Met Stories
Metropolitan Museum of Art
digital series, 2020
Made for The Met's 150th anniversary, Met Stories is an award-winning video series and year-long social media initiative that shared unexpected and compelling stories gathered from the many people who visit The Met, whether artists, teachers, curators, actors, museum staff, designers, thought-leaders, or public figures.
It’s an example of a digital short-form docuseries developed and realized by Rava Films highlighting the Museum as a place by, for, and about all people. Over the course of 12-episodes completed in a single year, Met Stories showcased our ability to produce an ambitious project featuring dozens of individuals from celebrities, chefs, thought-leaders, and museum staff, sharing compelling tales of encounters and experiences with the museum. The series was tremendously successful, garnering millions of views across platforms, and was awarded Shorty & Webby awards!
We were thrilled and honored to read comments that registered connection from afar, relatable and emotional resonance, and unexpected entry points into the Museum such as "Your Met Stories are a compelling invitation.” “You've replaced the institutional façade with human experience. The very core idea of art itself"; and "This is the most moving testament to the museum I have ever experienced." Rava Films is honored to work with such a historic organization on a series that feels contemporary and singular in its voice.
Series Produced & Developed by Rava Films in association with the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Digital team.
CREDITS
SERIES PRODUCERS
Ava Wiland
Rafael Salazar Moreno
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
Sarah Cowan
PRODUCERS
Ava Wiland
Rafael Salazar Moreno
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Rafael Salazar Moreno
EDITOR/COLORIST
Russell Yaffe
PRODUCTION COMPANY
Rava Films
Looking back to look forward | Met Stories Ep 1 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.
Breaking down barriers l Met Stories Ep 2 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.
Being Seen l Met Stories Ep 3 follows the story of Jodi Archambault, artist and former policy advisor to President Obama for Native American Affairs.
Connection | Met Stories Ep 4 follows the stories of Met software quality assurance specialist Jenita Pettway and founder of the New York Mongolian Cultural Council Ariun Sanjaajamts.
Catharsis | Met Stories Ep 5 follows the story of Michael Zacchea, author and retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel.
Breakthrough | Met Stories Ep 6 follows Daniel Bergmann, a student at Harvard University with autism, who tells the story of how childhood visits to The Met’s koi pond led to the most important breakthrough in his life.
Essential | Met Stories Ep 7 follows the story of Angela Reynolds, Met Assistant Buildings Manager, Gretchen Rubin, Author of The Happiness Project, and artist Hai-Hsin Huang.
Caregiving | Met Stories Ep 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.
Resilience | Met Stories Ep 9 speaks with Tomás Vega, a paralegal, Sue Jeiven, a tattoo artist, and Ahmed Badr, founder of Narratio.org who all share the significance of The Met in their own unique stories.
Home | Met Stories Ep 10 Paul Konigsburg, traces his mother’s inspiration for “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler,” and artist Nikhil Chopra reflects on living in The Met for nine days during a performance art piece.
Belonging | In Met Stories Ep 11, 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.
Love | Met Stories Ep 12 includes stories of love including artist Maira Kalman, designer Lillian Tong and poet Chris Hosea, speechwriter Jared Spencer who proposed to his husband, Joshua Dumas at The Met, and art educator Jim Kuhlman who keeps the memory of his wife alive through annual visits.
