Cram all sorts of culture down your gullet in one fell swoop tonight at the annual Museum Mile Festival, a giant art-fueled block party along Fifth Avenue. Cars are blocked from 82nd to 105th Sts, and nine museums are opening their doors for free—yes, that's right, free!—from 6 to 9 p.m., plus there's live music and art-in-the-street activities to keep the festivities going, rain or shine. more ›

Yawn? The Metropolitan Museum of Art will not be bringing an exciting new rooftop installation to the masses this summer, instead we'll get a tame set of sculptures from British artist Anthony Caro, on view through October 30th, according to Arts Beat. In the past, the museum has delivered a bamboo wonderland, colorful installations from both Sol Lewitt and Jeff Koons, and in 2009 a neat silver tree. more ›

A concert pianist who claims she was manhandled and unfairly arrested last year while attending a performance at The Metropolitan Opera is suing the NYPD over the "brutal police conduct" and "excessive force." Julliard graduate and opera lover Aviva Aranovich claims that Officer Fernando Grace forcibly removed her from The Met during the premiere of "Hamlet" over a misunderstanding with her ticket. "He grabbed her like you would grab a toy from your little brother and pulled her down the stairs. She fell down the stairs and hit her head - hard," said her lawyer Mark Marino. more ›

As we noted last week: Ringo Starr is turning 70 years old tomorrow, and his golden drum will be on display at the Met in tribute. The former Beatles drummer will be celebrating the milestone birthday right here in NYC, but you aren't invited. He'll be at a private event in the morning at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square, and later that night he'll perform at Radio City Music Hall (a public event, but alas, sold out). more ›

On July 7th, former Beatle Ringo Starr will turn 70 years old—and starting on that day the Metropolitan Museum of Art will display his gold-plated snare drum in a special exhibition running through December. more ›

The Met's Costume Institute Gala on Monday night boasted a star-studded red carpet with more unique designs draped over celebs than at your typical awards show. Fittingly, Lady Gaga was set to perform for the decked out A-list crowd, but oddly, she was nowhere to be seen on the red carpet. Which is sort of... unlike her? more ›

The Met Costume Institute Gala was held last night, and even for those who don't like the standard red carpet circus, this one is usually pretty interesting. For one, the event was hosted by Vogue editrix Anna Wintour and the most powerful woman in the world, Oprah Winfrey. Another female powerhouse, Lady Gaga, performed for the crowd inside... but sadly didn't walk the red carpet, letting Katy Perry don the most unusual outfit for the press outside (it lit up with LED lights). As for what happens behind the Met's closed doors during the annual event, Wintour says, "Oh, we're very, very well behaved." However, Oprah walked in proclaiming she was ready for a few shots of tequila! more ›

In the dead of winter we mentioned that the Metropolitan Museum of Art would be adding big bunches of bamboo to their rooftop garden this summer, in an installation called “Big Bambú” by Doug and Mike Starn. The site-specific piece will be unveiled for all to see on the 27th (and will remain on the roof through Halloween), but here's a look at the Starn's putting it all together. One of them told the NY Times that at first the ambitious piece was vertigo-inducing, "but we got over it as we started building.” Still, looks dangerous! more ›

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded on this day in 1870 when the New York State Legislature granted it an Act of Incorporation "for the purpose of establishing and maintaining in said City a Museum and Library of Art, of encouraging and developing the Study of the Fine Arts, and the application of Art to manufacture and natural life, of advancing the general knowledge of kindred subjects, and to that end of furnishing popular instruction and recreations." Around two years after the founding date, on February 20th, the museum opened its doors for the first time. more ›

Pablo Picasso denied ever having painted this "Erotic Scene" piece (pictured), telling his friend, and author Pierre Daix, "I’ve done worse. But it was a joke by friends.” But he probably never counted on future experts having the capabilities of finding out if the sexually charged painting was indeed the work of Picasso's own hands. And it seems that it is! more ›

Ever wonder what museum security guards are thinking as they stand next to great works of art for days, weeks and months on end? A new journal, Sw!pe Magazine: Guards’ Matter, addresses the question from the perspective of the workers themselves, reports the Times. It’s put together by 35 guards at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, themselves working and aspiring artists in all different media from comics to photography (image gallery here). To accompany the release an exhibition of their work will be on view through tomorrow at 25 CPW Gallery at 62nd Street and Central Park West. “Being surrounded by the art, if you’re not helping someone, you’re just thinking about your work” said one featured artist, Jack Laughner. “I got my master’s at the Met,” he quipped. more ›

