.
Tommasino described the story told by this upcoming production as paying homage to Pan-African history. “We have been planning the programming for months,” said Heidi Holder, the Met’s chair of education. “This exhibition is looking at Egyptian culture, history, and its esthetics and its formation.”
Holder comes from a background in education and arts-education programming, and started her Met position during the pandemic. The Trinidad and Tobago native described that pandemic period as “the time of reckoning for institutions like ours.” Since then, the Met had time to rethink its plans and approaches with regard to local visitors and communities. “The Met is an educational institution — this is the perfect time for me to be here,” said Holder. Her particular skills and resources help highlight the exhibits as both an artistic and educational experience.
Holder emphasized that the museum is open to all, especially those in Black and Brown neighborhoods. “I’m an educator, so I will also say this idea of art is very much about problem-solving and thinking critically,” she said.
“Flight into Egypt” will support the museum in welcoming more diverse audiences, as when attracting a record-high 56% BIPOC visitors from the United States, according to the Met’s July 2024 news release; a major part of that visitor growth was reported to be due to the “Harlem Renaissance” exhibition.
Holder mentioned a connection to the Harlem Renaissance with this newer project, with the ideas of modernism shaping cultural pride in the African American community. Multidisciplinary art, interdisciplinary art, music, and literature all play factors in this new display, she said. The show will also include live performances in a designated gallery known as the Performance Pyramid, inspired by Egyptian esthetics. “The programming is going to be lit,” said Holder. “It will be for all ages.”
The Met intends to work harder to reflect New York City’s metropolitan location. These African diasporic art exhibitions will continue to exist especially because of the staff and curators who are dedicated and invested in creating shows like them. “Everything is changing,” said Holder, who applauded Tommasino for his thorough research in curating “Flight into Egypt.”
“This exhibition will have something for everyone — the breadth and depth of materials is extraordinary — and I hope the show attracts people to the Met who were not previously aware that the institution was available to them,” said Tommasino.
“It will open eyes, it will open up minds,” said Holder. “The Met is the people’s Met — this is their Met. There is amazing stuff happening here.”
“Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876–Now” opens at the Met on Sunday, Nov. 17. For more info, visit www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions.
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Publish date : 2024-10-30 17:43:00
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