Support
Sponsorship Opportunities
EDUCATION
Children, Youth & Teacher Education –
Sponsored by Hearst Foundation
During fiscal year 2008-2009, The Mint Museum’s programs reached nearly 40,000 children/youth and more than 250 teachers. Research has shown that students who participate in rigorous arts programs are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, and four times more likely to participate in a math or science fair, among other accomplishments. The Mint bolsters the arts in schools by serving as a parallel classroom for K-12 students and an educational resource for teachers. Our collections, exhibitions and programs encourage a thoughtful exploration of human culture that supplements classroom learning in ways that are accessible to students of various ages, socio-economic levels, ethnicities and learning styles.
Artists’ Forum
Area artists discuss their works as well as current activities in their artistic fields. Up to six Tuesday evening events will be held per year at the new Mint Museum Uptown. (First three programs in this facility will take place in the spring of 2011).
The Mint Museum has a long history of offering free admission on Tuesday evenings from 5 – 9 pm. Starting on November 9, 2010 at the new Mint Museum Uptown we will also offer complimentary music in the Robert Haywood Morrison Atrium from 6 – 7 pm. A film program entitled Let’s Get Reel: Second Tuesday Films will follow in the James B. Duke Auditorium at 7 pm (free for members/$5 for general public).
Artists and Guest Lecturers
The Mint hosts artists/guest lecturers to speak at public programs, attend donor cultivation events and educate our docents so they are able to pass along first-hand information to tour groups. Associated expenses vary but we generally offer airfare/transportation, lodging and an honorarium. Artists scheduled in 2010 – 2011 include Janet Biggs, Gary Noffke, Kate Malone and Neil Brownsword.
Art Studio Second Saturdays
We provide the art supplies, you provide the creativity! At Art Studio Second Saturdays at the Mint Museum Randolph, you and your family can drop in anytime between 10 am and 3 pm to explore new materials and ideas inspired by the museum's permanent collection. Art projects are appropriate for children and adults. Prepare to get messy! Begins January 8, 2011 and runs through May 14, 2011, free with Museum admission.
Sunday Fun Days
Third Sundays from 1 – 4 pm are family-time at the Mint Museum Uptown! Each Sunday Fun Day, try out a new scavenger hunt in the museum galleries, see a performer or artist demonstrator, and enjoy kid-friendly activities. Each month we’ll celebrate a new theme! Begins January 16, 2011 and runs through May 15, 2011, free with Museum admission.
Family Information Station
This specially designed station will house materials specifically for the family audience. Such as: family programs fliers, summer camp and youth class fliers and Family Guides. It will be strategically located beside the Lewis Family Gallery, the 1,900 square foot interactive space for children ages 18 months to 10 years and their families. It will hold a series of fun scavenger hunts with themes like animals, people, nature, certain special exhibitions, etc. In January 2011 we will roll out Art Packs, packets of hands-on interpretives centered on the permanent collections. These packets will hang on pegs at the station to be picked up and returned after use in the galleries. Each Art Pack will encourage more in-depth investigation of 1-3 artworks in the galleries and will include sketching, writing and touchable activities and games.
Scavenger Hunts & Family Guides
The new Mint Museum Uptown will offer thematic scavenger-hunts, and two printed Family Guides; one for pre-school age and one for elementary age children and their families. New themes will be developed and added, ultimately there will be a variety of choices of hunts with themes like: animals, people, nature, etc. In addition, we’ll have hunts and Family Guides for special exhibitions when appropriate.
OUTREACH
Artist Residencies – Partial funding provided by the Cobb Foundation
The Mint Museum has successfully implemented numerous artist residency programs in a variety of schools. The goal is to support curriculum education using the Mint’s collections and exhibitions as a springboard for student and teacher learning. We also aim to leave the classroom teachers with new approaches to cross-disciplinary instruction, which hopefully will inspire them to continue those practices.
YMCA, YWCA & Library Program - Partial funding provided by IBM
The Mint Museum has developed a successful outreach program of Train-the-Trainer art workshops for teachers and teacher assistants at various after-school sites, including the YMCA, YWCA, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Library branches, Park & Recreation sites, and private afterschool sites. These teachers work primarily with at-risk and minority children and youth. Most the sites are located in predominantly minority neighborhoods. Children at all of these sites have limited opportunities for cultural activities, and this outreach program gives them a greater sense of connection to the community at large by exposing them to art and encouraging them to express themselves through art. Most recently, several senior facilities, such as independent living centers, have been added to the site roster.
