MET Exhibit Explores How Ancient Egypt Has Inspired Black Artists

Starting November 17th, New York City’s The Met Fifth Avenue is hosting ‘Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876–Now’, a multisensory exhibition that examines how ancient Egypt has served as a place of inspiration and identity for Black artists in the United States and beyond.

Curated by Akili Tommasino and showcasing nearly 200 works from visual and sculptural arts to literature, music and performance, the exhibition traces how Black creatives have engaged with ancient Egyptian artistry from the 19th century through today.

“Ancient Egypt is a symbolic source for people of the African diaspora that continues to inspire,” said Max Hollein, The Met’s Marina Kellen French Director and Chief Executive Officer. “This groundbreaking exhibition brings to light a modern history that has developed over nearly 150 years and is also an active creative tradition existing outside the walls of the Museum and in daily life.”

The exhibition’s title draws from the painting ‘Flight into Egypt’ (1923) by Henry Ossawa Tanner, the first internationally recognized African-American painter, along with recent works such as Madeline Hunt-Ehrlich’s film ‘Cleopatra at the Mall’ (2024).

The works on view range from visual art during the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s to contemporary interpretations by modern artists. The exhibition will feature the work of both well-known and emerging artists, rarely displayed pieces, and significant international loans from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Europe.

The exhibition will be accompanied by on-site and off-site educational programs to focus on how contemporary academic research, artistic practices, and social interactions engage with ancient Egyptian art and civilization.