Wear art inspired by the Met Museum—take the #MetMaskChallenge

Those clever curators at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York have come up with a pandemic pastime designed to get the creative juices flowing. “Take the #MetMaskChallenge and create a mask—or decorate an existing one—with artwork from the Met’s collection!” says the museum’s Instagram feed which also points out that “as communities around the world reopen… masks are still recommended in public settings.” Most contributors have accepted the challenge with glee (though some detractors disagree on social media including one commentator who says “don’t feed the ridiculous fear mongering”). People have nonetheless been busy posting their artistic efforts on Instagram, looking to artists such as Vincent van Gogh and Paula Rego for inspiration. Other ingenious mask designs are based on antiquities drawn from the Met’s holdings (we’re particularly keen on the face piece created from scratch by a contributor who based her exquisite creation on a fourth-century BC terracotta kantharos, or drinking cup). The Met says “we hope to see the masks in person when The Met can safely reopen later this summer, because why not wear the art while you look at the art?”