Hnin Nie’s response to Picasso’s Landscape of Juan-les-Pins (1920), 2023.

Playing Pablo

10 Local artists create murals in response to works in Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds 

By Jen Sudul Edwards, PhD 

Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds, organized by the American Federation of the Arts, is a major initiative for The Mint Museum. It not only brings major Picasso paintings to Charlotte from all around the world, but also offers an opportunity for the museum to bring together multiple cultural entities in collaborations and partnerships. One of these projects is a mural series enlisting 10 artists and collectives (some of whom will be familiar to the Mint audience from past projects) to create murals around the city. 

The initiative is a partnership with Carla Aaron-Lopez, curator of the Local/Street exhibition series that was on view at The Mint Museum in 2021 and 2022; and Talking Walls, the organization that has been supporting mural installations across the city for the last five years.  

Together with Aaron-Lopez and the Mint’s Curatorial Assistant Jamila Brown, a group of local artists were invited to paint a mural in response to Guernica — Picasso’s powerful, mural-size antiwar painting — or any of the landscapes included in the Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds. The result is a diverse range of styles and images that will dot Charlotte’s urban landscape and the two Mint museum locations beginning mid-February 2023.

Involving Charlotte contemporary artists was always central to the Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds. As Aaron-Lopez and local artist ARKO have pointed out, Picasso continues to be a major influence on contemporary artists both as an inspiration and as a foil. The exhibition allows local artists to study the works up close and in person, to break down the structure, and analyze the compositions and brushstrokes to further their own education and experimentation. This partnership reminds us that one of the museum’s primary goals is to preserve and present art’s history so that the next generation can push it forward.  

The Picasso Mural project is generously supported by a grant through the North Carolina Arts Council and Infusion Fund. 

Mural artists and locations 

ARKO and Dammit Wesley
Mint Museum Uptown 

Brand the Moth
Mint Museum Randolph

CHD:WCK!
Mint Museum Uptown 

HNin Nie
Optimist Hall

Emily Núñez
Queens University 

Kalin Reece
Elder Gallery 

Mike Wirth
Camp NorthEnd 

Frankie Zombie and 2Gzandcountin
Optimist Hall

Jen Sudul-Edwards, PhD, is chief curator and curator of contemporary art at The Mint Museum.

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973). “Boisgeloup in the Rain, with Rainbow,” May 5, 1932, oil on canvas. Fundación Almine y Bernard Ruiz-Picasso para el Arte, Madrid. Image © FABA, Photo: Hugard & Vanoverschelde Photography. © 2023 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

The Mint Museum plans breakthrough year ahead as opening venue for Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds

For Immediate Release | Images here

Charlotte, North Carolina (January 3, 2022) — The Mint Museum, a leading, innovative cultural institution and museum of international art and design, announces its plans for a breakthrough year in 2023, while closing out a record-setting 2022. Major 2023 exhibitions, include Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds, Bearden/ Picasso: Rhythms and Reverberations, Fashion Reimagined, as well as dozens of community-based featured activities, that are expected to attract record-breaking crowds.

“2023 is anticipated to be a year of powerful art and opportunities for transformation at The Mint Museum,” says Todd Herman, PhD, president and CEO at The Mint Museum. “We will be offering the first-ever museum exhibition in Charlotte dedicated to works by Pablo Picasso and the first chance for anyone in the world to see this particular exhibition. Beyond bringing this experience to the Queen City, we have multiple other exciting activities and exhibitions planned. There’s never been a better time and place to engage with art in the Southeast than at The Mint Museum and in Charlotte this coming year.”

Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds
Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds opens February 11, 2023 and runs through May 21, 2023. The exhibition is part of The Picasso Celebration 1973-2023, structured around some 50 exhibitions and events that are being held in renowned cultural institutions in Europe and North America to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the artist’s death. The Mint’s ticketed exhibition is the only museum exhibition that is part of The Picasso Celebration 1973-2023 that will be on view in the United States April 8, the date of Picasso’s death.

In addition, The Mint Museum will serve as the opening venue and the only museum on the East Coast to host the traveling exhibition. Organized by the American Federation of Arts with exceptional support of Musée national Picasso-Paris, and curated by Laurence Madeline, chief curator for French National Heritage, the exhibition is comprised of approximately 40 paintings spanning Picasso’s full career and is the first traveling exhibition to explore the breadth of the artist’s lifelong innovations in the landscape tradition. The dynamic grouping of works in the exhibition offers visitors an unparalleled window into the artist’s creative process, from his earliest days in art school (1896 when then artist was just 15 years old) to months before his passing in 1973.

Partnering cultural organizations working with The Mint Museum to create a multilayered experience of innovative programming for Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds include the Charlotte Symphony, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, Theater Charlotte, JazzArts Charlotte, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, and Opera Carolina. The Mint Museum will also welcome school students for free tours and students in grades K-12 and art teachers to experience the exhibition free of charge.

Tickets can be purchased in advance online at mintmuseum.org/ticketing.

Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds at The Mint Museum is generously presented by Bank of America, City of Charlotte, Duke Energy, Mecklenburg County, M.A. Rogers, Ann and Michael Tarwater, North Carolina Arts Council, and Moore & Van Allen, and other generous individual contributors. The exhibition also is generously supported by Monique Schoen Warshaw. Additional support has been provided by Lee White Galvis, Clare E. McKeon, and Stephanie R. La Nasa. Support for the accompanying catalogue has been provided by Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund.

Bearden / Picasso: Rhythms and Reverberations
Bearden/Picasso: Rhythms and Reverberations runs concurrently with Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds at The Mint Museum in uptown Charlotte and presents a rare opportunity to see the work of Romare Bearden displayed alongside one of his most important sources of inspiration.

The exhibition, curated by Jonathan Stuhlman, senior curator of American art at The Mint Museum, examines the impact of Picasso and his artistic influences on Charlotte-born artist Romare Bearden’s work. The works of art in Bearden/Picasso: Rhythms and Reverberations are primarily drawn from the Mint’s deep holdings of Bearden’s work, as well as from private collections and other selected museum collections. While Bearden’s later collages and prints will comprise a significant portion of the exhibition, nearly half of the works by the artist will include his rarely seen early paintings from the 1940s when he was immersed in the New York art world, also a time that Picasso was frequently exhibiting there.

Bearden/Picasso: Rhythms and Reverberations is generously presented by Bank of America, City of Charlotte, Duke Energy, Mecklenburg County, M.A. Rogers, Ann and Michael Tarwater, North Carolina Arts Council, and Moore & Van Allen.

Fashion Reimagined: Themes and Variations 1760-NOW
Fashion Reimagined: Themes and Variations 1760-NOW, curated by Annie Carlano, senior curator of Craft, Design and Fashion at The Mint Museum, is on view through July 2 at The Mint Museum in uptown Charlotte. The exhibition celebrates 50 years of the Mint’s fashion collection and the museum’s dedication to the art of fashion and design. The stunning ensembles span four centuries and are drawn from The Mint Museum’s own renowned collection of historic and contemporary fashion.

Through the lens of three distinct themes: minimalism, pattern and decoration, along with the body reimagined, 50 ensembles include bustled dresses and historic menswear along with contemporary fashion and haute couture. In recognition of the 50th anniversary, the museum hired renowned architecture firm DLR Group to build out the exhibition space. Following the likes of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the exhibition design was reimagined to create spaces that pay homage to the exhibition themes with swooping arches and translucent tapestries that elevate the fashions to a new level.

Fashion Reimagined also includes an interactive component. Titled “Shape Shifters,” a dressing room with magnetic forms on mirrors allows visitors to envision themselves in garments worn in the 18th and 19th centuries. Examples of undergarments – think hoops and bustles – will also be on display. Fashion Reimagined is generously presented by Wells Fargo Wealth & Investment Management and Mint Museum Auxiliary, with additional support form Bank OZK.

Ticket Information
The Mint Museum exhibition is free for members and children ages 4 and younger; $15 for adults; $10 for seniors ages 65 and older; $10 for college students with ID; and $6 for youth ages 5–17.
Tickets to Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds are $10 in addition to museum addition. Students in grades K-12 and art teachers are admitted free of charge.
For museum hours, visit mintmuseum.org.

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THE MINT MUSEUM
Established in 1936 as North Carolina’s first art museum, The Mint Museum is a leading, innovative cultural institution and museum of international art and design. With two locations — Mint Museum Randolph in the heart of Eastover and Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts — the Mint boasts one of the largest collections in the Southeast and is committed to engaging and inspiring members of the global community.<

THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF ARTS
The American Federation of Arts is the leader in traveling exhibitions internationally. A nonprofit organization founded in 1909, the AFA is dedicated to enriching the public’s experience and understanding of the visual arts through organizing and touring art exhibitions for presentation in museums around the world, publishing exhibition catalogues featuring important scholarly research, and developing educational programs.

ABOUT THE PICASSO CELEBRATION 1973-2023
April 8, 2023 will mark the 50th anniversary of the death of the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso and thus the year will represent the celebration of his work and his artistic legacy in France, Spain and internationally. The commemoration, accompanied by official celebrations in France and Spain, will make it possible to take stock of the research and interpretations of the artist’s work, especially during an important international symposium in autumn 2023, which also coincides with the opening of the Center for Picasso Studies in Paris. The Musée national Picasso-Paris and the Spanish National Commission for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the death of Pablo Picasso are pleased to support this exceptional program.

Clayton Sealey, senior director of marketing and communications at The Mint Museum
 clayton.sealey@mintmuseum.org | 704.534.0186 (c)

Michele Huggins, associate director of marketing and communications at The Mint Museum
michele.huggins@mintmuseum.org | 704-564-0826 (c)

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Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds debuts February 2023 at The Mint Museum

The Mint Museum is the first, and only venue on the East Coast, to feature the traveling exhibition that includes many of Picasso’s greatest landscape paintings

For Immediate Release

Charlotte, North Carolina (May 19, 2022) — The Mint Museum is pleased to announce that Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds, a major traveling exhibition organized by the American Federation of Arts, will debut at Mint Museum Uptown February 2023. Comprised of approximately 45 paintings spanning Pablo Picasso’s full career, Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds is the first traveling exhibition to explore the breadth of the artist’s lifelong innovations in the landscape tradition.

The Mint Museum is the first of only three venues in the United States — and the only venue on the East Coast — to feature this exceptional exhibition filled with works from private collections and international museums together for the first time.

Assembling some of Picasso’s greatest landscape compositions in one traveling exhibition, Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds coincides with the 50th anniversary of the artist’s death. The dynamic grouping of works in the exhibition offers visitors an unparalleled window into the artist’s creative process, from his earliest days in art school (1896 when then artist was just 15 years old) to months before his passing in 1973.

“This is the first time these Picasso paintings will be seen together and is the first time an exhibition of this magnitude will be held at The Mint Museum,” says Todd Herman, PhD, president and CEO at The Mint Museum. “We also recognize the enormous opportunity to collaborate with other local arts organizations and artists to take the magic and energy around this exhibition beyond the walls of The Mint Museum.”

Partnering cultural organizations working with the Mint to create a multilayered experience of innovative programming, include the Charlotte Symphony, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, Theater Charlotte, JazzArts Charlotte, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, and Charlotte Ballet.

The museum plans to host free school group tours in conjunction with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, in addition to numerous free community days at the museum.

A special component to the Mint’s iteration of the exhibition is Bearden/Picasso: Rhythms and Reverberations, which examines the impact of Picasso and his artistic influences on Charlotte-born artist Romare Bearden’s work. The works in Bearden/Picasso: Rhythms and Reverberations will be drawn from the Mint’s deep holdings of Bearden’s work, as well as from private collections and selected museum collections.

“The AFA is delighted to organize the first traveling exhibition of Picasso’s engagement with landscape, offering a new perspective on the artist’s oeuvre in this important show that will debut at The Mint Museum,” says Pauline Willis, director and CEO of the American Federation of Arts (AFA). “Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds is curated by the brilliant curator and Picasso scholar Laurence Madeline, with whom we are pleased to again collaborate following the great success of the acclaimed AFA traveling exhibition Women Artists in Paris 1850-1900.”

Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds at The Mint Museum is presented with the generous support of Bank of America and Duke Energy, and numerous individual contributors.

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The Mint Museum
Established in 1936 as North Carolina’s first art museum, The Mint Museum is a leading, innovative cultural institution and museum of international art and design. With two locations — Mint Museum Randolph in the heart of Eastover and Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts — the Mint boasts one of the largest collections in the Southeast and is committed to engaging and inspiring members of the global community.

The American Federation of Arts
The American Federation of Arts is the leader in traveling exhibitions internationally. A nonprofit organization founded in 1909, the AFA is dedicated to enriching the public’s experience and understanding of the visual arts through organizing and touring art exhibitions for presentation in museums around the world, publishing exhibition catalogues featuring important scholarly research, and developing educational programs.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The Mint Museum celebrates the re-installation of The Mint Museum Craft + Design Collection — with FREE admission and a weekend full of conversations with internationally acclaimed artists and makers

For Immediate Release | Images available here

Charlotte, North Carolina (May 12, 2022) — The Mint Museum is excited to announce the opening weekend of Craft in the Laboratory: The Science of Making Things May 21–22 at Mint Museum Uptown with complimentary admission throughout the weekend. As part of the celebration, highly acclaimed makers and educators Joseph Walsh, Hideo Mabuchi, and Silvia Levenson will present on their design inspirations, processes, and practices.

Examined through the lens of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics, Craft in the Lab tells the story of how makers and designers use knowledge from the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math in their artistic processes.

From 2 to 3 p.m., Saturday, May 21 internationally acclaimed and Ireland-based maker Joseph Walsh and Stanford University professor and maker Hideo Mabuchi discuss how science, technology, engineering, and math are used in their design processes, followed by an artists reception. From 2-3 p.m. Sunday, May 22, renowned international glass artist Silvia Levenson highlights her use of glass and printing techniques to reflect tensions in daily life, domestic violence, discrimination, and refugee issues. These conversations are being presented in partnership with Müller Corporation and the Craft & Trade Academy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing trades and craft in Charlotte.

The installation, which officially opened February 12, 2022, represents highlights from more than 3,000 works in The Mint Museum’s world-renowned collections of regional, national, international handmade glass, wood, jewelry and metal, fiber ceramic, and design objects. Presented by Müller Corporation, Craft in the Lab also celebrates the reinstallation of The Mint’s highly acclaimed Craft + Design galleries — the first since its opening in 2010 at Mint Museum Uptown.

Co-curated by the Mint’s Senior Curator of Craft, Design, and Fashion Annie Carlano and Assistant Curator for Craft, Design, and Fashion Rebecca Elliot, the installation includes 100 objects organized by material and subject throughout the galleries, touchable material panels, and videos of makers at work in their studios.

“The reinstallation of the Craft + Design galleries allow us the opportunity to bring new works out on view and to interpret the collection through new pairings and themes,” says Todd Herman, president and CEO at The Mint Museum. “Craft in the Laboratory examines how investigation, experimentation, and critical thinking are common to both science and art, and the correlation of art with science, technology, engineering, and math that effectively changing STEM to STEAM concepts.”

