#metropolitan-museum-of-art

#metropolitan-museum-of-art

For the last month or so, every time I've left my apartment in Astoria I've cut through an aisle of Christmas trees, some festooned with bright red bows, some bare. Around me are those cutting wreaths down to size, taking selfies, begging their parents for a bigger tree, and lugging them away. Despite the cold, the uncertainty, the relentlessness of the news cycle, it makes me feel grounded, in community - which is what the holiday season is about.

Today, November 10, the museum launched two digital exhibitions that allow visitors to walk through its galleries using a virtual reality headset or a standard computer via a link on the institution's website. The Met selected one of its most iconic exhibits, the 1st-century BCE Egyptian Temple of Dendur, and a selection of Oceanic artworks displayed in its newly renovated Michael C. Rockefeller Wing for the institution's first forays into virtual reality.

The collaboration is part of a broader renovation of the Met's 83rd Street and Fifth Avenue entrance, which includes redesigned dining and retail spaces. "Sodi and Williams will shape a culinary vision that both reinvigorates existing offerings and develops new dining concepts, which will begin to emerge in 2027 at The Met's Fifth Avenue location and in later phases, at the Trie Cafe at The Met Cloisters in northern Manhattan," reads the statement.

The videos add a new layer of context that goes beyond state-of-the-art labels, creating a bridge between different places represented in the collection and offering access to cultural-heritage preservation.