Regional Collegiate Art History Symposium
Since 1980, the Symposium has had the distinction of being one of the country’s few forums that spotlight undergraduate art history research. After the students present their findings at the program, their research papers become permanent, bound additions in The Mint Museum’s Library for future research and reference. Both the program and the reception following are open to the public and free with museum admission. Held annually in March.
Summer Camp Scholarships - Sponsored by Young Affiliates of the Mint and the David J. Toman Foundation
The Mint offers several scholarships for artistically talented children who would otherwise be unable to attend summer art camps.
The A. Zachary Smith III Internship
The purpose of this internship is to encourage diverse college students of all racial and ethnic backgrounds to consider art museums as a future profession.
The Sommers Family Art Internship
Created for top students enrolled in the Art Department of Central Piedmont Community College, this internship offers students with a career interest in art museums an opportunity to learn about museum operations from the inside and gain valuable professional experience.
YMCA, YWCA & Library Program - Partial funding provided by IBM
The Mint Museum has developed a successful outreach program of Train-the-Trainer art workshops for teachers and teacher assistants at various after-school sites, including YMCAs, YWCAs, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Library branches, Park & Recreation sites, and private after-school sites. These teachers work primarily with at-risk and minority children and youth; many of the sites are located in predominantly minority neighborhoods. Children at all of these sites have limited opportunities for cultural activities, and this outreach program gives them a greater sense of connection to the community at large by exposing them to art and encouraging them to express themselves through art. Most recently, several senior facilities, such as independent living centers, have been added to the site roster.
Grier Heights
The Mint Museum works with youth in Charlotte’s Grier Heights community to address substance abuse prevention with a focus on avoiding risky behaviors. Grier Heights is an historically African-American neighborhood located across the street from the Mint Museum Randolph. The project Discover Your Style Part II: Past, Present and Future, took a novel approach to two of the challenges all youth face: peer pressure and self-image/self-respect. This is the sixth year of the Mint’s working relationship with the Grier Heights community targeting youth ages 11 to 17. Participants addressed important subjects that related to their everyday experiences at school, at home and in the community through the arts.
EVENTS
Opening of the new Mint Museum Uptown
• Gala Fundraiser – September 25, 2010 - Presented by Wells Fargo Private Bank
• Member Brunch – September 26, 2010 – Presented by North Carolina Bank & Trust
• Grand Opening First Friday on October 1, 2010 –Premier Healthcare Sponsor: Carolinas Medical Center and Media Sponsor: Our State Magazine
• Community Opening – October 1-2, 2010 - Premier Sponsor: Duke Energy & Premier Healthcare Sponsor: Carolinas Medical Center
First Fridays - Sponsors include Carolinas Healthcare System and Our State Magazine -
Visitors will enjoy after-five programming on First Friday evenings. Free for Mint members/$10 general public. Activities include lectures, tours, movies, live music, hands-on activities, food and cash bar. A variety of themes throughout the year will target various audiences.
Director’s Reception
Held each May, this exclusive event honors top patrons and major donors. The evening begins with a cocktail reception followed by a lecture/program hosted by the Mint’s Executive Director.
Children’s Holiday Party
This highly anticipated member event is for the children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews of members of The Mint Museum. Approximately 500 guests will enjoy a holiday performance in the James B. Duke Auditorium at the new Mint Museum Uptown on December 11, 2010.
Spirit Awards - Sponsored by Donald Haack Diamonds and Fine Gems
The Spirit Awards were created in 1986 to honor community members and organizations whose contributions of time, talent or resources have significantly enhanced the relevance and vitality of the arts in Charlotte-Mecklenburg and the surrounding area. The 2010 Spirit Awards will be presented at a reception and awards ceremony at the Mint Museum Uptown in early 2010.
The Romare Bearden Society was organized in 2009 to engage the community in Museum events featuring African-American art and artists. Additionally the group will support the acquisition of African-American Contemporary Art and craft, and honor the work of Charlotte’s own Romare Bearden.
MARKETING AND PUBLICATIONS
Free Family Passes - Sponsored by Wayland H. Cato
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools fifth grade students who visit The Mint Museum on school-sponsored field trips are given passes to return with their entire families.