The installation is accompanied by an important and timely catalogue on the topic, with contributions by several scholars and a lead essay by Elliot. The fully illustrated catalogue of the same name, published by Dan Giles Ltd., also includes contributions from museum staff, and guest essayists.

“Craft in the Laboratory is the first publication in over 20 years to discuss The Mint Museum’s Craft and Design collection in depth,” Elliot says. The book is available for purchase at The Mint Museum Store or at store.mintmuseum.org.

Craft in the Laboratory: The Science of Making Things is generously presented by Müller Corporation. Generous individual support provided by Beth and Drew Quartapella, Mary Anne (M.A.) Rogers, Ann and Michael Tarwater, and Rocky and Curtis Trenkelbach. Additional support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. The catalogue is supported by the John and Robyn Horn Foundation.

The Mint Museum
Established in 1936 as North Carolina’s first art museum, The Mint Museum is a leading, innovative cultural institution and museum of international art and design. With two locations — Mint Museum Randolph in the heart of Eastover and Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts — the Mint boasts one of the largest collections in the Southeast and is committed to engaging and inspiring members of the global community.

Müller Corporation
Founded in Germany, and family owned and operated, Müller provides commercial surface installation, and cleaning and maintenance services to the solar, hospitality, automotive, food and beverage, and other industries. European standards and in-house trained craftsmen ensure superior results and unmatched client service. To learn more, visit mullercorporation.com.

Craft & Trade Academy
Founded in 2019, the training programs and apprenticeships are based on the international recognized German model. In order to develop apprentices into quality craftsmen, the Academy runs classroom and workshop training, as well as on-the-job training recognized by the Department of Labor. The Craft & Trade Academy is a public 501(c)3 nonprofit higher education institution committed to providing paths and expanding skills within the construction industry. To learn more, visit craftandtradeacademy.org.

Contact:
Clayton Sealey, senior director of marketing and communications
clayton.sealey@mintmuseum.org | 704.534.0186 (c)

Michele Huggins, associate director of marketing and communications
michele.huggins@mintmuseum.org | 704.564.0826 (c)

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Rebecca Elliot, assistant curator of craft, design, and fashion.

‘Art can be a source of joy for people, and I like to make those experiences happen’

Rebecca Elliot is one of the creative minds behind the new exhibition Craft in the Laboratory: The Science of Making Things and lead author of the catalogue by the same name.

Rebecca Elliot is the assistant curator of Craft, Design, and Fashion at The Mint Museum. Her journey with art has taken her around the globe, from her student days studying abroad in London and frequenting the British Museum, to her jobs at the Cranbrook Art Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and finally to the Mint in 2012, where she’s currently the assistant curator of craft, design and fashion. Here, Elliot shares a glimpse into her life inside the museum, from the glamorous (handling 18th-century men’s suits and thrifting with iconic fashion designer Anna Sui) to the decidedly unglamorous (copy editing and emails). — As told to Caroline Portillo. Lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

I grew up in central Ohio in a town called Delaware, Ohio, about 30 or 40 miles north of Columbus. I loved to read fiction and liked writing. I loved art, especially drawing. My sister and I — she’s three years older than me — would have coloring contests. I even tried to design clothes. I would play with my Barbies and have them do fashion shows. For me, it was more about Barbie having a job, a career, and wearing stylish outfits.

For undergrad, I went to Smith College, a women’s college in western Massachusetts. I took art history during my sophomore year, and then I spent my junior year studying abroad at University College London, where I took a lot of art history classes. UCL was close to the British Museum and I would often go after school. In London, I also visited the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the Tate Gallery. It was really cool actually seeing the scale of the paintings and what the texture looked like, knowing what it felt like to stand in front of it, and noticing what other people did when they were there. That’s when I first started thinking about working with museums. The interface between the art and the public was interesting to me.

Here’s a snapshot of a recent day in my life. First, I helped Annie [Carlano, the Mint’s senior curator for craft, design, and fashion] lay out the jackets from two 18th-century gentlemen’s suits for a Zoom call with a curator from the V&A in London. Because I’m the copyeditor for all the Mint’s exhibition texts, my afternoon was spent answering emails and reviewing exhibition label proofs. I spent the evening on one of my hobbies: ushering for a show at Actor’s Theater. I enjoy theater, and ushering is a great way to help out and see a show for free.

I love thrifting and actually got to join fashion icon Anna Sui on a thrifting expedition. Anna was in Charlotte in November last year for the opening of The World of Anna Sui at Mint Museum Randolph. After lunch, we ventured to Sleepy Poet Antique Mall. I have admired Anna Sui’s style ever since her clothes started appearing in my favorite ’90s teen magazine, Sassy. I was thrilled when I got to join her entourage and go thrifting in Charlotte. I walked around with Anna and Vogue’s Senior Fashion News Editor Steff Yotka, observing which items they gravitated to and occasionally commenting about things that reminded me of Anna’s style. I was with them as Anna found and inspected a tablecloth — the three of us unfolded it together — and decided it was worth the $20 price. It’s fun to know that I was there when she found a small souvenir to take back and enjoy in her home.

Speaking of Sleepy Poet, I made a point to go there just before they moved out of their old location, knowing there would be bargains. Sure enough, I found a Heywood-Wakefield wood headboard and footboard, possibly mid-century modern, for $25. Whenever I’m thrifting or antiquing, I look for interesting mid-century modern items. I like old stuff, decorative stuff, fashion, and art.

When I’m visiting a museum, I nerd out. I look at the objects and the labels — how are they written? Would I do it the same way? I look at what objects are next to each other, how they play off each other. I look at what’s in the room, how the wall colors are, the pathway.

I love working at a museum because museums give people so many different kinds of experiences. Art can be a source of joy for people, and I like to make those experiences happen. Art can also be something that makes people uncomfortable, that makes them question and think about things they may not have before. We are facing many difficult issues, everything from the environment to social justice to politics. The work I do matters in those areas. We’re not trying to be political, but we are trying to make society better.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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2022 Coveted Couture Gala Auction Items

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INSPIRATO CLUB MEMBERSHIP

$15,000 Starting Bid

• One complimentary year of Club Membership and ability to book anywhere within Inspirato’s luxury portfolio of exclusive vacation homes, resort and hotel partners, and one-of-a-kind experiences.
• Includes a Complimentary vacation from Inspirato’s Bonus Trip List for a 3–4-night stay at your choice of many luxury destinations. Airfare not included. After you have enjoyed your complimentary vacation, travel as little or as much as you like, paying nightly rates as you go. Amenities include personalized trip planning, daily housekeeping, and dedicated on-site concierge services during your stay. Membership benefits will begin on Saturday, April 30, 2022.

Generously donated by Ann and Michael Tarwater[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_separator][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”47406″ img_size=”large”][vc_column_text]

ULTIMATE RACING PACKAGE

$10,000 Starting Bid

• Jimmie Johnson Racing Package includes four tickets to a 2022 IndyCar Series race or a IMSA Endurance Cup race (excludes the Indy 500). VIP access to the paddock, pit road, and meet-and-greet with seven-time NASCAR champion and current IndyCar Series driver Jimmie Johnson. Enjoy a high-speed ride in an IndyCar Experience race car (depending on racetrack and availability) and an autographed gift. Generously donated by Chandra and Jimmie Johnson.
• Indianapolis 500 Package: 2 grandstand tickets, credentials for garage area, and gift bag.

Generously donated by PNC Bank.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_separator][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”47399″ img_size=”medium”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”47400″ img_size=”medium”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

STEPHEN WILSON WORKS

$1,500 Starting Bid

• Butterfly Swarm, 2021 — 12-by-12 inch, mixed media
• Byzantine Purple Butterfly Tree Variation, 2020 – 12-by-12 inch, mixed media

Generously donated by Toshkova Fine Art Gallery + Advisor.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”47409″ img_size=”large”][vc_column_text]

KRISTIN HEINRICH CLOSET EDIT

$500 Starting Bid

• A 3-hour closet edit with Kristin Heinrich, a Charlotte-based professional fashion stylist for women and men.
• Includes assessing wardrobe dilemmas and style goals, editing, organizing, and re-styling existing clothing and accessories, and de-cluttering by determining what is dated, unflattering or worn out. She will also arrange pulled together looks for all occasions mingling existing items with new purchases to make getting dressed fun!

Generously donated by Kristin Heinrich.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”47394″ img_size=”large”][vc_column_text]

ANNA SUI AUTOGRAPHED COLLECTORS BOHO BARBIE

$300 Starting Bid

• Autographed Anna Sui collector’s item Boho Barbie to commemorate The Mint Museum’s 2022 exhibition The World of Anna Sui, presented by PNC Bank.

Generously donated by Anna Sui.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_separator][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

2022 COVETED COUTURE GALA PADDLE RAISE ITEMS

[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”47401″ img_size=”large”][vc_column_text]TRAVEL TO BARCELONA AND PARIS WITH THE MINT MUSEUM & SAPPHIRE CIRCLE

$50,000

• Trip for two to Barcelona and Paris in June 2023 with Todd A. Herman, PhD., Mint President & CEO. Enjoy exclusive access to Picasso museums and private collections. Including luxury hotel accommodations (excludes airfare).
•  Individual sponsorship recognition for Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds.
• Sapphire Circle Crown Society benefits and recognition for one year, including an invitation to the exclusive Diamond Circle Dinner.
• Named brick on Mint Museum Randolph’s front façade terrace.

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GALLERY DINNER & DIAMOND CIRCLE

$15,000

• Cocktails & a sit-down dinner for 10 with Todd A. Herman, PhD in Mint Museum Uptown’s Craft + Design galleries
• Includes curator-lead tour of your choice
• Diamond Circle Crown Society benefits and recognition for one year, including an invitation to the exclusive Diamond Circle Dinner.
• Named brick on Mint Museum Randolph’s front façade terrace.

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PRIVATE TOUR, RECEPTION & DIAMOND CIRCLE

$10,000

• Curator-led tour and reception with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres for 25
• Diamond Circle Crown Society benefits and recognition for one year, including an invitation to the exclusive Diamond Circle Dinner.
• Named brick on Mint Museum Randolph’s front façade terrace.

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PRIORITY TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES & PLATINUM PLUS CIRCLE

$7,500

• Priority invitation to all international and domestic travel opportunities with The Mint Museum.
• Platinum Plus Circle Crown Society benefits and recognition for one year.
• Named brick on Mint Museum Randolph’s front façade terrace.

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DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND ACCESSIBILITY (DEIA) SUPPORT & PLATINUM CIRCLE

• Support the Mint’s DEIA initiatives including underwriting internships for college students.
• Platinum Circle Crown Society benefits and recognition for one year.
• Named brick on Mint Museum Randolph’s front façade terrace.

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PRIVATE TOUR & GOLD CIRCLE

$2,500

• Private tour for up to 10 people for the exhibition or collection of your choice
• Gold Circle Crown Society benefits and recognition for one year.
• Named brick on Mint Museum Randolph’s front façade terrace.

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CHILDREN’S STUDIO PROGRAMS & SILVER CIRCLE

$1,200

• Support Summer Crafts on the Lawn by contributing towards teaching instructors and art materials as well as enhanced seating opportunities on Mint Museum Randolph’s grounds.
• Silver Circle Crown Society benefits and recognition.

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ART KITS & CHAMPION MEMBERSHIP

$500

• Support museum outreach by helping to provide materials for 150 free Mini Art Kits.
• Mint Champion membership benefits and recognition.

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WILD WEDNESDAYS & SUPPORTER MEMBERSHIP

$250

• Underwrite costs of instructor fees, demonstrating artist honoraria, and materials for Wild Wednesday family nights at Mint Museum Randolph.
• Mint Supporter membership benefits and recognition.

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5 things to shout about at The Mint Museum

While uptown Charlotte is alive with events during Charlotte SHOUT, there is also a lot to shout about at The Mint Museum. Mark your calendar for these don’t-miss happenings.

Wednesday Night Live: Rothko Becoming Rothko

April 13, 5–9 PM, 6:30 PM
Mint Museum Uptown
Free

To celebrate the two Rothko paintings on view at Mint Museum Uptown, Harry Cooper, senior curator and head of modern and contemporary art at the National Gallery of Art, presents a lecture about the life and works of Mark Rothko as part of the Wednesday Night Live Series presented by Bank of America. Enjoy free admission and a cash bar.

Dance it out at Mint 2 Move

April 14, 7-11 PM
Mint Museum Uptown
$9 members; $12 nonmembers with $1 off before 8 PM

Feel the rhythm, dance, laugh, and enjoy sizzling salsa, cha cha, bachata, line dancing, live musicians, and a live DJ playing Latin rhythms and Afro-beats, plus free dance lessons, a cash bar, complimentary party favors, and live painting at Mint 2 Move. Museum galleries open until 9 PM.

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Coined in the South: 2022

See works by more than 40 artists, all hailing from the Southeast. An array of mediums, some less conventional than others, make up the collective body of work that converges to become a mellifluent symphony of styles, perspectives, and approaches in the exhibition. On view: Level 4 Brand Galleries at Mint Museum Uptown.

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Craft in the Laboratory: The Science of Making Things

Craft in the Laboratory: The Science of Making Things is the first project of its kind in the Southeast to examine how artists and scientists think and work alike, and how designers of all types use science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in their making. It also celebrates the first re-installation of the Mint’s Craft + Design Collection in more than 10 years. Organized by medium, more than 100 objects from the Mint’s permanent collection are featured. On view: Level 3 Craft + Design galleries at Mint Museum Uptown.

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www.theplaidpenguin.com www.lunahzon.com

Have your cake and eat it too at Mariposa at the Mint

Stop by Mariposa at Mint Museum Uptown for dessert, a cocktail, or to share a plate before or after visiting the museum.

And of course, be sure to take a turn on the Impulse illuminated seesaws on Levine Avenue of the Arts, all part of Charlotte SHOUT!

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Coined in the South: 2022 spotlights thought-provoking works by artists living in the Southeast

For Immediate Release

Charlotte, North Carolina (March 15, 2022) — The Mint Museum is pleased to present Coined in the South: 2022, on view March 26–July 3 at Mint Museum Uptown. The second installment of the juried biennial exhibition, created in collaboration with the Young Affiliates of the Mint (YAMs), features works by 41 artists selected from 375 artist submissions.

The name Coined in the South refers to both The Mint Museum’s origins as the first branch of the U.S. Mint, as well as the act of inventing. Many of the works selected for Coined in the South: 2022 reflect on personal narratives and cultural myths, power structures and pressures of society.

Jen Sudul Edwards, PhD, chief curator and curator of contemporary art at The Mint Museum, and Kaitlyn McElwee and Patwin Lawrence, Young Affiliate of the Mint members and Coined in South: 2022 co-chairs, worked together to plan and produce the exhibition.

“An array of mediums, some less conventional than others, make up the collective body of work that converges to become a mellifluent symphony of styles, perspectives, and approaches in the exhibition,” McElwee says.

