Exhibition Tour—Musical Bodies | Met Exhibitions

Why It Matters

The show illustrates music’s power to shape cultural identity and offers museums a model for engaging audiences through interactive, multisensory storytelling.

Key Takeaways

• Instruments mirror human bodies, reflecting culture and identity.
• Interactive 'Body Music' lets visitors become living sound generators.
• Exhibition unites 130 works from 10 departments and 30 lenders.
• Historical pieces show 5,000-year continuity of body-inspired instrument design.
• Lighting and design blur boundaries between instrument, sculpture, and performance.

Summary

The Metropolitan Museum’s "Musical Bodies" exhibition examines how musical instruments function as extensions of the human form, weaving together artistry, craftsmanship, and cultural narrative. By juxtaposing ancient artifacts with contemporary designs, the show asks why so many instruments echo bodily shapes and what that reveals about identity.

The display features roughly 130 objects sourced from ten curatorial departments and over 30 international lenders, ranging from an Early Cycladic figurine to a 16th‑century Gould violin and a Santal fiddle. Interactive installations like the "Body Music" corridor let visitors generate tones and visuals through movement, while designers Fabiana Weinberg, Greta Skagerlind, and lighting artist Brian Schneider emphasize the seamless merger of body and instrument.

Highlights include the lira da braccio, a Renaissance string instrument bearing male and female carvings that embody the divine androgyne, paired with Prince’s Symbol Guitar to illustrate gender fluidity across eras. A custom drum kit for Alejandro González of Maná, adorned with Día de los Muertos skulls, connects modern pop culture to centuries‑old memento mori motifs.

By positioning music as a core component of human identity and survival, the exhibition expands the Met’s reach beyond scholars to a broad public, demonstrating how immersive, participatory experiences can deepen appreciation for the intertwined histories of sound, the body, and society.

Original Description

Join Bradley Strauchen-Scherer, Curator in the Department of Musical Instruments, and Ava Valentino, Research Assistant in the Department of Musical Instruments, along with Brett Renfer, Senior Project Manager of Emerging Technologies, to virtually explore the Musical Bodies exhibition.

From clapping hands and tapping feet to beatboxing and whistling, the human body is a musical instrument. Musical instruments, in turn, often draw their form and decoration from our bodies. Around the world and across time, instruments emerge as powerful vehicles that represent our voices, actions, and identity not only in music but throughout the visual arts, literature, religion, pop culture, and mythology.

Musical Bodies is the first major exhibition to explore the relationship between musical instruments and the body by bringing together some 130 instruments, paintings, sculptures, drawings, and more to illuminate how we express who we are, what we value, and what we believe. With works from The Met collection and institutions and collectors around the world, the exhibition explores 4,000 years of art and music history, from ancient Egyptian rattles and musical masterpieces by Titian and Degas to instrument-inspired apparel and one of Prince's most notable guitars. Musical Bodies will resonate with visitors of all ages, whether you are a musician, a devoted listener, or simply curious about human expression.

Learn more about the exhibition: https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/musical-bodies

Video by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and SandenWolff, Inc.

Production credits:

Managing Producer: Kate Farrell

Senior Producer: Melissa Bell

Associate Producer: Lela Jenkins

Director: Jonathan Sanden

Camera: Jonathan Sanden, Noah Therrien, Thomas Lange

Editors: Hannah Kaylor, Stephen Parnigoni and Jonathan Sanden

Music: Courtesy of Uppbeat and Premium Beat

Special thanks to:

Max Hollein, Bradley Strauchen-Scherer, Ava Valentino, Brett Renfer, Fabiana Weinberg, Greta Skagerlind, Brian D. Schneider, Jeff Crouse, David Van Tieghem, Lauren Lovette, Anabel Alpert, and the “Body as Instrument Production and Installation Teams: Kate Farrell, Lucas Groth, Melissa Bell, Lela Jenkins, Rozie Brockington, Jeffrey Johnson, Matt Modula, Paul Caro, Kaelan Burkett, Peter Berson

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