Arts of the Ancient Americas

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 5th Ave, 10028, New York City

July 1, 2026 – December 31, 2027

The Met’s Arts of the Ancient Americas galleries reopened in May 2025 in a fully reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, presenting nearly 700 works that highlight the artistic legacy of Indigenous peoples across North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean before 1600 CE. The new installation reflects current scholarship and broad collaboration with experts across the Americas, bringing greater context to the collection through new research on artists, materials, techniques, social roles, and regional connections. It also expands the narrative to include Viceregal-period Indigenous traditions, as well as Indigenous perspectives on the natural world and gender. Designed by WHY Architecture and Beyer, Blinder, Belle Architects LLP with The Met, the galleries take inspiration from ancient American architectural forms and are arranged roughly by time and region. Visitors encounter early lithic objects, ivory implements, and coastal Ecuadorian figures in the west, and later imperial works of the Mexica and Inca in the east. A major new feature is a dedicated gallery for ancient Andean textiles, the first of its kind in the U.S., showcasing delicate, rotating works in a specially designed environment.