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will adorn its rooftop garden this summer with big bunches of bamboo. The exhibit, appropriately titled “Big Bambú,” is site-specific and designed by Doug and Mike Starn—who have previously installed a similar exhibit in Beacon, NY. more ›

Following yesterday's news that a woman in an adult education class tore a 6-inch hole in a Picasso painting (whoops!), the NY Times has some details on what the consequences are for a clumsy catastrophe like that. more ›

Forget those dreams about showing up to school without your clothes on, how about showing up to art class — on site at the Metropolitan Museum of Art — and falling into an original masterpiece by Pablo Picasso! That's what one woman did in her adult education class on Friday afternoon. The NY Times reports that she lost her balance and fell into "The Actor," a rare Rose Period Picasso (circa 1905), leaving a six inch tear at the bottom right corner. The painting has hung there since 1952 and until now it has done so without incident. more ›

Swooping in like a regular Mister Monopoly riding in on his hot dog cart (or was it a wheelbarrow?), vendor Dan Rossi has come to the rescue of fellow frank seller Pasang Sherpa after Sherpa was evicted from his high-priced spot outside the Met. Yesterday news broke that Sherpa was $300,000 behind on the $600K+ in annual rent he was supposed to be paying the city to sling dogs outside the Upper East Side museum. That prompted Rossi, who is able to set up his stand without paying rent due to an exception for veterans like him, to invite Sherpa to join his edible empire. When asked about his former rival turned subordinate, the winner of the wiener wars told the News, "He's gonna work for me now. Nobody's gonna touch him now without talking to me...The guy was crying. They pushed him out." Rossi also called for the Parks Department to crack down on unlicensed, "black market" vendors nearby saying, "I sell water for $2 and the others sell it for $1. If I charged $10 a hot dog maybe I could compete." more ›

Yesterday Michelle Obama was in town for a second time since becoming the First Lady, this visit emphasizing the important role of the arts. She helped reopen the newly renovated American wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (where she commented on how she spent her first date with the President at a museum), and later on attended the American Ballet Theatre's Spring Gala. With our cultural institutions suffering during the current financial climate, it's nice to hear the First Lady remind people, "Nearly 6 million people make their living in the nonprofit arts industry. Arts and cultural activities contribute more than $160 billion to our economy every year." more ›

It's that time of year again! The Met is readying their roof garden with a site-specific monumental sculpture. On Tuesday, weather permitting, conceptual artist Roxy Paine's dramatic Maelstrom piece, a 130-foot-long by 45-foot-wide stainless-steel sculpture, will be unveiled, encompassing the nearly 8,000-square-foot outdoor space. more ›

Each summer the Met offers a free outdoor performance, and the one-night-only event is going down in Prospect Park later this evening. Two of the opera world's biggest stars, Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna, will be belting out duets as Ion Marin conducts the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus. more ›

Tourists, museum-goers and Gossip Girl-esque Upper East Siders...the Metropolitan Museum steps are no longer for you to sit on...at least, temporarily. CityRoom reports that the steps are undergoing a yearlong renovation, and until the project is done, the 1/3 of the steps left open are for walking only. Even tourists taking photos with the famous backdrop are getting booted. more ›

Jasper Johns, a South Carolina native currently residing in Connecticut, first came to New York City in 1949 when he (briefly) attended Parsons School of Design. In 1954 he painted his first flag picture, and by 1958 he had his first one-man exhibition at the Leo Castelli Gallery. Today, The Met's director Philippe de Montebello states fact as the artist's new exhibit at the museum opens, saying "Without question, Jasper Johns is one of the greatest artists of our era." more ›

, hit shelves late last year. The tome delves into the cultural history of music since 1900, and even has Björk touting: "Alex Ross's incredibly nourishing book will rekindle anyone's fire for music." Tonight he'll step away from the printed word and you can catch him chatting with Stephen on The Colbert Report. more ›

The NY Times reports on a farewell of sorts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art this weekend. The Euphronios krater, a 2,500-year old vessel, will depart its home for nearly 30 years on Sunday and make a trip to Italy, where that country's government has been vying for the piece.

The krater, a Greek bowl for mixing water and wine, will be sent to Italy as part of an agreement reached nearly two years ago with that country’s government, which has long contended that the artifact was illegally excavated from a tomb in Cerveteri, near Rome. The Met bought the krater in 1972 for $1 million from Robert Hecht, an antiquities dealer who is now on trial in Rome on charges of conspiring to traffic in looted artifacts. (Mr. Hecht denies the charges.)