Free Bearden-themed tours of Mint Museum Uptown to be offered as part of grand opening of Romare Bearden Park
As Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation is gearing up to open its newest facility this weekend, the Mint is doing its part to highlight connections between world-renowned artist Romare Bearden and the city where he was born.
Mint Museum Uptown will offer three free Bearden-themed tours during grand opening festivities this Saturday, August 31, as the Mint encourages the public to visit both the park and the museum with the largest public holding of Bearden’s works.
Tour groups are invited to depart the new Romare Bearden Park from the corner of Martin Luther King and Church Streets at 10:45 a.m., 11:45 a.m., or 12:45 p.m. this Saturday, or meet at the Guest Services Desk of Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts, 500 South Tryon Street, at 11 a.m., noon, or 1 p.m. The museum is one block south of the park via South Church Street. Tour group participants will be granted free admission to the museum; all other museum visitors pay $10 for general adult admission (free for museum members). Children ages 5-17 pay $5 general admission and children 4 and under are free. Groups will experience the Bearden-inspired house inside the kid-friendly Lewis Family Gallery, as well as the permanent Romare Bearden Gallery which displays a rotating selection of works from throughout the artist’s career. Trained museum docents will lead the tours.
The park’s grand opening includes a wide range of art-related activities, including hands-on children’s art projects, an art show, and free tours of the Kinsey Collection at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts + Culture. Free music and other performances will be offered at the park throughout the weekend.
For more information about grand opening weekend activities or Romare Bearden’s connections to the Mint, visit mintmuseum.org. Or, see a full schedule of the weekend’s events at parkandrec.com.