Inside the Met

As the glamorous, highly-anticipated Costume Institute show “About Time” comes together, museum staff wonders who will pay for new acquisitions, the crucial but very costly research and conservation work, and infrastructure projects vital to the survival of an antique building.

Watch as designers, curators and more walk us through the preparations for The Met’s highly-anticipated Costume Institute show “About Time.”

Learn what inspired Native American artist Kent Monkman to make his nonbinary alter ego the hero of these two paintings in The Great Hall.

Questions are raised about some of The Met’s most treasured objects, many obtained unethically and reflecting the tastes of the wealthy 19th-century industrialists and entrepreneurs who founded the museum.

From Japanese armor to ancient textiles, Conservator Carolyn Riccardelli walks through the museum to check on pieces and exhibitions put away because of the pandemic.

The first episode of Inside The Met goes behind closed doors to reveal how the museum functions, venturing above and below the public galleries for a close-up look at the work of curators, conservators and executives.

Experience the 150th birthday of The Metropolitan Museum of Art amid the COVID-19 pandemic and urgent demands for social justice, as the art institution makes history in ways no one could have predicted.