Free Tuesday Evening Hours
The Mint Museum has a long history of offering free hours in order to be accessible to everyone, regardless of ability to pay. Attendance during admission hours has been consistently higher than during paid times. Approximately 40 percent of visitors on free Tuesday evenings currently offered at the Mint Museum Randolph are first-time visitors. In general, we see a higher number of students then, as well as a more ethnically diverse audience. Free hours at Mint Museum Randolph are Tuesdays from 5:00 – 9:00pm. Free hours are Tuesdays 5 - 9 pm. Regular programming at the Mint Museum Uptown will include the Lewis Family Gallery with hands-on activities, an art cart, family guides and scavenger hunts. We will also feature music and movies and host the monthly Artists' Forum lectures on the second Tuesday of the month. At both locations on Tuesday evenings, afteschool classes for children, adult art classes, seminars, poetry nights and professional development for K-12 teachers will be scheduled.
News of The Mint Museum - Sponsored by Moore & Van Allen, PLLC
The Mint Museum’s bi-monthly e-newsletter reaches approximately 5,000 Museum members, artists, travel and tourism industry professionals, arts educators, museums and galleries.
Cell Phone Audio Tours
Visitors to the new Mint Museum Uptown will be able to use their cell phones for guided tours of the permanent collection. This relatively new technology will be an exciting learning tool and a great marketing opportunity for a corporate sponsor!
Guide to the Collection: Historic Costume and Fashionable Dress
As this important collection approaches its 40th anniversary, it is timely to publish a major catalogue illustrating the depth and wealth of the Museum’s fashion holdings. The Mint Museum’s Historic Costume and Fashionable Dress Collection provides a rich narrative of community dedication which has created one of the finest groupings of antique, vintage and contemporary fashions within the Southeastern United States. Numbering over 10,000 items, the collection provides a unique documentation of fashion history, beginning with early 18th century garments and continuing up to present-day haute couture and luxury designs.
CONSERVATION AND EXHIBITIONS
Art Conservation
The proper care and maintenance of artworks is an institutional obligation that parallels the educational interpretation and presentation of the collection to Mint Museum visitors. Conserving artworks greatly improves the condition of these irreplaceable objects and furthers their safekeeping for the education and enjoyment of future audiences. Various funding opportunities are available.
Rare Books Conservation
A collection of great aesthetic and scholarly value, the rare books in the Library of The Mint Museum range from 17th century bound volumes to 20th century limited editions. While their overall environment is sound, special treatment and housing is needed so that they may be preserved, yet allow access to scholars. Many of these titles are primary resources, particularly on the history of ceramics, and are the only copies in the Southeast. They are truly the undiscovered treasures of the Mint.
Student Artist Exhibitions - Sponsored by Harris Teeter
The Student Artist Gallery (STAR) at the Mint Museum Randolph opened in 1985. Since then, more than 10,000 area K-12 students have had their artwork displayed here. Each year the Museum presents 8-10 exhibitions of works by approximately 500 children from Charlotte and surrounding communities.
Contemporary British Studio Ceramics: The Grainer Collection - Sponsored by Duke Energy
October 1, 2010- March 13, 2011 (Mint Museum Uptown)
Focused on the collection of Diane and Marc Grainer of Potomac, Md., this exhibition is the first comprehensive survey of Contemporary British Studio Ceramics in the U.S. Comprised of functional and sculptural objects made between the 1980s and the present, this show includes work by established “contemporary classics” such as Lucy Rie and Hans Coper, as well as cutting-edge artists such as Julian Stair, Kate Malone and Grayson Perry.
Contemporary Masterworks from the Bank of America Collection - Sponsored by Bank of America
October 1, 2010- April 17, 2011 (new Mint Museum Uptown)
Curated by the Mint, this special exhibition includes approximately 80 highlights from one of the world’s finest corporate art collections, the Bank of America Collection. Drawing from the strengths of its post-World War II holdings, this exhibition includes work by Milton Avery, John Chamberlain, Chuck Close, Helen Frankenthaler, Sam Gilliam, Jasper Johns, Louise Nevelson, Joan Mitchell, Faith Ringgold, Ed Ruche and Frank Stella.
VantagePoint IX: Janet Biggs - Sponsored by Goodrich Foundation
Fall 2010 (new Mint Museum Uptown)
One of a group of artists who turned to video and video installation in the early 1990s, Janet Biggs has been creating and exhibiting videos and video installations for nearly 20 years. Examining themes of speed, precision, personal discipline, pushing personal limits, gender roles, spectatorship and aging. Her videos also explore the existential questions of being. Her most recent projects probe the theme of environmental demise. This exhibition will present 3-4 single channel videos. Airs Above Ground, 2007 (now in the Museum’s collection) and Vanishing Point, 2009 are two completed videos that will be screened. The artist worked on a project in the Arctic in September 2009, and will create a new video which will debut at the Mint Museum Uptown. Her most recent project is underway, creating a video about NASCAR.