Jurors for the 2022 exhibition are Hallie Ringle, curator of contemporary art at Birmingham Museum of Art: Lydia Thompson, mixed-media sculptor and professor of art and art history at UNC Charlotte; and Ken West, photographer and digital experience designer and winner of the inaugural Coined in the South People’s Choice Award. A $10,000 grand prize presented by Atrium Health Foundation and $5,000 YAMs Choice Award will be awarded at the preview celebration March 24. A $1,000 People’s Choice Award will be announced May 9 after the viewing public has an opportunity to cast their ballots. Awardees will speak at a panel discussion June 1 as part of the Mint’s Wednesday Night Live program series.

“With so much important, innovative, and nationally recognized art coming out of the South in recent years, YAMs-sponsored exhibitions like this one keep the Mint ahead of the curve. We are consistently showing this art in real time, as it is being made,” Sudul Edwards says. Coined in the South: 2022 is generously presented by Atrium Health Foundation and will be on view March 26–July 3 in the Level 4 Brand Galleries at Mint Museum Uptown.

Artists Selected for Coined in the South: 2022

ELIZABETH ALEXANDER WINSTON SALEM, NC

SUKENYA BEST RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

KAMAU BOSTIC TUPELO, MISSISSIPPI

S. ROSS BROWNE RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

ANNA BUCKNER BANNER ELK, NC

J.B. BURKE CHARLOTTE, NC

LIZA BUTTS BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA

CORNELIUS A. CAKLY COLUMBIA, SC

EMMANUELLE CHAMMAH ATLANTA, GEORGIA

NATALIE CHANEL ROCK HILL, SC

CORINNE COLARUSSO ATLANTA, GEORGIA

TAMECA COLE BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA

CARLA CONTRERAS SANDY SPRINGS, GEORGIA

MARGARET CURTIS TRYON, NC

LINDSY DAVIS NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

ANNA DEAN FORT MILL, SC

BRENT DEDAS COLUMBIA, SC

ERIN ETHRIDGE FLEETWOOD, NC

HOLLY FISCHER RALEIGH, NC

CYNTHIA FLAXMAN FRANK CHARLOTTE, NC

SOPHIE GLENN STARKVILLE, MISSISSIPPI

KING NOBUYOSHI GODWIN RALEIGH, NC

DONTÉ K. HAYES KENNESAW, GEORGIA

EMILY JAHR DAWSONVILLE, GEORGIA

CHLOE KAYLOR MOUNT HOLLY, NC

BRIANNA LITCHFIELD CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE

CHIEKO MURASUGI CHAPEL HILL, NC

MASELA NKOLO DULUTH, GEORGIA

MALIK J. NORMAN WAXHAW, NC

SERENA PERRONE ATLANTA, GEORGIA

KRISTIN ROTHROCK CHARLOTTE, NC

HANNAH SHABAN CHARLOTTE, NC

SHARON SHAPIRO CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA

RANDY SIMMONS PADUCAH, KENTUCKY

LIZ RUNDORFF SMITH TRAVELERS REST, SC

ANNE STAGG TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA

LEIGH SUGGS RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

SABA TAJ DURHAM, NC

CORNELL WATSON DURHAM, NC

AJANE’ WILLIAMS CHARLOTTE, NC

APRIL WRIGHT GERMANTOWN, TENNESSEE

Ticket Information

Admission to The Mint Museum is free for members and children ages 4 and younger; $15 for adults; $10 for seniors ages 65 and older; $10 for college students with ID; and $6 for youth ages 5–17.

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The Mint Museum

Established in 1936 as North Carolina’s first art museum, The Mint Museum is a leading, innovative cultural institution and museum of international art and design. With two locations — Mint Museum Randolph in the heart of Eastover and Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts — the Mint boasts one of the largest collections in the Southeast and is committed to engaging and inspiring members of the global community.

Young Affiliates of the Mint (YAMs)

The Young Affiliates of the Mint (YAMs) is a diverse group of young professionals promoting and supporting The Mint Museum through cultural engagement, social leadership, and fundraising events. Established in 1990, the YAMs are the premier social arts organization for young professionals in Charlotte.

“Foragers” short film celebrating collaboration between The Mint Museum and Charlotte Symphony wins an Emmy

The Mint Museum is thrilled to share that the short film “Foragers,” a unique composition of visual and performing art, won an Emmy in the competitive Arts and Entertainment category at the Nashville/Southeast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Emmy Awards.

Commissioned by Wells Fargo Private Bank, The Mint Museum partnered with Charlotte Symphony to create the short film that unites visual and performing arts and celebrates the power of women artists.

The film opens with Natalie Frazier Allen, chair of The Mint Museum’s board of trustees, discussing the collaboration of artists while scenes of the installation of Foragers flash on the screen. Foragers, also presented by Wells Fargo Private Bank, spans four stories, 96 windows and 3,720 square feet, and features women in roles traditionally associated with men.

Following the introduction, artist Summer Wheat, who created Foragers, explains her inspiration for the work and the power of the female figures represented. At the crux of the film are duets played by Charlotte Symphony musicians Jenny Topilow, Alaina Rea, Andrea Markle, and Andrea Mumm Trammell in front of the monumental work at Mint Museum Uptown.

In the soaring open space, film producers Kelso Communications and Priceless Miscellaneous had the freedom to roam up, down, and around the musicians as they performed their contemporary classical pieces, creating a one-of-a-kind virtual event.

The Emmy was awarded Saturday, February 26, 2022 during the Nashville/Southeast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences virtual Emmy Awards ceremony.

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Wednesday Night Live Presents 

The QC GarMINT District 

Wednesday, March 2, 2022
Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts

Welcome to the QC GarMINT District, part of the Wednesday Night Live event series, presented by Bank of America. Tonight’s event highlights the Mint’s recognition of fashion designers’ work as art, and is a prelude to the December 2022 exhibition and catalogue Fashion Reimagined that celebrates 50 years of the Mint’s fashion collection. It also links Charlotte designers to the celebration of world culture and street fashion on view in The World of Anna Sui at Mint Museum Randolph through May 1.  

5:30-9 PM

Sounds by DJ Dammit Wesley and cash bar
in Robert Haywood Morrison Atrium 

Pop-up market in Level 5 expansion space
and Mint Museum Store 

7-8 PM

The QC GarMINT District runway fashion show
in Robert Haywood Morrison Atrium 

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MEET THE DESIGNERS

TARA DAVIS is the founder of Flow by Tara Davis. Her designs are created with lifestyles of modern, eclectic women on her radar. Inspirations of architect and modern art transform her concepts into chic and sophisticated apparel. Through the aesthetic of style lines, color, and comfortable fabrics, Davis has defined the art of bold simplicity. The foundation of Flow by Tara Davis started with signature dresses and custom designs, evolving into desk-to-dinner styles, including separates, leather belts, and handbags along with her newest design venture in home décor. @flowbytaradavis

MEGAN ILENE is a fiber artist who makes clothes and created the zero- waste, biodegradable clothing brand Megan-Ilene. All materials used are completely biodegradable and many are organic (no pesticides are used to facilitate growing or harvesting). Dyes used are either natural or minimal- impact synthetic with a focus on low-immersion techniques to prevent water waste and are safe for city water reclamation. Patterns are either designed to prevent textile off-fall or any fiber waste is reconfigured, reused, or revitalized creating a closed loop, zero-waste system. Silhouettes are forgiving and functional, and are meant for myriad of body types, shapes, and genders. All items are made in North Carolina and produced by entities receiving a fair, livable wage. @megan.ilene

GORDON HOLLIDAY uses remnant textile and fibers to construct sustainable garments that tell stories about culture, history, and identity in the fashion industry. A Brooklyn Collective Artist in Residence, Holliday received his bachelor’s degree in fine arts with a concentration in photography and a minor in retail studies at UNC Greensboro. He currently is featured in the Waste Management Design Challenge and was published in “Forbes” for the work he has committed in the community. Holliday is an up-cycle designer, utilizing donated fabric/materials, remnant scraps, previously owned items, or thrifted clothing into new garments. RENEW REWORK ROOLĒ is a brand created by Holliday that documents how reconstructed garments reach their final form through up-cycling. His latest project, the Yasuke Collection ROOLE F/W 21, details the story about the first African samurai. Inspired by Japanese quilting techniques (Sashiko and Boro) 10 quilted kimonos were constructed out of donated and leftover materials. @roole.co

BREHON WILLIAMS is a native of Chesapeake, Virginia who currently resides in Charlotte. He graduated from The Art Institute with a bachelor’s degree and is currently working on a Master of Science degree. Initially a womenswear-only designer, Williams has expanded his portfolio to now include menswear. His bold, innovative, and forward-thinking aesthetic has allotted him the opportunity to participate in numerous shows across the United States. The award-winning designer has won numerous design competitions and has been featured in national and international publications, including Veer, New Pittsburgh Courier, Ink Magazine, and The Virginian Pilot.

GEGE GILZENE is the creative designer, lead designer, and owner of Gege J. Gilzene, LLC, a luxury women’s line for every event and a man’s casual, yet upscale, label designed and produced in Atlanta. His designer clothing line is composed of jaw-dropping statement pieces, and wardrobe staples with a hint of distinction. The collection’s masterful use of colors and silhouette, makes the G-three women and men the centerpiece of every event and stand out in a crowd. Every garment is carefully designed and crafted to exude the joie de vivre (to express a cheerful enjoyment of life, an exultation of spirit) and sexiness, while maintaining character, and class. gegegilzene.com 

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THANK YOU 

The QC GarMINT District is coordinated in partnership with Davita Galloway, co-owner of DUPP&SWATT, and Charlotte-based stylist Jennifer Michelle, owner of J Model Executives. Charlotte influencer Ohavia Phillips will emcee the event, music provided by DJ Dammit Wesley, plus an additional performance by B&C Ballroom, and cash bar. Admission is free, but seating is first come, first served. 

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POP-UP MARKET VENDORS

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• Ann Home
• BornNaked Beauty
• Dannie’s Art
• Dark Matter
• Duck Lane Vintage
• Flows Grand
• Glitter Carnage
• Kiki Earrings
• Love Simple Co.
• Maisy Made
• Mo’s Art
• MeadowBleu
• Morgan L. Robinson
• Mudcloth Consign
• Pose it up, CLT
• Prettee Petals Boutique
• Public Interest CLT
• Shay B Shop
• Simply Unique
• Smoking Repeats and Luxury Add-ons
• T. Byrd’s Vintage
• Thrift with JT
• Thank You Mother Earth
• True Beauti Cosmetics
• Upcycle Arts
• Vintage Brats Boutique
• Zuleyma Creative Studio

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• The Art Spread
• Bonitos Hats
• Byrdiesnest Art Studio
• Cary Langhorne Caldwell
• Donna Pajama
• Flow by Tara Davis
• Janellemarie Accessories
• Joél Baang Art & Design Studio
• Light This Bitch Candle Co.
• Luca + B
• Pretty Pressed
• Succor Beauty
• Soultry Reads
• A Temple of the Moon

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In My Loan Dinh’s series “(Re)constructing the space in-between,” objects, covered in eggshells, appear fragile; but they are strong — strong enough to break glass. “I reach for these tools not only to break barriers, but also to build, forge, and construct new paths towards freedom and equality. Many things, like stones and bullets, can shatter glass. I am here to build,” Dinh says.

‘Broken, but in one piece’

Charlotte artist MyLoan Dinh explores the human condition – and the search for home

By Page Leggett

MyLoan (pronounced “mee-LAHN”) Dinh has been working with an unusually delicate medium: eggshells.

The Vietnamese-American artist, who splits her time between Charlotte and Berlin, uses them to encase objects — passports, hammers, boxing gloves. “With boxing gloves, you think of fighting,” she says. “I love the idea of pairing things that are complete opposites. There’s a tension there — a deeper meaning that starts a conversation.”

People might see the eggshell mosaics and think of the destructiveness of violence or the fragility of life. But for life to begin, the egg has to be open, to be broken, Dinh says. And brokenness is part of being human.

“I like creating something whole out of fragments,” she continues. “I like this idea that even though we might be broken, we’re in one piece. We’re going to be OK.”

MyLoan Dinh, United States (born in Vietnam), 1972– . “Off White,” 2019. Boxing gloves, eggshells, acrylic. Museum purchase made possible by the Charles W. Beam Endowment Fund.

From coop to kitchen to studio

Working with eggshells is tedious and time-consuming. Dinh starts by procuring eggs. She has to boil the eggs, crack and peel them. Then, she methodically places each tiny piece onto the object with an adhesive. She uses a stick pin or a needle; her fingers are too big for the job. Once the entire object is covered, she fills in with even tinier shell shards. She doesn’t want too much of a gap between fragments.

Each object gets covered in five or six protective layers. Something fragile has been made durable.

Some of the “eggshell art” was featured in Dinh’s installation for Constellation CLT — an exhibition series that spotlights local artists — this spring and summer at Mint Museum Uptown.

“I think it’s wonderful that museums are starting to look for artists in their backyard,” Dinh says. “There’s a lot of talent here. And why not expose the community to those artists? It’s wonderful that part of the community can now see themselves in these spaces.”

The part of the community she’s referring to: Asian-Americans. “When I was growing up, I couldn’t see myself in a museum setting because I didn’t have any role models,” she says. “I couldn’t name a single Asian artist. I saw some Asian art, but it was more like artifacts. So, this Constellations program is really amazing.”

‘A place we can call home’

She and her family were on one of the last ships out of Saigon in 1975. Dinh was 4. She has no memory of her homeland but still feels connected to her culture.

Her story is deeply personal, but there’s a universality to it. “Everyone deserves safety,” she says. “We all deserve the same basic human rights, the opportunity to live in dignity and to somehow find a place we can call home.”

Finding her way to safety was harrowing. For six days, they were forbidden to dock because the ships belonged to the now-defunct South Vietnamese government. “We were stateless,” she says.

The U.S.S. Kirk was the first, and then dozens of former South Vietnamese Navy ships, cargo and fishing boats lowered the Vietnamese flag and raised the American one. That was just the beginning.

Dinh’s family went to three different U.S. refugee camps before a Lutheran church in Boone agreed to sponsor them. “We’re still in touch with the pastor and his wife,” Dinh says. “At the time, there was this — not really, anti-Asian hate — but fear. People were afraid for different reasons: Would we be able to adjust? Were we Communists? Half the congregation wasn’t sure should they take us in. The minister told them, ‘As people of God, we have to.’”

They came to Charlotte because there was a bigger Vietnamese population here and it’s a bigger city. Dinh’s parents wanted to find their community.

Dinh herself has found a large creative community here. She and her husband — Till Schmidt-Rempler, a former dancer and choreographer — frequently host musicians, poets, storytellers and dancers in the 1935 log cabin that’s home to the couple and their teenage daughter. (Their son is working toward a PhD in art history in London.)

Evolution of an artist

Dinh’s work has evolved a lot since she first picked up a paintbrush to create what she calls “representational, figurative work.” It didn’t take long for her to expand her subject matter and media; she experiments to stave off boredom. In recent years, she’s been diving into storytelling.

“I began revisiting stories about what my family faced when I was growing up,” she says. “Much of that stuff, you just push away. You focus on your survival. You don’t want to bring it up because you think: ‘I’m resilient, I need to move on.’ But I felt it was time to pull it out slowly because of this shift in America, this racial reckoning.”

She doesn’t consider herself a political artist, but rather an artist concerned with social justice.

