On Thursday, September 15th the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City opened its doors to a members-only evening event. Over 4,000 members spanning the various levels, including Young Members, Apollo Circle, Trustee, and more, attended the first ever Members Grand Tour.
During the event the entire museum was open for the member’s to take advantage of. Receptions were held in the Temple of Dendur, Great Hall Balcony, Charles Engelhard Court and Uris Center. Gallery talks were held by curators and conservators. Drop-in drawing opportunities and organ and guitar recitals took place from one end of the museum to the other.
The event’s purpose was to thank member’s for their support in making so many of these exhibits possible, but also to open member’s up to new offerings.
Being an Apollo Circle member of the Met, I throughly enjoy going to evening events where I can experience and appreciate the art without the massive crowds. There is also something magical about being in a museum at night. (One of my favorites is the annual Young Members Party each summer!)
The Member’s Grand Tour was a great event and very well planned out as far as the talks, exhibits and receptions. I hope they decide to do it again next year!
My only comment would be about the check-in process. For all events I have been to at the Met they are still focused on paper-based ticketing. I showed up, went to check-in, gave my name and they had to individually print out my 4 tickets. I then turned around and walked no more than 3 feet to the gentleman collecting tickets for entry. Met event planners – please find a solution that does not involve printing tickets or handing out printed tickets that one immediately proceeds to hand back to you. It is expensive for you, time-consuming for me, and not at all environmentally friendly. There is a better solution, such as how check-in was manged at the Rolando Santana fashion show I attended. They used iPads. Or, for a cheaper solution, simply check me off on the computer you have then let me enter. No need for paper.
-
- Metropolitan Museum of Art Member’s Grand Tour: Entry
-
- Metropolitan Museum of Art Member’s Grand Tour: Entry
-
- Metropolitan Museum of Art Member’s Grand Tour: Great Hall Balcony Reception
-
- Cynthia Greenberg
-
- Metropolitan Museum of Art Member’s Grand Tour: Temple of Dendur Reception
-
- Peter Paruch and Dayna Hart
-
- Tim Irons, Cynthia Greenberg, Dayna Hart, Peter Paruch
2 comments
Thomas Marguccio says:
September 16, 2011 at 8:50 pm (UTC -4)
Yes, Cynthia, this was truly a GRAND Tour!! Nicely democratic too to let the Individual members hob nob with the Trustees… I especially liked the fried chicken fingers in Uris. And those chocolate chip cookies!!
I do hope they do it again. I would advise all members who attended to go to the information desk on your next visit and fill out a suggestion card letting them know you had a good time.
This way they will get our feedback on a time well spent and hopefully an annual event!
Cynthia Greenberg says:
September 19, 2011 at 1:01 pm (UTC -4)
Thomas – fantastic idea. Yes, we should all fill out the suggestion cards about the event. It was great and I do hope they do it again next year.