Round tables covered in white cloths surrounded the Temple of Dendur. Women wore fascinators, Nigerian geles and Hawaiian lei po’o, while men wore Yoruba agbadas, Hawaiian kāʻei and the occasional tuxedo, all in sartorial attempts to honor the lineage that brought them to the event.
Curators, artists and archaeologists gathered for dinner at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to celebrate the culmination of four years of work — and the legacy of a historied American family — on Friday night. They were toasting the reopening of the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing and its collection of work from Africa, the ancient Americas and Oceania.
Over lobster, foie gras, wine and champagne, friends of the Met and members of the Rockefeller family mingled among the 1,726 objects in the new gallery, which cost $70 million to complete and has 40,000 square feet dedicated to the arts of those regions.
“It is a coming together of a very global community,” said Max Hollein, the chief executive and director of the Met. “And in this time, it’s so much about respecting cultural heritage in many different ways but also making sure that there’s a deep understanding, a deeper appreciation.”
“When we opened this wing in 1982, this museum became really global,” he said. “And now, over 40 years later, we continue that legacy by upgrading that wing and creating yet another, even more elaborate, powerful and visually attractive environment for the cultures that cover about three-quarters of the world.”
At one table, Ego Nwodim, a cast member of “Saturday Night Live,” chatted about her role with the museum: influencer.
“I’m part of the influencer committee — I just learned what that means,” Ms Nwodim said jokingly, wearing an ensemble by Wales Bonner and Roger Vivier shoes. “I think it’s important to show up for these sorts of things and to keep the arts part of the conversation and to encourage the New York City visitors, residents to come out to the Met, because what they are doing here is really special.”
At another table, close to a wall of windows, the actress Danai Gurira sat wearing an all white Gabriela Hearst dress and a hunter green Nigerian gele.
“I just met a whole lot of African archaeologists from my country, Zimbabwe, to South Africa, and from Nigeria,” Ms. Gurira said. “There are people here that are actually from these places where some things are from, and they are a part of the conversation.”
Being part of that conversation was crucial for the actress Adepero Oduye, who sat between the front columns of the Temple of Dendur wearing a pale pink and white caftan by the Nigerian designer Éki Kéré. Ms. Oduye, a native New Yorker, grew up visiting the museum and some of the exhibits did not always feel genuine to her. This wing changes that, she said.
“I remember just feeling very disappointed, or I felt like something was missing — that stayed with me,” said Ms. Oduye, who went on a private tour of the wing. “There is a lot of art that’s here that we deserve to get to see.”
It was during the search for some of those artifacts that Michael Rockefeller, whom the gallery is named for, died in 1961, when his boat capsized close to New Guinea.
“As a young man coming into himself, he wondered, What am I going to do with my life? What does my life mean?” said Mary R. Morgan, Mr. Rockefeller’s twin sister. “That is what this art is all about. It’s about meaning, and it’s about safety. It’s about power. It’s about spirit.”
In an effort to pay respect to the spirit of the art, the Pacific Delegation of the committee opened the dinner with a Maori call and response. And to signify that it was time to go from dinner to the party, several people went onstage and began to play conch shells. The blare reverberated between the museum’s walls.
In the Great Hall, candles adorned the grand staircase and the center of the room was a bar that served espresso martinis. Lila Downs and her band filled the space with jubilant music. Revelers quickly made their way to the wing for a sneak peek before it opened to the public, in the morning.
“We always had the art, but we didn’t have the people,” Kulapat Yantrasast, the architect who designed the wing, said while wearing an orange jumpsuit and Rick Owens platform boots.
“I want people to feel comfortable and inspired,” he said. “I know that art looks cool because I use my own judgment. But unless people come in and I can see that reaction, then it is not working.”
Sandra E. Garcia is a Times reporter covering style and culture.
The post A Global Community Joins ‘the Conversation’ at the Met’s Rockefeller Wing appeared first on New York Times.