She hopes viewers see that concern in her work. “I think it’s good to let viewers enjoy the pieces for what they are, but I also like the idea of them reading my artist’s statement to understand why I made the piece. My message is that we need to find a way to share space with each other.”

‘My daughter ate it’

Dinh doesn’t always use food in her art — although she has coated everyday objects in candy conversation hearts — but she was inspired to create an installation last year using a ubiquitous Asian dessert.

“I created a fortune cookie installation the day after six Asian women were murdered [in Atlanta],” she says. “I just made it, held it in my hand and photographed it for social media. And, when Jen [Sudul Edwards] said she wanted to show it, I had to tell her: It was a real fortune cookie, and my daughter ate it. But I can get more.”

There are six fortune cookies in that little installation, she says, one for each of the six women murdered. The fortunes have numbers on them, and they are real telephone numbers to an actual hotline, Dinh says.

With her eggshell art, Dinh is a purist. She leaves the shells the colors nature intended. But she wanted dark brown eggs for several pieces — and went searching.

“There’s a chocolate brown egg that comes from a fancy French chicken called the Marans chicken, she says. “I joined a Facebook group of people who raise chickens and asked if anybody had Marans chickens. They were so responsive; I’ve been getting eggshells in the mail. Chicken people are really good people.

“You never know where you’ll find your community. And community is really another word for ‘home’.” 

Page Leggett’s writing appears regularly in The Charlotte Observer, Business North Carolina and SouthPark magazine. Besides writing, her other great passions are travel and art collecting. The first art lessons she took were at Mint Museum Randolph.

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Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  

‘Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?”

By Rubie Britt-Height, director of community relations at The Mint Museum

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1963) was a major American icon whose life, though cut short far too soon, profoundly impacted the state of our country in the 1950s, 1960s, and today. He was an American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a federal holiday that marks the birth of this profoundly courageous leader who addressed the challenges existing in the United States relative to poverty, racism, and war.  

The Mint observes the official Martin Luther King Jr. holiday throughout the month of January with goals ongoing throughout the year to invoke dialogue and transformative programming, exhibitions, and equity for diverse artists, vendors, and staff. The museum is committed to its mission, vision, and strategic plan, of which diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) are a part.  

Throughout 2022, the Mint will provide members and guests opportunities to view and have dialogue about meaningful works of art, attend performing arts programming, read historical nuggets about artists of color, and recount through socially conscious works of art the ongoing challenges identified by Dr. King’s speeches, writings, and sermons that continue to illuminate “the dream still deferred” in many ways.  

Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech spoke metaphorically and strategically to an environment that blighted African Americans, with the hope of a transformed country of equity, equality, justice, and fairness. 

The Jim Crow Museum notes that “the civil rights movement reached its peak when 250,000 blacks and whites gathered at the Lincoln Memorial for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which included the demand for passage of meaningful civil rights laws when Dr. King, Jr. delivered his famous speech.”  Among those words, throughout his ministry are many other notable quotes that raise our consciousness and speak to courage, community, and commitment to a better America for all. 

Here are just a few of his thought-provoking and enlightened perspectives as one influenced by his Christian faith, Ghandi’s non-violence philosophy, and his commitment to balance the scale of humanity in America: 

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” 

“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.” 

“Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.” 

“Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but it comes through continuous struggle.” 

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” 

“The time is always right to do what is right.” 

“We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” 

We invite you view this curator video featuring Senior Curator of American art Jonathan Stuhlman, PhD, about the painting Selma by artist Barbra Pennington that focuses on the events that unfolded 55 years ago in Selma, Alabama. 

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Some of our favorite photos from Coveted Couture Gala: A Little Night Magic

Our annual Gala fundraiser was virtual this year, but that did not stop the party. These guest went above and beyond to set their tables, get dressed, and support the Mint’s mission of serving the community. Here are some of our favorite photos from the night.[/vc_column_text][vc_masonry_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1619623791426-bcc8c5ac-d490-8″ include=”43278,43321,43279,43285,43283,43281,43277,43322,43274,43282,43276,43323,43284,43280,43275″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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The Mint Museum’s upcoming Silent Streets: Art in the Time of Pandemic puts spotlight on works created in isolation by local, regional and international artists

[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text]Charlotte, North Carolina (March 26, 2021) — When the city streets fell quiet in March 2020 due to Covid-19, followed by social justice reckoning across the country, people and communities were changed. The Mint Museum’s newest exhibition, Silent Streets: Art in the Time of Pandemic, opening April 17 at Mint Museum Uptown, showcases thought-provoking works of art by regional, national, and international artists. From collage and comic strips to abstract painting, video and photography, the exhibition installations illuminate discord while also providing solace and insight in challenging times.

At the core of the show, which is presented by Fifth Third Bank, are commissioned pieces by North Carolina artists Amy Bagwell of Charlotte, Stacy Lynn Waddell of Durham, and Antoine Williams of Greensboro. Each artist created works during isolation that reflect how the pandemic and events of 2020 affected their worlds.

“In March 2020, we found ourselves looking at a depleted exhibition schedule, between pandemic-related shipping delays and budget cuts,” says Jen Sudul Edwards, PhD, chief curator and curator of contemporary art at the Mint. “The Mint’s President and CEO Todd Herman said, ‘Why don’t we reallocate those remaining spaces and funds directly to artists?’ I selected these three artists, confident we could do remote studio visits and it would still be a successful collaboration. By April, artists around the world were creating profoundly powerful and poignant work responding to all that was going on, and I realized the show could go beyond three North Carolina voices and become an international chorus.”

Bagwell, a poet and mixed-media artist, who has more than 20 public murals throughout Charlotte, produced three large-scale collages inspired by poetry she wrote during the pandemic. Mixed-media work by Williams addresses social injustice, systemic racism, and the objectification of Black labor and culture. And Waddell, working alongside a master quilter, used textiles to create flags that explore themes of representation and inclusion in symbols of power.

Also included in the exhibition is As the Boundary Pulls Us Apart, a short film by Charlotte-based artists Matthew Steele and Ben Gellar. The digital project enabled the two artists to collaborate and volley ideas from separate spaces, ultimately creating a piece that embodies a spirit of unity while being apart.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”43149″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Additional installations include Diary of a Pandemic and Pandemic Comics. Through a collaboration between Magnum Photos and National Geographic, Diary of a Pandemic showcases images taken by photojournalists around the world stranded during the pandemic. Pandemic Comics highlights syndicated comics—La Cucaracha, Liō, Curtis, Pearls Before Swine, and Tank McNamara—that suddenly changed course, as long-planned strips were replaced with ones that related directly to the pandemic.

The one work that predates the pandemic—Gregory Crewdson’s Funerary Back Lot (2018-19) from his An Eclipse of Moths Series—eerily relays an aura of isolation and quiet destitution that feels consistent with the pandemic times, reminding us that these are human states, not temporary or conditional ones.

“Artists are often the first to respond and react to societal forces and create work that manages to encapsulate abstract concepts of emotion,” says Todd A. Herman, PhD, president and CEO at The Mint Museum. “I am excited to see the result of their efforts and to celebrate the necessary role that creatives play in healing communities.”[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#68c8c6″][vc_column_text]

The Mint Museum

Established in 1936 as North Carolina’s first art museum, The Mint Museum is a leading, innovative cultural institution and museum of international art and design. With two locations — Mint Museum Randolph in the heart of Eastover and Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts — the Mint boasts one of the largest collections in the Southeast and is committed to engaging and inspiring members of the global community.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#68c8c6″][vc_column_text]

Fifth Third Bank

Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio and the indirect parent company of Fifth Third Bank, National Association, a federally chartered institution. As of September 30, 2020, Fifth Third had $202 billion in assets and operated 1,122 full-service banking centers and 2,414 ATMs with Fifth Third branding in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. In total, Fifth Third provides its customers with access to approximately 52,000 fee-free ATMs across the United States. Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending and Wealth & Asset Management. Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of September 30, 2020, had $422 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $53 billion for individuals, corporations and not-for-profit organizations through its Trust and Registered Investment Advisory businesses. Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Fifth Third’s common stock is traded on the Nasdaq® Global Select Market under the symbol “FITB.” Fifth Third Bank was established in 1858. Deposit and Credit products are offered by Fifth Third Bank. Member FDIC.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#68c8c6″][vc_column_text]

Contact:

Caroline Portillo, Senior Director of Marketing & Communications at The Mint Museum
caroline.portillo@mintmuseum.org | 704.488.6874 (c)

Michele Huggins, Communications and Media Relations Project Manager at The Mint Museum
michele.huggins@mintmuseum.org | 704.564.0826 (c)

Download the PDF of this press release here.

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Stephen Compton: From Jugtown Pottery to hyalyn Porcelain: A Collector’s Journey

Delhom Service League Studio Visit

Steve Compton discusses his history as a collector of NC pottery, and how his interest led him to become a noted researcher and author. Steve shares details about his collection of pottery, now including over 2,000 pieces, and some of the many books he has authored.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Call for Artists
Coined in the South: 2022

The Young Affiliates of the Mint, in collaboration with The Mint Museum, are seeking works of art produced by southeastern artists for the second installment of Coined in the South. This juried exhibition will be held from March 25, 2022 to July 3, 2022 at Mint Museum Uptown.

Coined in the South is about bridging the gap between the museum, the gallery, and the studio, to highlight the innovative and thought-provoking works produced by the creative innovators of the southeastern arts community. The show is not confined to any single aesthetic, theme, or medium.

Prize money will be awarded. There will be a $10,000 juror-awarded grand prize, a $5,000 Young Affiliates of the Mint member-awarded prize, and a $1,000 “People’s Choice” prize awarded by the general public at the conclusion of the show. All selected artists will be provided with a $200 stipend to offset shipping and travel costs.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_column_text]

The Details:

UPDATE: Call for submissions is closed. Artists who submitted works for consideration will be informed whether they were selected by August 25.

Jurors

• Hallie Ringle, curator of contemporary art at the Birmingham Museum of Art
• Lydia Thompson, artist and chair of the Art and Art History Department at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
• Ken West, photographer and digital experience designer. Winner of the inaugural Coined in the South “People’s Choice” award

What’s eligible: Submitted works of art must be less than two years old, non-perishable, do not produce excessive noise pollution, and do not result in physical harm to any living beings. Installation, video, and performance artists are encouraged to apply but must provide instructions for installation and space requirements, as well as recordings and/or documentation of past performances when available.

Exhibition dates: March 25, 2022 to July 3, 2022

Where: Mint Museum Uptown, 500 South Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC 28202

Deadline for submissions: Due at 11:59 PM June 4, 2021 at https://form.jotform.com/210624429601044. All works of art must be delivered ready to install between February 28 and March 18. Artists are responsible for the cost of shipping. Each accepted artist will be given a $200 stipend to offset shipping and travel costs.

Entry Fee: $50. Each artist may submit up to five works as part of their application. The one-time $50 fee covers all submissions.

Contact: Kaitlyn McElwee, Art Show Chair at yam.artshow@mintmuseum.org[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Studio Visit with Amy Sanders and Ron Philbeck

Delhom Service League

Amy and Ron discuss their individual work, and then discuss their collaboration on a series of work created during the pandemic. While their individual work is very different, their collaborative work has been very popular and a great learning process for them both. If you would like to see more of their work, you can visit their individual websites, amysanderspottery.com and ronphilbeckpottery.com. Both potters are scheduled to be exhibitors at the Delhom’s Potters Market at the Mint on Sept. 25, 2021.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Leah Leitson Ceramics: Then and Now

Delhom Service League Studio Visit

Join the Delhom Service League as they Leah Leitson, ceramic artist and educator based in Asheville NC. She discusses her career in ceramics from her first interest as a studio potter to her current role as Professor of Ceramics at Warren Wilson College. For more information about Leah, you can visit her website at www.leahleitson.com.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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W|ALLS: Defend, Divide, and the Divine explores the use of walls throughout centuries, across civilizations

Mint Museum Uptown’s 10-year anniversary celebration continues with opening of new photography exhibition

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Charlotte, N.C. (February 1, 2021)— As a continued celebration of Mint Museum Uptown’s 10th anniversary, W|ALLS: Defend, Divide, and the Divine examines the historic use and artistic treatment of barriers — whether made of stone, sand, steel, or wire — through photography. The exhibition, presented by PNC Bank, is scheduled to open Feb. 24 in Mint Museum Uptown’s Level 4 Brand Gallery.

Through more than 130 photographs taken by 67 photographers across five continents, W|ALLS explores architectural aspects of these barriers, as well as the stories of people’s lives touched by the boundaries.

The exhibition is divided into six sections — delineation, defense, deterrent, the divine, decoration, and the invisible — with each section anchored by a central photo essay. From the Berlin Wall’s fall to Jerusalem’s Western Wall, as well as barriers built in India, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, Northern Ireland, and along the United States’ southern border, W|ALLS includes images that span five continents from photographers of all stripes: documentarians, photojournalists, artists, protestors, commercial photographers, explorers, and even a Tibetan Buddhist monk.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”35193″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Curated by Jen Sudul Edwards, PhD, chief curator and curator of contemporary art at The Mint Museum, W|ALLS includes works by nationally recognized artists Carol Guzy, Moises Saman, SHAN Wallace, Banksy, JR, John Moore, and Tanya Aguiñiga.

Charlotte-based artists featured in the exhibition include: Will Jenkins, who photographed Dammit Wesley’s Strange Fruit mural in uptown Charlotte; UncleJut who photographed Darion Fleming’s Pure’ll Gold mural that made The New York Times cover page in March 2020; and Linda Foard Roberts, a recent Guggenheim Fellowship recipient.

“When Katie Hollander and I began working on the W|ALLS exhibition in 2018, we could not have imagined a more divided world, and yet, even though the COVID-19 pandemic has united us in a common anxiety, here we are, even more segmented and antagonistic,” says Sudul Edwards. “The images in this exhibition remind us of our common humanity and why we are stronger together than apart, no matter what our race, ethnicity, or political ideology.”

In concert with the photographic exhibition, artists Candy Chang and James Reeves created Light the Barricades, interactive installations that appeared in three sites throughout Los Angeles before relocating to the plaza in front of the Annenberg Space for Photography. Light the Barricades was inspired by the I Ching, one of the oldest Chinese texts. Nearly 30 feet in length and 8 feet high, each installation features a word that represents an emotional barrier and offers an opportunity for contemplation. One of these walls will be on view in front of Mint Museum Uptown in conjunction with the photography exhibition.

“Walls make up a significant portion of our surroundings, especially in urban settings, and these photographers present us with new ways of thinking about how we are affected by these structures,” says Todd A. Herman, PhD, president and CEO of The Mint Museum. “It is impossible to walk through this exhibition and not have it inspire a conversation.”

This is the first exhibition at The Mint Museum with Spanish translations throughout. All object labels include a QR code to scan for a Spanish translation, and there are printed translations on introduction panels.

“With this exhibition, The Mint Museum continues to deliver on its unique ability to engage our community in timely, thought-provoking conversation and reflection,” said Weston Andress, PNC regional president for Western Carolinas. “The themes addressed in the photography hold relevance for all, and PNC is proud to help bring this compelling and ambitious exhibition to Charlotte.”

