The Museum of Fine Arts has cancelled its April 3 Late Nites event due to growing concerns over the spread of the coronavirus, or COVID-19. On Tuesday (March 10), Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency as the number of coronavirus cases in the Bay State jumped to 92.
The MFA party was set to kick off the Late Nites season and celebrate the opening of “Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation”. The April 3 event featured an absolutely stacked lineup of local hip-hop performers and national figures.
“In light of growing concerns regarding COVID-19, we have consulted with community partners and performers and made the difficult decision to cancel our ninth-annual celebration of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, on March 18 and MFA Late Nites on April 3,” the MFA tweeted Wednesday morning.
The museum added: “Each of these popular events was co-created with valued community partners to showcase the rich cultures and local talent of our city. We look forward to organizing our next Nowruz celebration in 2021.”
Set to perform at Late Nites were Oompa, STL GLD (with guests Edan, Dzidor, and Just Plain Jones), Camp Blood, and Edo G, while five of the artists featured in the exhibition — Fab 5 Freddy, Futura, Kool Koor, Lady Pink, and Lee Quiñones — were set to join in on the celebration. Boston multi-media education collective HipStory was also on board to “capture the evening with interviews from guest artists, community members, and attendees,” according to the MFA listing.
“Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation” is billed as the first major exhibition to examine the late artist Jean-Michel Basquiat’s relationship to early hip-hop culture, showcasing more than 125 works across various media at the Huntington Avenue museum.