Attitude and Alchemy: The Metalwork of Gary Lee Noffke
April 2 – September 11, 2011 (Mint Museum Uptown)
Gary Lee Noffke is one of the foremost metalsmiths in the United States. He has been described as the “ultimate maverick,” and “a pacesetter.” Beginning in the 1970s, Noffke’s work gained national attention for its graffiti-like surface decoration, quirky humor, and technical acuity. His expressive spontaneous approach challenged metalworking traditions. “A metalsmith’s metalsmith,” Noffke continues to have an impact on the field with his research into hot forging silver and gold. Attitude and Alchemy: The Metalwork of Gary Lee Noffke fully recognizes Noffke’s nearly half a century of work and influence. The exhibition will have an accompanying DVD that is approximately 15 minutes in length. The footage will allow viewers to experience Noffke working in his studio.
From New York to Corrymore: Robert Henri and Ireland
May 7 - August 7, 2011 (Mint Museum Uptown)
Robert Henri and Ireland is a nationally-touring exhibition organized by The Mint Museum. A popular teacher and the leader of the rebellious group of urban realists known as the Ashcan School, Robert Henri was one of the most important American artists of the 20th Century. Inspired by the Mint’s beloved portrait My Friend Brien, this will be the first major museum-organized exhibition of his work in almost two decades as well as the first to survey the stunning paintings that he produced during his time in Ireland. It will consist of approximately 50 carefully selected paintings drawn from public and private collections across the country. Co-curators Jonathan Stuhlman, The Mint Museum and Dr. Valerie Leeds, an independent scholar and Henri expert, will author a fully-illustrated catalogue to accompany the exhibition, which will travel to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, NM, and the Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, NY, after debuting at the Mint.
Chanel: Designs for the Modern Woman – Media Sponsor: Our State Magazine
Spring 2011 (Mint Museum Randolph)
Harold Koda, Curator-in-Charge of the Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, once stated: “In creating a wardrobe for herself, Chanel invented the idea of the modern woman… it is her work, which transcended class barriers and revolutionized the ideals of dress, that is the ultimate testament of her life.” Thus, the Chanel name has long been recognized as one associated with elegance, refinement and fashionable flair. The Mint Museum’s collection of Historic Costume and Fashionable Dress includes within its holdings more than 50 works by the legendary French designer Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel (1883-1971), whose House of Chanel in Paris continues to carry her name. Her fashions and accessories – including her famous Chanel No. 5 perfume – earned her a place on Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. Her tailored two-piece suits for women are icons of her designs, and the Museum is proud to have a rare early example that dates to circa 1929-1930. A selection of suits, evening wear and fashion accessories provides a look at Chanel fashions.
Double Solitaire: The Surreal Worlds of Kay Sage and Yves Tanguy
January 28– May 12, 2012 (Mint Museum UPTOWN)
Double Solitaire is a groundbreaking exhibition co-organized by The Mint Museum and the Katonah Museum of Art that will explore the dynamic exchange of ideas that shaped the astonishing landscapes of the Surrealist artists Kay Sage and Yves Tanguy; husband and wife, during their fifteen year relationship. It will be the first exhibition of Surrealist Art for The Mint Museum; the first major exhibition of Surrealism in the region; and the first anywhere to examine Sage and Tanguy’s art from this angle. More than 50 loans will be drawn from numerous public and private collections throughout the United States. The exhibition will travel to the Katonah Museum of Art; Katonah, N.Y. and the Norton Museum of Art; Palm Beach, FL. and will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue authored by Jonathan Stuhlman, The Mint Museum and Stephen Robeson Miller, independent scholar and Sage specialist.
Romare Bearden: Southern Recollections - Sponsored by Duke Energy
September 3, 2011- January 7, 2012 tentative closing date (Mint Museum Uptown)
Romare Bearden: Southern Recollections will include approximately 70-75 works of art that span the career of this internationally renowned Charlotte-born artist (1911-1988). This Mint-organized exhibition and subsequent national tour will underscore not only Bearden’s artistic mastery, particularly in the technique of collage, but also his development of narrative and thematic explorations of his native South. Collages, paintings, watercolors and prints will be assembled from The Mint Museum’s collection as well as other private and public collections. This exhibition will coincide with the centennial of Bearden’s birth, and will examine how the South served as a source of inspiration throughout his career. This important theme has never before been explored in any previous exhibition or writings on the artist.
For more information on corporate sponsorships please contact Betsy Gantt, Corporate Development Manager, by phone at 704.337.2029 or e-mail.