W|ALLS was originally scheduled to open in May 2020. Shipping crates containing much of the show — gifted to the Museum by Annenberg Space for Photography, which was the originator of the exhibit — were delayed due to COVID-19.

W|ALLS is made possible by Wallis Annenberg and the Annenberg Space for Photography, Los Angeles, Calif., and is generously presented by PNC Bank, and supporting sponsors The Mint Museum Auxiliary, Laura and Mike Grace, Leigh-Ann and Martin Sprock, Betsy Rosen and Liam Stokes, and Deidre and Clay Grubb. QC Exclusive is the media sponsor.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#68c8c6″][vc_column_text]

The Mint Museum

The Mint Museum Established in 1936 as North Carolina’s first art museum, The Mint Museum is a leading, innovative cultural institution and museum of international art and design. With two locations — Mint Museum Randolph in the heart of Eastover and Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts — the Mint boasts one of the largest collections in the Southeast and is committed to engaging and inspiring members of the global community.

PNC Bank

PNC Bank, National Association, is a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC). PNC is one of the largest diversified financial services institutions in the United States, organized around its customers and communities for strong relationships and local delivery of retail and business banking including a full range of lending products; specialized services for corporations and government entities, including corporate banking, real estate finance and asset-based lending; wealth management and asset management. For information about PNC, visit www.pnc.com.

The Annenberg Foundation

The Annenberg Foundation is a family foundation that provides funding and support to nonprofit organizations in the United States and globally. Since 1989, it has generously funded programs in education and youth development; arts, culture and humanities; civic and community life; health and
human services; and animal services and the environment.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#68c8c6″][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_column_text]

Contact:

Caroline Portillo, Senior Director of Marketing & Communications at The Mint Museum
caroline.portillo@mintmuseum.org | 704.488.6874 (c)

Michele Huggins, Communications and Media Relations Project Manager at The Mint Museum
michele.huggins@mintmuseum.org | 704.564.0826 (c)

Download the PDF Media Kit for W|ALLS here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Delhom Service League Studio Visit with Julie Wiggins

Join the Delhom Service League as they visit potter Julie Wiggins in her studio to hear about her current work, learn about her creative techniques, and hear about some of the challenges facing potters during the pandemic.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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‘Hue’ do you do it?

The Art of Choosing Color

By HannaH Crowell, Exhibition Designer [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_column_text]Color is a distinct element in works of art, and has been especially prominent in recent exhibitions at The Mint Museum. Whether it was the sunset palette of Classic Black: The Basalt Sculpture of Wedgwood & His Contemporaries at Mint Museum Randolph or the spectrum of colors in the exhibition In Vivid Color: Pushing the Boundaries of Perception in Contemporary Art at Mint Museum Uptown, our gallery walls are filled with palettes of color.

As the exhibition designer, I think a lot about the gallery walls. Gallery walls are not only the architecture that hold the works of art, they create an atmosphere that moves the visitor through the galleries. The right paint color, even a neutral, can transform a gallery into a world of its own.[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery interval=”5″ images=”42355,42356,42357,42358″ img_size=”large” onclick=””][vc_column_text]When the Mint decided to embark on a reinstallation of the American collections, what better way to bring new life to these galleries than with color. Working with Jonathan Stuhlman, PhD, Senior Curator of American Art, the exhibition team selected feature walls to provide pops of color that help to guide the visitor through galleries rather than choosing to paint the entire gallery space. When selecting paint colors for gallery walls, we consider the physical space, the lighting, the visitor’s path, and most importantly, the art. Each work of art, like a character in a play, has its own story told through the composition of the work, the medium the artist chose, when and where it was painted, the frame, and of course, the color palette.

With my trusty Benjamin Moore paint deck, I selected a color that would turn the volume up on each work of art’s story. A rich purple wall sends the delicate petals swirling off the golden stems of Kehinde Wiley’s Philip the Fair into full bloom against its surrounding golden tones.

A deep wine color, aptly named Old Claret, helps the rich warm florals pop at the party in Julius LeBlanc Stewart’s Five O’Clock Tea.

Picking a color to be the backdrop for a painting’s story cannot disrupt what it has to say. It needs to complement the person, party, and scene. Next time you stand within the walls of the galleries, take a moment to look around and find your favorite color.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_column_text]This story was originally published in the January, 2021 issue of Inspired, the Mint’s biannual member magazine.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Remembering Tom Martin

It is with heavy hearts The Mint Museum shares that Special Events Director Tom Martin passed away on January 15, 2021 at the age of 60.

His memorial service for immediate family is Saturday, Jan. 22 at 11 AM and can be streamed virtually here.

Tom grew up in Massachusetts, and built a name for himself in events and food service as the Director of Catering and Convention Services for the Harvard Club of Boston, where he worked for more than 12 years. He relocated to Charlotte in 2013.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]Tom was the Mint’s director of special events for over four years, and in that time, he helped grow special events revenue by over 40 percent, says Gary Blankemeyer, the Mint’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer.

In his tenure at the Mint, Tom helped secure and execute on a number of high-profile events for clients ranging from tech giant Facebook to billionaire businessman and Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper, who announced Charlotte’s new MLS team from inside the Robert Haywood Morrison Atrium at Mint Museum Uptown. During the NBA All-Star Weekend in February 2019 in Charlotte—the biggest event in basketball—Tom shepherded a museum-wide takeover by Nike and Jordan Brand that even included a basketball court in Mint Museum Uptown’s atrium and a wrap across the building’s facade.

“He was driven to do the best,” says Blankemeyer. “And not only was he a good business partner, but he was someone I could count on, someone I could rely on, which is all you want as a manager.”

Tom was a great man, says John Caldwell, special events manager at the Mint. “He taught me so much about the events business. He changed my professional life as well as my personal life because he became my friend.”

Tom is survived by his three daughters, Jessica, Katelyn and Kristina; two grandsons, Joey and Tommy; as well as a brother, Robert Martin; and his partner of eight years, Gladys Blakeman— all of whom he loved to spend time with at the beach and in Charlotte. His care for even the smallest details carried over into his personal life as well, whether he was pruning a tree, stocking the fridge for family coming to stay at his house for the holidays, or executing on one of his many DIY projects.

“He was always rebuilding, remodeling,” says Blakeman. “We built a patio together and flower boxes for one of his daughters. When the heater went out at my townhome, the electrician told him it’d be $1,700. He said, ‘I’m not paying that, I’m going to Google it.’ He did it himself for $500.”

Tom hired special events manager Laura Hale about a year ago. They both had backgrounds in catering and shared a love of the Boston Celtics. Tom was ambitious, yes, with big goals and ideas for how to grow the Mint’s special events business, she says.

But Tom was also nurturing and sweet. Above all else, Hale says she loved how Tom was always up for a good chat. “You’d go in and be like, ‘Hey, how’s it going? How was your weekend?’ And you’d be standing in his office door for the next 30 to 40 minutes. He’d tell you that weekend he’d had Bloody Marys and then he’d tell you about the time he was in Boston and had the best Bloody Mary.”[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Remembering Robert E. Wylie Jr.

Robert E. Wylie Jr. passed away January 2, 2021 at the age of 70. For 12 years he was a beacon of kindness and grace at Mint Museum Randolph, where he served on the housekeeping team.

This spring, the Mint will dedicate a tree to him on the grounds of Mint Museum Randolph.

A native Charlottean, Robert graduated from Olympic High School. As a teenager, he fell for a cute girl named Mary who went to rival school West Charlotte High. She asked him to her prom. The couple went on to be married for nearly 50 years.

Robert and Mary had four children—Robert Wylie III, Dornetta, and twins Christina and Christopher—and later welcomed 12 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. They were all the beneficiaries of Robert’s love of cooking.

“He could cook anything,” says Mary. “Deviled eggs, barbecue ribs. Most people liked his slaw and his baked chicken.”

Before working at the Mint, Robert held a number of jobs at some of the city’s top country clubs. But his role at the Mint held a special place in his heart. “He loved everything about that job,” says Mary.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”42263″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]When Lisanne Smith, the facilities manager at Mint Museum Randolph, started her job five years ago, she was told that if she needed to know something, just ask Robert. She and Brian Gallagher, senior curator of decorative arts, both came to count on his warm “good morning” every day in the atrium, his kind, selfless devotion to his job.

It’s hard to quantify how much Robert took care of, says Joyce Weaver, the Mint’s director of library & archives. He did everything from transporting interoffice and external mail to setting up and breaking down for meetings and events, cleaning offices to mopping up spills from the leaky atrium roof—and all in a way that was usually invisible to visitors. “I can’t believe how many times he lugged bins of books from Uptown back to the library,” says Weaver. “He was an unsung hero, someone who didn’t want or need a lot of attention, but every day, took care of us, took care of the museum.”

Robert also had a sense of humor — and an undying love of Dallas Cowboys football. Guest services associate Sue Carver says she’ll never forget watching Robert sweep away a picture of former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton with a broom labeled with a big Cowboys star.

“Robert was part of a special group of people I count on here at the Mint,” says Katherine Steiner, the Mint’s chief registrar. “I always knew that he’d be there to help me with anything I asked, but more than that, I counted on his warm smile. I counted on his presence. He was one of those solid people that warm your heart just by being there, by being constant.”

In March 2020, when the spread of Covid-19 forced the museum to close, Head of Family and Studio Programs Leslie Strauss was at Mint Museum Randolph, frantically gathering art materials to bring home. Robert stepped in to say hello. “We chatted for a bit and I worried over whether our many houseplants in the studios would survive a few weeks without us,” Strauss recalls. But she gave them a heavy watering and turned to leave. Then those days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months.

“When we finally returned to the classroom, we expected to find withered plants,” says Strauss. “Instead we found a table full of happy and healthy plants, having weathered their time without us.”

Robert had watered the plants the entire time they were gone.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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On the Daily

24 Hours in the life of Ruben Natal-San Miguel

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Ruben Natal-San Miguel was in the North Tower when American Airlines Flight 11 came careening into the side of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Natal-San Miguel survived—but his former lifestyle didn’t. He left his finance job and summers-in-the-Hamptons routine. He ditched the high-rise and moved to Harlem. Then the former photography collector picked up the camera himself, drawn to the people he saw as the city morphed in the wake of the tragedy.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”41688″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]“I’ve walked every street in all five boroughs,” Natal-San Miguel says.

A native of Puerto Rico, Natal-San Miguel came to the U.S. to study architecture in college and graduate school—studies that inform his eye for photography. Now 51, Natal-San Miguel is the artist behind the Mint’s first online exhibition, Expanding the Pantheon: Women R Beautiful. His portrait Mama (Beautiful Skin) in the contemporary galleries of Mint Museum Uptown shows a confident woman in front of a red van. She wears a white T-shirt, with cornrows and skin marked by vitiligo. The image—one of 26 included in Women R Beautiful—speaks to the photographer’s overarching goal: introducing a new range of beauty for our consideration. Here, Natal-San Miguel walked us through his typical day.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#68c8c6″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row repeat=”repeat-x” position=”50% 100%” background=”https://mintmuseumold.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/DiamondPatternFade-Website.png”][vc_column][vc_column_text]

7 AM

I’m diabetic, so the first thing I do is test my blood and feed my cat, Dante. I check my email. If it’s press, I need to respond. If something got published, I immediately go on social media. The base of my collectors is older and on Facebook. So I go do a more personal approach there before reposting on Instagram. Then I go and eat and take my meds.

8 AM

For breakfast, the first thing is coffee. It’s part of my family and culture. I was born in Puerto Rico, where my grandfather had a coffee and tobacco plantation. I recently made whole wheat cinnamon pancakes with sliced mandarin oranges cooked in slow fire. I’m daydreaming about it.

9 AM

I’m not exactly a morning person. I hate midday shadows and I love people in natural light. I photograph people exactly how I find them: the hair, the necklace, the shoes. I’m a storyteller. I have a simple, strong connection between me and the subject.

NOON

I make a sandwich or buy it at a corner bodega. My go-to sandwich—well, I’m not supposed to have it all the time—it’s chicken parmesan. In New York, I love it.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]

1 PM

I take a nap. My cat is next to me. He’s black with green eyes, and sweet. I found him in Harlem on a cold December day and he followed me home. I take time to think. It’s part of my process. Right now, my head is all about a book for Women R Beautiful.

With my photographs, I celebrate a life—a lot of these women may not have a voice. My grandfather wouldn’t allow my mother to look at him when she was talking to him. She had to talk to him with her head down. Even though she was highly educated, she was in the shadow of machismo culture. I was a little kid when I saw that, and I had a visceral, strong reaction. I couldn’t believe a father could treat a daughter like that. It’s what motivated me to do a show like what’s at the Mint.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”42184″ img_size=”medium” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]

2:30 PM

I live in a brownstone, have a yard. But I’m a creature of the street. It’s good to travel around this time because kids aren’t coming out of school and the subways aren’t crowded. I want to be in place by 3 or 3:30 PM. My encounters with subjects are no longer than five minutes, usually just a few seconds.

Sometimes I have three cameras on me. The lens caps are off. If I have to wait to take a cap off, my subject may be gone. My work is like a subway ride—very strong, very fast.

You’re passing thousands of people and that person catches your eye and you go after them.  Most New Yorkers are always in a hurry and they don’t want to talk. I feel like I’m selling Tupperware when I’m trying to get their photo. But I’m lucky. I’ll get nine out of 10. These people in the most marginalized areas of the city—they have such wisdom and can tell if you’re a bullshitter. I love and respect that. They can tell I’m not a bullshitter.

I get their email address, get their Instagram feed, and I send the file later. Sometimes I give them a signed print. I stay in touch and invite them to my shows. I want them to see themselves in museums, in galleries.

6 PM

By this time, I have my second cup of coffee. Coffee twice a day, that’s part of my culture. Then that moment before it goes dark—I call it the magic moment. It’s only a few seconds, so you better be somewhere that’s important.

6:30 PM

In the winter, I’m home by this time. In summer, I’ll be out until 8:30 or 9 PM. Dinner is usually salad and soup. Sometimes I’ll buy a rotisserie chicken and share it with my cat. He’s a Harlem cat and loves his fried chicken and rotisserie chicken. After dinner, I look at pictures I’ve taken.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”41700″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]

1 AM

I do what I call my “YouTube videos and Google research.” I Google neighborhoods and notice the demographics, crime statistics, landmarks. I look at an area’s retail. It’s important for me to understand the culture of an area to reflect it in the photos. I took the photo of the three Muslim girls in Women R Beautiful because I’d seen the subway coming through in a commercial for a local newscaster. I saw it, googled the gym name on the side of a building, and went there. I sat like a fool for 90 minutes on those steps, waiting. I said, “I’m going to sit here until someone comes down who’s amazing.” And the three little Muslim girls came down. That was it.

1:30 AM

I do The New York Times crossword. It takes me only a few minutes because I’ve been doing it for years. I like to motivate my brain to think. Then I give myself time to think.

