In Episode 7 of Met Stories, we turned to virtual recording styles during the height of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. Met Assistant Buildings Manager Angela Reynolds tells the story of how her recovery from a recent accident relied on the compassion of her staff, The Met's essential workers. During the pandemic they have garnered widespread respect and appreciation, which she has always had for them; Gretchen Rubin, Author of The Happiness Project, reflects on how her new project to visit The Met every day in 2020 was upended by the Museum’s closure; and Artist Hai-Hsin Huang looks back on her drawings of Met visitors as if they are postcards from a time before the pandemic. All interviews were filmed remotely, and all footage of the empty Met was collected from essential staff who generously filmed with their smartphones during their shifts.

Made for The Met's 150th anniversary, Met Stories is an award-winning video series and year-long social media initiative that shared unexpected and compelling stories gathered from the many people who visit The Met, whether artists, teachers, curators, actors, Museum staff, designers, thought-leaders, or public figures.