Met Stories

Episode One follows the stories of educator and former host of Project Runway Tim Gunn, New York City Ballet Dancer Silas Farley, and longtime Met archivist Stephanie Post. 

Episode Three follows the story of Jodi Archambault, artist and former policy advisor to President Obama for Native American Affairs.

Episode Five follows the story of Michael Zacchea, author and retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel. .

Episode Seven follows the story of Angela Reynolds, Met Assistant Buildings Manager, Gretchen Rubin, Author of The Happiness Project, and artist Hai-Hsin Huang.

Watch Episode 9, in which Tomás Vega, a paralegal, describes his lifelong dream to work at The Met and how he finally had the chance to make that a reality when he received DACA status; Sue Jeiven, a tattoo artist, explains how vitally important The Met became to her when faced with a diagnosis of terminal breast cancer; and Ahmed Badr, founder of Narratio.org, and author of While the Earth Sleeps We Travel, tells how being a resettled Iraqi refugee gave him a unique understanding of the tensions at play in the Ancient Near Eastern galleries, which helped him gain power over his own story of displacement.

Watch Episode 11, in which Dariel Vasquez, Co-founder & Executive Director, Brothers@, describes how he didn’t feel welcome at The Met, even though he grew up in nearby Harlem. His first visit was on a class trip, and seeing the confidence and enthusiasm of his professor Teju Cole, a fellow Black man, at the front of the class dramatically transformed the discomfort he felt into a sense of belonging.

Episode Two follows the stories of chef and author Yotam Ottolenghi, co-founder of the Muslim Bar Association Asim Rehman, and curator and art historian Lowery Stokes Sims.

Episode Four follows the stories of Met software quality assurance specialist Jenita Pettway and founder of the New York Mongolian Cultural Council Ariun Sanjaajamts.

Episode Six follows the story of Daniel Bergmann, an Undergraduate Degree Candidate at Harvard University with autism, who visited the Met as a child.

Episode 8 tells the story of when Linbania Jacobson’s husband's dementia diagnosis led them to a program at The Met, which affirmed his humanity and gave meaning and joy to her role as a caregiver. Linbania, now a Volunteer with Met Access Programs, says, “I have found my new life.”

Watch Episode 10, in which Paul Konigsburg, E.L. Konigsburg’s son, traces his mother’s inspiration for “The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler,” her beloved book about two children who run away from home to live in The Met, and artist Nikhil Chopra reflects on living in The Met for nine days during his performance art piece last year.

Watch Episode 12, in which artist Maira Kalman recounts her "love affair" with The Met on Friday nights; designer Lillian Tong and poet Chris Hosea describe how they first encountered each other at The Met; speechwriter Jared Spencer explains why he proposed to his husband, Joshua Dumas, a technologist, at The Met; and art educator Jim Kuhlman keeps the memory of his wife alive through annual visits to the American Wing courtyard.