3 AM

Sleep.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]—As told to Caroline Portillo, Senior Director of Marketing & Communications at The Mint Museum[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]This story was originally published in the January, 2021 issue of Inspired, the Mint’s biannual member magazine.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Summer Wheat (American, 1977–). Foragers, 2020, colored vinyl on mylar, 805.5 x 738.5 inches. T0263.1a-qqqq. Photo credit: Chris Edwards

Summer Wheat’s monumental Foragers underscores the Mint’s ongoing commitment to women artists, perspectives historically underrepresented in museums

By Michael J. Solender

Uptown visitors meet with a fresh sensory experience this fall as Mint Museum Uptown reopens its doors following the Covid-mandated lockdown. As guests enter the towering glass-paneled Robert Haywood Morrison Atrium, they’re enveloped in warm jewel-toned light bathing the space of the new 96-panel “stained glass” installation Foragers by contemporary American artist Summer Wheat.

And while the quiet beauty of hand-drawn, collaged and placed colored vinyl panels encourage many to slow their pace and reflect in the grandeur, the imagery of strong, powerful women, taking on traditional male roles of hunters and providers, makes a clear and confident statement—women are represented on their own terms, making vital contributions.

The messaging is not accidental. Wheat’s work is deliberate in pushing back on gender objectification and unidimensional portrayal often depicted in museum collections. “Histories we tell, and the histories told to us are never really true,” Wheat says, her slight Oklahoma drawl elongating her cadence. “They’re only telling one side of the story, and there’s a lot that’s left out.”

Wheat, a mid-career artist whose work has been displayed in museums only within the past few years, is bucking a trend unfavorable to women. Just 11 percent of all acquisitions and 14 percent of exhibitions at 26 prominent American museums over the past decade were of work by female artists, according to a recent study by art market information company Artnet.

Recognizing this historical underrepresentation of women’s voices on public display, the Mint is leading the way to better balance the scales. “We have a strong community partner and advocate in Wells Fargo whose values align so closely with the museum on this important social and cultural issue,” says Todd Herman, Mint Museum President & CEO, “Something  we really admire and treasure in the relationship we’ve had with Wells Fargo is they collaborate with us and push us further in ways that make the community better. Their Women Artist Fund and their support of our Foragers installation is a wonderful example of that.”

Charlotte knows Wells Fargo as a significant community partner and stalwart investor in our region’s diversity and success. Their foundation focuses on projects and innovation at the community level such as awareness and social change, increasing housing affordability, and access to capital for businesses. Last year, they contributed more than $14 million in support of projects and programing in the Charlotte region. In addition to programmatic work with quantitative measure, like the number of low-income individuals placed into safe and affordable housing, a component of the foundation’s work focuses on bringing perspectives and understanding to social issues through the arts.

“As company, we’re one of the largest small business lenders to women owned businesses,” says Jay Everette, Wells Fargo’s senior vice president of philanthropy and corporate social responsibility. “With the arts and culture sector of our [philanthropic] work, we realize putting a focus on female artists helps elevate and escalate women’s voices through promoting their artwork. Not only is Foragers a significant work by an important female artist, it’s also public art that anybody can come in and access without having to pay a fee.”

It was the Mint Museum’s 80^th anniversary celebration and the 2016 Women of Abstract Expressionism exhibition that served as a catalyst for the formation of the Wells Fargo Foundation Women Artist Fund according to Everette. “We were beginning to formulate some of the strategies on this and through the exhibition discovered there were a group of other women artists leading the way in the movement.  But they did not have gallery representation. They were not being picked up by museums after the abstract expressionist movement.”

Inspired, the Wells Fargo Foundation set about to address and help reconcile the imbalance of female representation in museum collections. “The Women Artist Fund was established three years ago, and we’ve been successful in helping to place and acquire seminal pieces of art in permanent museum collections across North Carolina,” says Everette. Other museums benefiting from the program include the Cameron Museum of Art in Wilmington, The Weatherspoon Museum of Art in Greensboro, and The Blowing Rock Art Museum in Blowing Rock.

Admirers of Summer Wheat’s Foragers, on display through September 6, 2022, will be pleased to note that through the generosity of The Wells Fargo Foundation Women Artist Fund, the artist’s work With Side, With Shoulder, a large painting where Wheat’s technique extrudes paint through wire mesh, has been acquired for the Mint’s permanent collection.

Mary Myers Dwelle, one of the Mint’s female founders would undoubtedly be pleased.

Foragers is part of the exhibition In Vivid Color: Pushing the Boundaries of Perception in Contemporary Art that opens Oct. 16 at Mint Museum Uptown.

Michael J. Solender is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, American City Business Journals, Metropolis Magazine, Business North Carolina, the Charlotte Observer, and others. He develops custom content and communications for businesses and organizations.

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Celebration photos of our reopening

Mint Museum Uptown and Mint Museum Randolph re-opened to the public with a celebratory weekend of music and free admission. Look back at photos captured during the celebration.

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Suffragette Bookend from Silk Road Bazaar (fair trade and made by women), $36 // Susan B. Anthony Ornament from Silk Road Bazaar (fair trade and made by women), $24 // VOTE Enamel Pin, $12 // 19th Amendmints, $4

15+ items that celebrate women, and the centennial of women’s suffrage

This one’s for the women — and men who respect women’s rights. This year marks the centennial anniversary of women getting the right to vote. On Aug. 26, 1920, the 19th amendment passed giving women the right to vote. The vote opened opportunities for women to innovate, create and legislate for women’s rights — and art by women for women has always been a social commentary to push change. As a matter of fact, The Mint Museum’s history is rich with generations of women dedicating time to establish and grow The Mint Museum, including Mary Myers Dwelle who was the driving force behind the creation of the first art museum in North Carolina. Read more about how the Mint’s history is women’s history.

The curated list of art, books, cards and more below celebrate the strength and voice of women, and are all available at the Mint Museum Store.

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall $26  // Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women’s Fight for Their Rights by Mikki Kendall and A. D’Amico, $19.99.

Books that tell “her”story.

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eeBoo 100 Piece Votes for Women, $18 // 500 Piece Women’s March Puzzle, $24

Pandemic puzzle project with a lesson. Get it for the kids and you. eeBoo is “Woman Owned. Mother Run. Sustainable Sourced.”

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The Illustrated Feminist: 50 Postcards by Aura Lewis, $15.99

Send a note of inspiration with these notecards that celebrate strong women.

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Dean and Martin Pottery (pictured pottery is made by Stephanie Nicole Martin) $60-$198

A reminder in every sip of the different women and how each has made a difference in their own way.

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RBG bookend from Silk Road Bazaar (fair trade and made by women), $36 // RBG puzzle, $24 // RBG mug, $16

The notorious R.B.G once said “Fight for the things you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”

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“The New Woman’s Survival Catalog,” $30

Originally published in 1973, The New Woman’s Survival Catalog is a survey of the second-wave feminist effort across the United States.

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Calhoun & Co. throw blankets, $130. Designs are created from illustrations and artwork by founder Kerry Stokes

A throw with a thoughtful message and design — something we can all use a little more of these days.

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Celebrating Juneteenth with community discussions, music, storytelling and more

We are entering a new age in our country, where many are opening their eyes, affirming that #BlackLivesMatter, and educating themselves on the still very current issues of racism in America. With these conversations has come the recognition and awareness of Juneteenth. On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger brought news to Galveston, Texas that the war had ended and that the enslaved were free. This news was delivered two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and symbolizes the news finally reaching the whole country.

In honor of Juneteenth, and the continued work that is needed to end systemic racism in America, cultural organizations and community groups across Charlotte are hosting programs from block parties and food drives to panels and family days. We encourage everyone to join virtually or in-person (with social distancing, of course), and let the history, creativity, and celebration inspire you to continue learning and doing the work to put an end to racism in our country. 

June 19

The 23rd annual Juneteenth Festival of the Carolinas will be held June 19-21 from 10 AM to 8 PM at House of Africa in Plaza Midwood. Attendees can expect a multi-cultural celebration filled with drum circles, local vendors, performances, as well as an open mic. The event is free, and social distancing measures will be honored.

Levine Museum of the New South is hosting a virtual Juneteenth celebration for families from 9 AM to 5 PM. The festivities can be accessed via the museum’s Facebook and Youtube channel, and will feature spoken word, storytelling, history, and music. Visit the website to view the schedule of performances and talks. 

Charlotte Mecklenburg Library invites ages 12 and older to the virtual Engage 2020: Juneteenth Lunch and Learn noon to 1:30 PM. Learn more about the past, present, and future of civic engagement. Special guest Elisha Minter will reflect on Juneteenth celebrations in Charlotte. Register with a valid email address and the meeting link will be sent a few hours before the program begins.

The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture is hosting an art workshop with artist and educator Alicia L. McDaniel from 3-4 PM, This event is free and people of all ages are encouraged to participate. For more information on supplies or how to join in, visit the Gantt’s website. 

Charlotte Ballet is offering free admission to its regularly scheduled intersession classes (different classes taking place at 3 and 4 PM) and ask that participants donate money that they would have spent on attending the class to an organization that is doing work to advance racial equality in Charlotte or nationwide. More information and class schedules can be found on the Charlotte Ballet website.

From 5-8 PM, the Coalition for a New South is hosting a food truck rally at Hornets Nest Park on Beatties Ford Road. The socially distanced event will be filled with food, music, and speakers. It also serves as a space to remember victims of police brutality and an event to call participants to anti-racist action. More details and park location can be found on the Facebook event page for the gathering. 

June 20

SEAS University, Unitymarkets, and Riziki Zafira together are hosting a Juneteenth Social Distance Community Celebration, filled with community vendors, live entertainment, give-aways, and more. The family-friendly event takes place from noon to 4 PM, and then transitions into a day party for adults from 4-8 PM. The event is free, and more information can be found on the event Facebook page.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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6 art books that raise the curtain for black artists, racism and protest

As society grapples with unrest around racism and protest, books about black artists and black history shine a spotlight on the struggles and accomplishments of black Americans throughout history. These six books, and many others, are available at Mint Museum Store uptown.

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Hip Hop Raised Me by DJ Semtex

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30 Americans: Rubell Museum

30 Americans showcases works by many of the most important African American artists of the last three decades. The artwork focuses on issues of racial, sexual, and historical identity in contemporary culture while exploring the powerful influence of artistic legacy and community across generations. Since the 1960s, Miami’s Rubell family has collected the works of the most relevant contemporary African American artists as an integral part of their broader mission to collect the most interesting art of our time, which is showcased in the book. (Rubell Family Collection, $45).

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Jill Freedman: Resurrection City, 1968

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Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic

Filled with reproductions of Kehinde Wiley’s bold, colorful and monumental work, this book encompasses the artist’s various series of paintings as well as his sculptural work, which boldly explore ideas about race, power, and tradition. Celebrated for his classically styled paintings that depict African American men in heroic poses, Kehinde Wiley is among the expanding ranks of prominent black artists who are reworking art history and questioning its depictions of people of color. This volume surveys Wiley’s career from 2001 to the present. It includes early portraits of the men Wiley observed on Harlem’s streets, and which laid the foundation for his acclaimed reworkings of Old Master paintings in which he replaces historical subjects with young African American men in contemporary attire: puffy jackets, sneakers, hoodies, and baseball caps. (Prestel, $49.95).

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Messages from Home: The Art of Leo Twiggs (Signed Copy)

Foreword from book by William U. Eiland : “In the middle of one of the interminable brouhahas over the Confederate Battle Flag here in the South, I heard of an African-American artist who was using the symbol in innovative ways, painting it in batik to invest it with new meaning. Leo Twiggs’ flags are no paeans to a lost cause, no emblems even of a mythic past. They are, however, in the language of contemporary criticism, ‘comments’ on society through ‘appropriation.’ In this case, theoretical cliché comes close to truth. Twiggs, with gentle but unswerving irony, takes the flag and claims it as part of his Southern heritage. Tattered, disappearing almost, the standard about which so much controversy has been generated becomes in Twiggs’ hand an ambiguous metaphor of unresolved conflict and shared history. Such images on color-infused fabric not only mock the flag as a talisman losing its power, but also present a symbol that in its very mutability and degradation is strangely current, yet jarringly discomfiting in an era when the nation has a black president. In addition to the Civil War, it calls to mind for Twiggs the suffering of slaves, the turmoil of Reconstruction, the indignity of Jim Crow, the promise of the Civil Rights era and its aftermath, when this piece of cloth, venerated by some, reviled by others, continues to inspire argument and dissent. Twiggs transforms the image through shaping a new iconography for it, one in which he finds the possibility, albeit remote, of accord. Twiggs’ art, thus, even with the most explosive of subjects, is intensely personal but never strident. Through depictions of the violence of hurricanes, the complexity of race relations, the romance of Southern rivers, and the bonds of family, he weaves his experiences into a coherent, but occasionally elusive narrative. (Cecil Williams Photography/Publishing / Claflin University Press, $82).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

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Create your own Chihuly-like sculpture

Inspired by Royal Blue Mint Chandelier by Dale Chihuly that hangs in the Carroll Gallery at Mint Museum Uptown, this project incorporates layering and mixing colors while using recycled materials from home. Watch how Royal Blue Mint Chandelier was moved to the Mint Museum Uptown.

MATERIALS

• Old wire hanger (the thinner the metal, the easier it is to bend) 
• Recycled plastic bottles 
• Paint 
• Paint brush 
• Scissors (pointed tip work best) 
• Corks (optional) 
• Pliers or metal snips (optional) 

NOTE: This project is geared to older children and teens. To simplify this for younger children, precut the plastic bottles and begin at step 4.

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1. Begin by removing the paper rod from the hanger. Either bend or snip off ends of the hanger so that the corks can be attached. If you don’t have any corks or wire cutters, just bend the two ends of the hanger in opposite directions. This will create the bottom of your chandelier and keep the plastic bottles from falling off the hanger. Option: If you don’t have a metal hanger, you can create a sculpture that sits flat. 

2. Using scissors, cut off the tops or bottoms of the plastic bottles. Squeezing the bottle flat makes cutting easier. Once that is done, cut on a spiral or in straight lines stopping near the top. Leave enough of the top or bottom of the bottle so that they can be stacked together. Alternating tops and bottoms will create space between layers. Play with both options to see which one appeals to you before cutting all your bottles. (The thickness of the plastic bottles varies by brand; you may need to ask someone for help with the cutting). 

3. If you are using the bottoms of the bottles be careful not to make the hole too big or it will not stay on the hanger. (See lower part of the photo). If you are using the tops of the bottles, cut just below the mouth of the bottle where the plastic becomes thinner. (See upper part of the photo). 

4. After you have decided how many bottles you want to use and how you will stack them, paint them any way you like. If you want the bottom of your chandelier to be seen, paint or decorate your corks. Make sure the paint is dry before assembling. 

5. Slide each bottle over the top of the hanger, stacking one inside the other. Bending or rolling the plastic strips in the opposite direction will take out some of the curl and create a straighter piece. Have fun creating your own unique work of art! 

Challenge: Build a wire armature to create a larger piece. Be sure to watch the video below to see how Dale Chihuly built his chandelier. Add a strand of battery operated mini lights to make this project shine! 

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The Mint Museum From Home is Presented By Chase.

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‘I need time and space to make work, but my inspiration most often comes from messes and mistakes.’

