Julia Bullock was the first singing artist to be invited “in residence” at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City, and it also marked her first-ever artist residency. This hallmark 2018-19 season led to the development of five critically acclaimed programs that have gone on to have numerous performances across the globe. The collaborative partnership with MetLive Arts, and visionary presenter Limor Tomer, set a precedent and standard for Bullock’s subsequent artist residencies in the years that followed.
*Julia Bullock’s residency was made possible by the Chester Dale Fund and the Stravos Niachos Foundation.
Social constructs not only impact the art that is made, but they directly influence how art is presented and for whom it is preserved. The Met curatorial and LiveArts staff is a conscious group of individuals who understand how creative voices can influence one another when put in close proximity; so to be given space to consider the art and history of The Met, and the opportunity to more deeply explore what The Met represents and communicates to the world, New York, and to me personally, has been a great privilege.
– Julia Bullock
HISTORY’S PERSISTENT VOICE
September 2018 (premiere performance)
Read about the development of “History’s Persistent Voice” in this Now at The Met article, where Julia Bullock muses on the themes of the program, and how she approached ideas of identity, objectification, and history throughout her yearlong residency.
Read about the current program here.
A DREAM DEFERRED: LANGSTON HUGHES IN SONG
December 2018 (premiere performance)
Read about the development of the program in this essay.
EL NIÑO: NATIVITY RECONSIDERED
December 2018 (premiere performance, collaboration with AMOC*)
Read about the development of “Nativity Reconsidered” in this essay.
Read about the current program.
PERLE NOIRE: MEDITATIONS FOR JOSÉPHINE
January 2019
Read about the development of “Perle Noire“ in this essay.
EL CIMARRÓN
May 2019 (premiere performance, collaboration with AMOC*)
Read about the development of “El Cimarrón“ in this essay.
Featured preview article in The New York Times.
FEATURED ARTICLES & CRITICAL ACCLAIM
In this Met Magazine interview (pgs. 4,5,7) Bullock reflects on her experience as The Met’s Artist In Residence.
“Julia Bullock’s residency at The Met Museum is turning out to be one of the year’s most stimulating arts projects. Not only is she providing opportunities to hear thrilling voices and committed interpretations, she’s engaging with the Met collection in illuminating and sometimes challenging ways…. “
CLIVE PAGET, MUSICAL AMERICA
“The word ‘luminous’ gets thrown around a lot when it comes to singers, but the soprano Julia Bullock has earned it.”
“The radiant, probing young soprano Julia Bullock, who has anchored some of the most innovative performances of recent years, will be the artist in residence with the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s performance series next season, the museum announced Wednesday.”
*The Metropolitan Museum of Art is on the island known as Manhatta – now called Manhattan – in Lenapehoking, the homeland of the Lenape people.
