NBM News

French High Wire Artist Philippe Petit Performs Wonder on the Wire at the National Building Museum in March

February 23, 2023

Great-Hall

–The Great Hall Offers Mr. Petit a Stunning Backdrop for his First Ever Performance in Washington D.C.–

Great HallWASHINGTON, D.C.–February 23, 2022—Philippe Petit, the French high wire artist best known for his walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, will perform WONDER ON THE WIRE at the National Building Museum approximately 50 feet above the magnificent Great Hall, Thursday, March 23 and Friday, March 24. It will be his first performance in Washington D.C.

Thursday evening’s performance is a fundraiser for the Museum’s upcoming exhibition Building Stories. Mr. Petit’s performance will be accompanied by Grammy Award nominees Anat Cohen on clarinet and Tal Mashiach on guitar.

Mr. Petit will perform again Friday morning, this time for an audience of local school children primarily from Title 1 schools. Prior to the performance, each class will receive the Caldecott Medal winning children’s book about Mr. Petit, The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, as well as supplemental learning activities and lesson plans to underscore the wonder and difficult feats of engineering.

“I have dreamed of performing at the National Building Museum since I first saw a picture of the Great Hall a dozen years ago,” Mr. Petit said.

In addition to unauthorized appearances at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France and the Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia, Mr. Petit has performed more than 100 high wire walks on five continents. Not born into the circus, he taught himself wire walking along with sleight of hand magic, juggling, six languages, writing (eight published books to date and his autobiography almost completed), drawing, lock picking, 18th century post-and-beam carpentry, and pickpocketing. He is passionate about architecture and engineering, studying the sites where he will perform and designing and installing the rigging for his wire.

“We are delighted to host Philippe Petit for this memorable performance in our Great Hall,” said Aileen Fuchs, President and Executive Director of the Museum. “This event exemplifies the Museum’s guiding Pillar of Impact: Wonder. It’s our hope that WONDER ON THE WIRE will inspire people of all ages to look up at the beauty around us, develop a better understanding of our place in the world, and return to the museum to explore possibilities and dream with us.”

Building Stories Exhibition

All proceeds from the event will support the Museum’s upcoming exhibition, Building Stories. Opening in November 2023, Building Stories will engage people of all ages in an immersive exploration of the world of architecture, engineering, construction, and design through an investigation of historic and contemporary children’s books. Created for an intergenerational audience, with special attention to K-5th-grade children and their caregivers, this exhibition will become a new and important hub of activity in our nation’s capital.

SPONSORS

WONDER ON THE WIRE is sponsored in part by AARP, STUDIOS Architecture, Whayne and Ursula Quin, George Corey and Cynthia Krus, RCM&D, AECOM, Armstrong World Industries, Rebecca Ballard and John Means, Leanna Beaber, Bonnie and Louis Cohen, Davis Construction, Anthony and Keiko Greenberg, Judy and Darrel Rippeteau, TJ and Elizabeth Wilkinson, Harvey-Cleary, Jamie Hechinger, Brian Mack and Juan Jara, Aakash Thakkar, ZGF.

IMAGES: Images for the WONDER ON THE WIRE event are available HERE.

A Media Advisory with details about event coverage opportunities will be distributed in the coming weeks.

MEDIA CONTACT

National Building Museum: Karen Baratz, karen@baratzpr.com, 240.497.1811

ABOUT THE NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM
The National Building Museum inspires curiosity about the world we design and build. We believe that understanding the impact of architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, construction, planning, and design is important for everyone. Through exhibitions, educational programs, and special events, we welcome visitors of all ages to experience stories about the built world and its power to shape our lives, our communities, and our futures. Public inquiries: 202.272.2448, info@nbm.org, or visit www.nbm.org. Connect with us on FacebookInstagram, and Twitter

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