Asheville-based fiber artist Nava Lubelski transforms textiles with embroidery that pierces through splashes of stain and color. She fills tears and holes with delicate lace stitching that result in abstract creations. Her piece Chance of Flurries, 2011 is part of the permanent collection at The Mint Museum.

Studio location: Asheville, North Carolina

Nava Lubelski at home with her 7-year-old son.

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Who are artists that inspire you and your work?

Lee Bontecou, Louise Bourgeois, Rina Bannerjee, Ghada Amer, Bruce Naumann, Lee Krasner, Tom Friedman, Helen Frankenthaler, and Sarah Sze.

What is your favorite piece or artwork that you created and why?

I’m fond of Day Dreams, 2008. I feel like the simplified color palette highlights the juxtaposition between luscious, detailed stitching and wild, organic splatters. I also am proud of the piece in the Mint Museum collection, Chance of Flurries, 2011.  

Nava Lubelski (American, 1968–). Chance of Flurries, 2011, acrylic paint and hand stitching on canvas. Museum Purchase: Funds provided by Mike and Betsy Blair in memory of Catherine Schiff Blair. 2016.31

How does your environment influence your art?

I respond to both chaos and calm. I need time and space to make work, but my inspiration most often comes from messes and mistakes. 

The yellow is”Tidying Up, 2020,” acrylic paint, hand-stitched thread and manufactured trimming on canvas.

 Are you finding new inspiration for your art during this shift of perspective in the world?

I’m finding it hard to focus on my usual work right now, with a kid at home full-time, and have been playing with more immediate projects, mailing out impromptu handmade books and working on drawings. Luckily, I am an imperfectionist, so I just believe in trying hard and seeing what happens, but it doesn’t have to go a certain way.

What positive perspective changes in society would you like to see come from the pandemic?

I hope we all can learn to see the value in slowing down. I think people are already seeing clearly that things are not and have not been working well for all of us.

What does your daily routine look like now? Have any recommendations for stress relievers to settle after another day done?

My husband has closed his office, so my work space right now is filled with a lot of additional equipment and in turn I’ve sprawled out into the living room. My afternoons tend to be busy with family/dog walks in the woods. Mornings are when I can catch some alone time. I enjoy lying in the dark and seeing what comes. I’m not someone who fears insomnia. I appreciate the quiet and the dark, and the chance to feel what I’m feeling and hear my own thoughts, though they aren’t always pleasant. 

“The Deadly Ooh Business, 2020,” acrylic paint, hand-stitched thread, yarn and wire on canvas.

What’s you cooking these days?

I like cobbling together Indian-type meals. I’m not good at following recipes, but I’m pretty good at winging it.

What are you currently reading?

At the moment it’s mostly news, although I read Red Clocks not too long ago. Most of my reading stamina lately seems to be used up by reading Fablehaven to my son.

What is your favorite music choice?

What is your favorite podcast?

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The Mint Museum From Home is Sponsored by Chase.

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From war-torn Colombia to the Mint: how one staffer found her home away from home at the museum

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]We at the Mint were so excited about International Museum Day this Monday, May 18 that we decided to unroll a week of content for it. And how better to round out the week than to tell the story of this year’s theme—diversity—than through the story of one of the Mint’s crown jewels: Kurma Murrain. [/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”27713″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]A native of Colombia, South America, Murrain joined the Mint team as community programs coordinator in 2018, where she (alongside Rubie Britt-Height, director of community relations) helps organize some of the museum’s most dynamic programming catering to the region’s international audience and anyone who wants a taste of the world outside Charlotte. Murrain is also an award-winning poet, a talented performer (she was part of The Vagina Monologues at Queens University of Charlotte in 2016), and always ready with an easy laugh.

Here’s Murrain’s story, as told to Caroline Portillo. Lightly edited for brevity and clarity.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text]I grew up in Bogota, Colombia, in the mountains. I was always writing something — I started with little poems for my mom about how much I loved her. Then in my early teen years at school, I always wanted to share what I was writing with my friends. The teachers noticed and started calling on me to read my poems: in the classroom, on Mother’s Day, on Teacher’s Day. When I was taking physics in high school, I was so bad at it. Failing miserably, and there was no way I was going to pass that class. Then one day my physics teacher came in the classroom, after having read a poem I’d posted on the bulletin board at school. He said, “You don’t need to study physics. You have a talent. I’ll give you a passing grade.” [/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”38217″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Escobar, narcos and ‘a good place to be’ 

We watch a lot of American TV and movies in Colombia. I grew up poor, and to watch those TV shows, I thought everybody in the United States lived an abundant life, and had beautiful houses. Plus, in my country, there was a lot of racism. My brother and I were usually the only black students in the school,  and we were bullied because we were black. I didn’t see that on the TV shows in the United States, so I thought, “that’s a good place to be.” 

I was also living in Colombia during the time of Pablo Escobar and the narco war. I experienced so many horrendous things. They were killing everybody—journalists, artists, important people from the government. They were kidnapping and putting car bombs everywhere. So, yes, I was dreaming about the United States, but I also had another motivation to get out of there.

[NOTE: I am happy to report that Colombia’s former president Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Prize for his efforts to bring the nation’s more than 50-year civil war to an end. Colombia is now a safer, more beautiful place.][/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”38216″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]In 1998, a coworker told me the YMCA was recruiting summer camp counselors from other countries. I was hired to work at a special needs camp in New Jersey for three months. I had my first experience in the United States and wanted to come back. I came back in 2000 to work at another special needs camp in the Catskills in New York. 

Afterward, I kept thinking “I want to go back, but I want to work in my field, education.” In Colombia, I was teaching English at several universities and teaching private classes at a bank, so my friend told me about a program called Visiting International Faculty, that hires teachers to come to the U.S. for three to five years. 

I called them and told them about my experience, and they said I was the perfect candidate except for one little thing: I needed to have had a drivers’ license for at least two years. I didn’t drive. So I started taking classes, got my license. This was the thing I’d been dreaming of my whole life, so I was like, “OK, it’s only two years.” 

I was 32 when I could finally apply to be a teacher in the US. I marked on my application that I wanted to work in California. That’s what I’d seen in the movies. But it was a school in Charlotte that wanted me, South Meck High School. And they wanted me to be there in two weeks. I had a mini panic attack, heart attack, and stroke at the same time. And when I saw the email, I said “Charlotte?” 

I even considered not going because I’d fallen in love. And this man was gorgeous. But when I told him, “Hey I got this email and I may go to Charlotte in two weeks,” he started laughing. I said, “What the heck?” 

And he said, “I’m laughing because my best friends live in Charlotte.” [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]‘Like Disneyland’ 

It was amazing. The guy I was dating made introductions on email, and his friends said I could stay with them at their home off Carmel Road while I settled down. I didn’t even have a car, so they took me to school and picked me up in the afternoon. I taught English as a Second Language (ESL) at South Meck for three years. 

In 2005, one of the Spanish teachers, Mr. Lopez, told me there was a poetry contest at the Mint Museum. You didn’t have to sign up for anything. Just show up and read your poem. 

We went straight to the auditorium at Mint Museum Randolph. I didn’t win, but there were more contests at the Mint—four a year—and I won three consecutive times between 2005 and 2006.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”38220″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]I met Rubie Britt Height, the Mint’s director of community relations, in 2012. I was getting an award at the main library uptown and asked the audience if I could read a poem I’d written for my mother who had passed just three months earlier. After I read the poem, Rubie had her mouth open in awe. Then she started inviting me to events at the museum to read my poems, especially Mint to Move. Before everyone started dancing, I would read a poem. [/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”38223″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]In 2016, I went to teach English in China for a year. I love adventure. But even while I was there, Rubie asked me to send a video of a poem for the Mint’s Día de las Velitas (Day of the Candles)   celebration, a Colombian tradition, that December. And a few months later, she had an event at
the museum while I was visiting a cousin in Thailand, and she asked me to read a poem I wrote while I was in China. Because of the time difference, I got up at 5 AM to get ready to connect to Charlotte via Skype. 

When I came back to the U.S. I returned to teach Spanish at a school in South Carolina, but I wasn’t fulfilled. Then Rubie gave me a call. She said there was a position open at the Mint for a community programs coordinator and that I should apply. 

When they hired me on April 30, 2018, I was ecstatic. The Mint was the best place in the world. Like Disneyland. [/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”38224″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]

Called to be inspired

The Mint is the most beautiful place. It’s quiet. It calls you to meditate, to be inspired. And my coworkers are so kind. Before working at the Mint, I already had strong ties to the Latin community and the artistic community. I’d been on panels and shared poetry at places like Queens University and Johnson C. Smith University. But being at The Mint Museum now is a platform on which I can help others. [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]It’s exciting to plan for them, to talk to the performers, to see them and see the reaction of the people. It makes me feel accomplished, too. After each event I think, “Wow, this was great. And I was part of it.” 

What I love about the Mint’s programming is I am able to see such a variety of artists, painters, musicians, dancers, poets. It’s such a great array. Every program is so unique and brings a different public. 

The Mint is a big part of the Latin community. At Mint Música & Poesía Café—a biannual event that features talented poets, dancers and musicians from the region— we’ve had a salsa dancer who’s now dancing at an academy in New York. We’ve had a cellist from Colombia play while a PowerPoint of photos from Colombian landscapes played. We’ve had a poet from Puerto Rico share a powerful story about his father. [/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”38222″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Before I worked at the Mint and heard about Mint to Move—our bimonthly cultural dance night that regularly draws 300 to 400 people—I was like “We can dance at the museum? And there’s a DJ and sometimes a live band playing? Oh my gosh.” So I started bringing all my friends. 

Through Mint to Move, I’ve met black people from other Latin American areas and countries, such as Puerto Rico, Cuba. They understand the struggle. For instance, I teach with the Mint’s Grier Heights Youth Art Program on Wednesdays. The children think I’m black before I speak. And then once I speak, they just open their eyes and are like, “you’re not black.”[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]“But, wait,” I ask them. “Why does that change?” I have to explain to them that slavery came to North America, but also to all parts of America: Central America, South America, the Carribbean. They don’t teach that at school.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”38221″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]It’s very touching to be able to see and experience artists who are from your country or any Latin American country. It’s like bringing a little bit of home to the community. And the language—to be able to listen to poetry or music in Spanish. The older people especially get so emotional when they can listen to their language and talk to people like me. It’s a great way to stay connected to their community and their country. 

Then I also work with people who just want to know more about Latin American culture. We had a group from UNC Charlotte and another at Johnson C. Smith University who started coming to Mint Música & Poesia Café and Mint to Move. They just love these events. Then there’s Bilingual Stories & Music, which draws Latin families, Asian families, African-American families, white families. And there are so many marriages with spouses from the U.S. who want to learn about their spouses’ cultures through our programs. It’s a beautiful connection they make because they have that special person next to them, and they’re experiencing the programs together. They can see through different eyes. And because of the Mint, I get to be a part of that.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Artist Sheila Gallagher finds inspiration for her artwork in everything she sees.

‘I think the pandemic has really provoked me into asking serious questions about my art practice and more generally what the world needs artists to be.’

Artist, and mom to a high school senior, Sheila Gallagher is an associate professor of fine art at Boston College where she teaches courses on drawing, painting and contemporary art practice. While sheltering at home, she continues to sketch and work in her studio, is relishing a more leisurely schedule, and also tackling a few domestic projects like making curtains. Her artwork, Ghost Orchid Plastic Nebulae, is part of the permanent collection at the Mint.

Studio location: Boston, Massachusetts

Describe the artwork you create and medium you use.

I am an interdisciplinary/hybrid artist and I use any material necessary. I make paintings out of smoke, plastic trash, live flowers … anything. I also make videos and do live drawing performances.

Who are artists that inspire you and your work?

Oh so many! My new art crush is Formafantasma that uses lidar technology to make visually riveting animations that explore life from the perspective of a forest. I am always inspired by the work of artists like Doris Salcedo, Sister Corita, Sarah Sze, and Sanford Biggers who have great minds and deep hearts and really understand form and materiality. And anyone really who knows how to draw: Leonardo, Rembrandt, and Gros. Even though he is unpopular, I think Hans Bellmar makes incredibly beautiful lines.

I also love the work of a little known self-taught Bahamian painter named Amos Ferguson. But if I could only have one piece of art to behold for the rest of my life it would be Stargazer, a small transclucent white marble statue of a female figure from approximately 4,000 BC that I saw at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, and think about all the time. Cultures come and go.

What is your favorite piece or artwork that you created and why?

I think it may very well be Ghost Orchid Plastic Nebulae, a large plastic painting that was commissioned by The Mint Museum and included in the Under Construction exhibition (now part of the permanent collection). I really had to wrestle it to the ground to get the composition to work, and I ended up really liking the psychedelic palette and all of the hidden images and words. I also think it might be one of my favorites because it probably has more hours of me in it than almost any other piece, and I have very fun memories of working with two saintly assistants, Claire and Rachel, who have great voices, and were always singing and willing to pull all nighters with me.

Sheila Gallagher (American). Ghost Orchid Plastic Nebula, 2018, melted plastic on armature. Museum purchase with funds provided by Wells Fargo. 2018.48

How does your environment influence your art?

Everything in my sight line influences my art. I am like a bower bird drawn to every shiny piece of trash. My house and studio are chock full of images and objects and books and small pieces of ephemera. Anything can be a material or mnemonic device. My teenage son has accused us of “drowning in meaningfulness” and likes to remind me that not everything can be special . But I wonder, why not? I don’t think I am quite a hoarder, but under the right wrong circumstances could definitely lean that way.

Tell us about your new morning routine, including when you start your day and how you spend the early hours.

I have to say, I am growing quite fond of my “shelter-in-place” mornings. Now that my son is finishing high school online, the mornings are much more leisurely. I usually wake up around 7:30 AM and listen to a book on tape for about 30 minutes. Then I go downstairs and get tea and toast and take them back to bed and read under the covers. I try not to look at the news before I meditate. At around 9 AM I start checking texts and emails and jumping all over the internet. When I feel myself going down an unproductive rabbit hole, I jump up and make the bed and a to-do list and try to get cracking.

Are you finding new inspiration for your art during this shift of perspective in the world?

I think the pandemic has really provoked me into asking serious questions about my art practice and more generally what the world needs artists to be. I am definitely going inward and trying to cultivate intuition and discernment, which I have to trust will ultimately manifest in artwork, Inshallah. For now it doesn’t feel right to plan a big exhibition, and I have put aside some large projects. Like a lot of artists I know, in this moment I feel drawn to a collective creativity while at the same time find myself more comfortable doing small and quiet solo things like sketching and making little collages in my sketchbook.

Tell us about your afternoon. Are you working from home, going to your studio?

With everyone working remotely, my house has never felt more crowded, and I feel very grateful to have a studio for escape and solitude. Most afternoons are a combo platter of studio and house. Everyday I do e-mails and draw and I try to stay connected with my art practice, teaching job and friends. Taking walks is the new going out for drinks.

I find I have a new found interest in domestic projects like making curtains, cooking soup, and organizing the laundry closet. My house has never been so clean. Now that Purell is an endangered product, we have started making artisanal hand sanitizer (called Mom’s Napalm) out of grain alcohol, witch hazel, eucalyptus oil, cloves and my secret ingredient: holy water from Saint Brigid’s Well in Ireland.

