This summer, The Met Cloisters will again offer extended hours on Friday evenings. From Memorial Day through Labor Day weekend (May 26 through September 1, 2017), the Friday evening closing time this summer will be 7:30 p.m.  (The regular summer closing time of 5:15 p.m. will be observed on all other days of the week.) The Met Cloisters is the branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art dedicated to the art, architecture, and gardens of the Middle Ages.

 

"Our remarkable collection, beautiful gardens, peaceful setting, and spectacular views have drawn daytime visitors from around the world for many years. And we hope that our longer summer hours will now encourage visitors with busy schedules to come and enjoy this wonderful place in the evening," said C. Griffith Mann, the Michel David-Weill Curator in Charge of the Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters. "Building on the success of last summer's inaugural season of extended hours, we are delighted to offer this opportunity again, along with a series of compelling programs—including live music, tastings, and more—all specially organized to give our visitors a unique and memorable summer experience."

 

Nancy Wu, Museum Educator, added: "All of the events on our Friday-evening schedule relate either to the history of The Met Cloisters or to the collection itself. In the area of live music, we are delighted by the unexpected opportunity to present young singers from the renowned Escolania de Montserrat, whose origins date to the Middle Ages. We are also especially grateful to the accomplished singers and musicians from our Washington Heights neighborhood—highly regarded for their achievements in a variety of musical styles—who will be performing here as well."

 

All Friday-evening programs begin at 5:30 p.m.

 

(*) Denotes performances by Washington Heights-based singers and musicians.

 

May 26: Cheese experts will lead a discussion and cheese tasting that focuses on the technical innovations introduced by medieval monks that still inform production today. Registration required.

 

June 16: Trumpeter Alex Nguyen,winner of the International Trumpet Guild Jazz Competition, will perform music of the 1930s with a jazz quartet. (*)

 

June 23: Celebrate Midsummer's Eve and discover our debt to medieval science for its knowledge of the health benefits of herbs such as Saint John's Wort. Cloisters lecturers will lead discussions in the gardens and galleries.

 

June 30: Some three dozen choristers (ages 9 to 14) of the Escolania de Montserrat, Europe's oldest boy choir, will sing in the galleries.

 

July 14: In celebration of Bastille Day (France's Fête nationale), Lucy Dhegrae, praised as both "soprano and raconteur" (The New Yorker), will sing French popular songs from the 1930s accompanied by Kamala Sankaram on accordion. (*)

July 28: Ruth Cunningham, soprano and former member of the vocal ensemble Anonymous4,and cellist James Waldo, founder and artistic director of the Listen Closely Inwood Chamber Music Initiative, will perform English Renaissance consort songs by Dowland and others. (*)

 

August 11: Trumpeter Alex Nguyen will perform music of the 1930s with a jazz quartet. (*)

 

August 25: Trumpeter Alex Nguyen will perform music of the 1930s with a jazz quartet. (*)

 

September 1: In conjunction with New York Textile Month 2017, Museum educators will give brief talks about fibers, dye plants, and medieval textiles.

 

Programs subject to change.

Additional information about the programs can be found on The Met website, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter via #MetFridays and #MetCloisters. This initiative is part of the Museum's MetFridays programming.

 

On Fridays this summer, light fare and beverages will be available for purchase in the Museum's Trie Café until 7 p.m.

 

Extended public hours will be in effect on the following Fridays: May 26; June 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30; July 7, 14, 21, and 28; August 4, 11, 18, and 25; and September 1, 2017.

 

The collection at The Met Cloisters spans the Romanesque through Late Gothic periods (12th to early 16th century). Among its highlights are the beloved Unicorn Tapestries; beautifully illustrated manuscripts such as the Book of Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux, queen of France, and the Belles Heures of Jean, Duc de Berry, one of the greatest art patrons of the Middle Ages; the Annunciation Triptych by Robert Campin (also known as the Mérode Altarpiece); numerous examples of fine goldsmith work and other luxury arts; the largest assembly of medieval stained glass outside of Europe; and devotional sculpture of great sensitivity.

 

The design and plantings of the three cloistered gardens—from which The Met Cloisters gets its name—are based on horticultural texts and illustrations from the Middle Ages. From the gardens, visitors enjoy a scenic overlook of the Hudson River, the George Washington Bridge, and the Palisades.