Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876–Now

Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876–Now explores how Black artists and cultural figures have reimagined and engaged with ancient Egypt across nearly 150 years of creative expression. Spanning visual art, sculpture, literature, music, scholarship, religion, politics, and performance, the exhibition features nearly 200 works that trace this rich and evolving dialogue from the 19th century through the Harlem Renaissance, the Black Arts Movement, and into the present day. Organized thematically, it highlights how artists have drawn on Egyptian imagery to shape collective identity, how Black scholars have advanced the study of ancient Egypt, and how modern and contemporary Egyptian artists continue to reinterpret their heritage. A first for The Met, the exhibition includes a dedicated performance gallery—the “Performance Pyramid”—developed in collaboration with MetLiveArts, showcasing both archival and live performances that weave ancient Egyptian motifs into Black performance art. Supported by the Gail and Parker Gilbert Fund, the Jane and Robert Carroll Fund, the Ford Foundation, and the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation, the exhibition offers a powerful, multisensory journey through art, history, and cultural reclamation.