Gallagher created her own artisanal hand sanitizer while sheltering at home that her family named “Mom’s Napalm”

What positive perspective changes in society would you like to see come from the pandemic?

I believe something really positive will emerge out of this global experience of our shared vulnerability. There is a possibility for deep transformation where the world’s resources, scientific intelligence and good will are forever put at the service of the common good and protecting the most fragile amongst us. I was very moved by a An Imagined Letter from COVID-19 to Humans by Kristin Flyntz , which eloquently imagines a more earth-centeredb mindset.

Have any recommendations for stress relievers to settle after another day done?

After dinner we usually read and/or watch a show. I am really into the series the New Pope Stylin. Lately we have also been getting into making “God’s Eyes” out of yarn. Very easy and very therapeutic and a welcome break from the screen. I am also a big fan of online yoga classes.

Gallagher at her studio in front of a collection of yarn God’s eyes that she’s made for a friend’s shrine. “I highly recommend Gods eyes as excellent pandemic therapy,” she says.

What are you cooking? What’s your comfort food of choice?

Seafood soup and warm buttered toast, and hot tea with coconut cake, and red wine.

What are you currently reading?

Lots of poetry, too much news, Hyperallergic, Jerry Saltz, Richard Rohr, John Prendergast, and Akin by Emma O’Donoghue.

What is your favorite music choice?

These days I find myself drawn to chanting, and silly 80’s dance music.

What is your favorite podcast(s)?

I am more of a books -on-tape kind of gal. Right now I am listening to Kevin Barry read his new novel, Might Boat to Tangiers.

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De-stress making a mandala

A mandala is a circular geometric configuration of symbols. With roots in Southeast Asian spiritual tradition, many today use these as a form of focused concentration, meditation, and relaxation. Art making also helps to identify and express emotion. This exercise uses symbols and colors to convey feelings.  

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Supplies

• Sheet of paper or paper plate 

• Colored pencils, markers, or crayons 

• A small round object such as a penny 

• Ruler or measuring tape (or you can just eyeball it) 

[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”36878″ img_size=”medium”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Start by thinking of symbols that you like or that have meaning in your life. You can sketch some out on a separate piece of paper.

Next, think of a list of feelings and write them down. Decide which color best matches the feeling and make a mark for yourself so that you can look back at it as you create your mandala.  [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”36880″ img_size=”medium”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Find the center of your paper or paper plate using a measuring device. Trace a small object over the top of the center point. This will give you a starting place. Working from the center, create patterns using symbols or colors that express your feelings.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”36879″ img_size=”medium”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Reflect on your finished piece. What colors are you drawn to? What feelings did you assign to those colors? Did you notice any change in your feelings as you progressed through the activity?  [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row position=”50% 100%” background=”https://mintmuseumold.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/DiamondPatternFade-Website.png”][vc_column][cs_responsive_video radio=”1:1″ mp4=”https://mintmuseumold.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Mandala_Time_Lapse_480-1.mp4″][/cs_responsive_video][vc_empty_space][vc_separator][vc_empty_space][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_column_text]

The Mint Museum From Home is Presented By Chase.

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Photo by Katrina Williams/Fifty Two Hundred Photo

‘I feel an impulse to be bolder, more direct,’ says artist Damian Stamer

Damian Stamer is a North Carolina native whose art is influenced by his Southern roots and rural landscapes. Though he’s painting the same subject matter, Stamer says he’s finding a different energy and urgency to work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Studio location: Nestled in the woods of northern Durham County, North Carolina

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St. Marys Rd 8

How does your environment influence your art?

In a way, my environment is my art. I paint my everyday surroundings. These are the places of my childhood. They allow me to explore memory, with all its faults and fictions, and investigate the tension between personal and historical truth.

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On the Daily: 24 Hours in the Life of Katherine Boxall

[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”12px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Large abstract paintings may be Katherine Boxall’s lifeblood, but she’s no hippie artist. In fact, the 26-year-old Ottawa, Canada native finds freedom—and creativity—in the near-scientific precision she applies to her daily schedule. Boxall, who moved to Charlotte from San Francisco in 2018, is the new Constellation CLT artist, whose work will be on display in Mint Museum Uptown’s public spaces beginning Feb. 21.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”35692″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Boxall currently splits her time between her 25-hour-a-week marketing job at Jerald Melberg Gallery and her west Charlotte studio, a haven for her work with acrylics, spray paint, pastels, and oils. While wrestling her golden retriever puppy, Sophie, out of a mud puddle, Boxall walked us through her typical Wednesday.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#69c5c6″][vc_empty_space height=”18px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]6:10 AM I wake up. I literally do not even get out of my bed until I’ve had two espressos with some oatmeal cream that my fiancé brings to me. We have a golden retriever puppy, Sophie, who will then come in and jump on my side of the bed. So it’s double espresso, then pet the dog. 

6:30 AM My fiancé drops me off at Burn Boot Camp in Elizabeth. When people say, “enjoy your workout,” I think that’s crazy. But I do it, and it feels great. Then I walk back to our home in Elizabeth. 

7:20 AM I pick up Sophie and we go on a walk around the block. Everyone wants to pet her. No one knows my name, but they all know her name. She gets catcalls from across the street. It takes us 30 minutes to go one block. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”35691″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]7:50 AM I have a green smoothie every morning: spinach, cucumber, avocado, banana, celery, and protein powder. I try to ensure I do all my good habits Monday to Friday because I don’t want to think about doing any good habits on the weekends. Like zero. 

9 AM I get to Jerald Melberg Gallery. Technically I’m the social media manager, but we don’t do titles there—Jerald and his wife, Mary, are sticklers about that: not creating a hierarchy. Everyone is expected to be a team player. We usually gather around the coffee pot for 10 minutes. Then I go to my desk in the back and edit pictures and write copy. I have a fake Instagram account, so I can test out how certain things look. I post 10 different things and then log in as a user and see how someone would see it. No detail is too small. It’s about how you make people feel when they’re interacting with your brand. 

Noon I meet with Jerald for 10 minutes before I leave to go home and feed Sophie. Then she takes me for a walk. It’s usually breakfast tacos for lunch. I’ll scramble eggs and put them in tortillas or do a cheese board with cheese, crackers, and olives. It’s not measly. The worst thing I could ever do is under-eat at lunch. It will sabotage my afternoon at the studio. I can’t think about anything when I’m hungry. 

1 PM For the next hour, I sit on my couch and do business and admin stuff: answering emails, scheduling art shipments, applying for new opportunities and awards, and managing my website and social networks. Then I change my clothes. I literally wear the same raggedy Lululemon sweatpants, a vintage Nike sweatshirt and a polar fleece I’ve had since I was 11 years old. [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”12px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”35695″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]2 PM I get to my art studio on Wilkinson Boulevard. It’s 650 square feet and perfect for what I want to do. 

2:05 PM I set everything up and clean up my last session. It helps me get back in the zone. I put on a couple of playlists I’ve been listening to for years. On Spotify, it’d be categorized as “brain food”—ambient, repetitive, electronic, indie. Nothing with too many lyrics or anything that would affect my mood that much because that will affect the way I paint. I usually have two or three large, 8-feet-by-six-feet paintings in my studio at a time, and I also have small ones scattered everywhere. I use the smaller pieces to test out different colors and textures. Then when I go to the big painting, I’m super confident and it just flows. A lot of times I come at the smaller ones with such an intuitive eye that they end up being just as good or better than the big ones. So, there’s not a hierarchy between the works—it’s just my process, a way for me to say, “This is low pressure.” It’s a mind game. I don’t want to see the struggle on the large works. For me, it’s also about knowing when to stop, leaving a lot of negative space. That’s control. 

3 PM  I take some pictures of the work. I love putting progress pictures on my Instagram. It’s fun for people to see, and it keeps me from psyching myself out. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”12px”][vc_column_text]3:30 PM  I take a break. My best artist friend calls me and we talk for an hour about painting. That really helps me feel like I’m still part of the community in California. We are in two different warehouses across the world, but we’re still collaborating and thinking about the same thing. 

4 PM I take the pictures I took of my work and upload them to my computer, where I test a bunch of things in Photoshop. It helps me have even more confidence in my designs. It’s a digital sketchbook. 

4:30 PM  This is the moment where I decide, “Am I going to beat traffic and go home, or am I going to push it until 6:30 p.m.?” It’s usually flipping a coin. Some days I need to do more thinking and work on my computer. Some days I am completely in the zone. [/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”35694″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]7 PM I’m home and my fiancé and I make dinner. I usually marinate salmon in the morning for us to have for dinner that night. He always grills the vegetables. 

8 PM I take Sophie for a walk and then try to be as lazy as possible. At night, we watch a lot of Netflix and HBO. We just finished “You.”  

10:30 PM Bedtime. I’m definitely not a hippie artist—I’m a type-A artist. I think if you’re trying to take it seriously, you have to take it seriously. If you don’t treat it like your day job, it’s not your day job. It takes a lot of constant effort.

katherineboxall.com 

— As told to Caroline Portillo, Director of  Marketing & Communications[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The Mint Museum is pleased to announce the public debut of Lumisonica, a site-specific, interactive light and sound installation on the Grand Staircase of Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts created by Vesna Petresin. Beginning Friday, November 16, visitors will experience a changing canvas of ambient light and sound that responds to their movements as they climb or descend the stairs.

That evening, Mint Museum President & CEO Todd A. Herman PhD and artist Vesna Petresin will make remarks. The event begins at 6 PM with remarks anticipated at 6:30 PM. Petresin and Creative Design Lead Ben Mason will also be available to speak to the media. There will be a cash bar in the museum’s atrium, and the museum galleries will remain open until 9 PM.

Petresin, born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, is a trans-disciplinary artist who has exhibited and performed at the Tate Modern; ArtBasel Miami; the Royal Academy of the Arts; the Venice Biennale; the Institute of Contemporary Arts London; and the Vienna Secession. She is based in London, Amsterdam, and Berlin. She is scheduled to be an artist in residence at the McColl Center for Art + Innovation from January through April.

Mason, based in Asheville, runs a digital media business offering services such as media systems architecture and design, photography, animation, web design, sound design, show control/stage interactives, and more. He designed and implemented the lighting and sound systems and consulted on programming for Lumisonica.

The project was funded through a generous grant from The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which challenged museums to use technology to enhance the visitor experience.

Creating a multisensory landscape

Lumisonica transforms the museum’s main entrance into an unparalleled immersive experience that will be choreographed by the visiting public. Based upon the idea of the smart city, this multisensory landscape makes invisible space visible, audible, and tangible while aiming to increase people’s awareness that they can and do shape their own place, perceptions and reality. Lumisonica assures a daring and playful experience like no other in the heart of Charlotte’s flourishing art district. Juxtaposed near the large reflective Niki de Saint Phalle sculpture Firebird in front of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, this light and sound sculpture provides another dynamic feature to highlight entropic experiences, moiré patterns and other optical and perceptional illusions in this cultural area.

The “smart city” concept of this dynamic datascape is drawn from two components that change the form to an accessible visual/audio display based upon public movement and engagement:

Visual content is created by programmable LED light features embedded into the staircase and railings. The light effects are designed to work interactively based on data captured from the environment as well as on presets of visual effects. The light effects are programmed along a 24/7 schedule with pre-rendered sets at specific times of the day, combined with responsive effects based on criteria such as visibility, program of events at the museum, and the number of visitors.

Audio content permeates ambient sound loops designed to respond and support the light effects. These amplify the visitor’s feeling of presence in the environment and assist their spatial navigation, by amplifying the ranges of frequencies that translate to embodied sensations. The audio content includes composed soundscapes and loops of sonic textures as well as key framed musical motifs on specific days and at specific times to announce events.

“My work tries to offer a moment to remember we inhabit and co-create a multisensory symphony,” said Petresin. “The piece for the Mint has been inspired by the idea that matter is information under constant transformation, bringing memory, human connection, wonder, and innovation.”

Lumisonica will be in place during The Mint Museum’s upcoming exhibition Immersed in Light (Fall 2019 – Spring 2020). The exhibition will feature experiential lighting installations by four contemporary artists and designers at Mint Museum Uptown.

Staircase to enhance museum experience, visitation

The Mint was among 12 recipients of $1.87 million in funding from the Knight Foundation for new ways of using technology to immerse visitors in art. Institutions in cities including Philadelphia, Detroit, Miami, Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York City are joining Charlotte in creating new tools ranging from chat bots to augmented reality apps to engage new audiences.

Funding for this project is part of a Knight Foundation initiative to help museums better meet new community demands and use digital tools to meaningfully engage visitors in art. Knight, which promotes informed and engaged communities, has helped institutions—from newsrooms to libraries—adapt to and thrive in the digital age. This funding expands the foundation’s use of its digital expertise to help art museums build stronger, more vibrant communities.

“The arts have the rare power to bring diverse communities together, provoke personal reflection, and inspire new ways of thinking,” said Victoria Rogers, Knight Foundation vice president for the arts. “Our hope is that by integrating technology, museums can better reach and engage audiences in ways that connect them to the art.”

ABOUT VESNA PETRESIN

Vesna Petresin is currently an Artist-in-Residence at Amsterdam University of the Arts and a Visiting Fellow at Goldsmiths (University of London). She has been an Artist in Residence at ZKM in Germany and created a London-based trans-disciplinary art collective whose exploration of optics, acoustics and psychology takes the format of performance, installation and artifact.

As a time architect, non-object based designer, space composer and performer, her practice utilizes an alchemy of media and senses (sound, film, space, interaction, and performance) to take art out of the white cube and bring it into an immersive experience. The key concept is transformation—of the material, the immaterial and the self.

Petresin seeks elements to link cultures rather than separate them and pays attention to archetypal formal constants and patterns existing in nature, human perception and the creative process. Her work in immersive light is ground-breaking and has been featured at Tate Modern, ArtBasel Miami, Venice Biennale, The Royal Festival Hall, The Royal Academy of Arts, ICA, The Sydney Opera House, Vienna Secession, Cannes International Film Festival and Kings Place among others.

Petresin’s academic background in classical music and architecture has propelled her as a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, a Member of the Architectural Association, a keynote speaker at symposia including “SuperLux: Smart Light Art, Design and Architecture for Cities” (Technical University of Munich, 2016), the XR Summit (ISE at RAI, Amsterdam 2018) and a print author of internationally notable publications. She has written on smart cities (Thames & Hudson, Black Dog) and on Leonardo da Vinci’s creative methods in relation to 21st century view of morphogenesis in art and design for Springer Publications.

ABOUT THE JOHN S. AND JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION

Knight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots. We invest in journalism, in the arts, and in the success of cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once published newspapers. Our goal is to foster informed and engaged communities, which we believe are essential for a healthy democracy.

The Young Affiliates of the Mint (the “YAMs”) are proud to present the Sixth Annual Fall Ball: “Mint Main Event.” The black-tie gala will take place on Saturday, November 3 from 8 PM to midnight at Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts and will be themed around old Hollywood and include live entertainment and an open bar. This year’s Fall Ball will serve as a fundraiser in support of the YAMs’ contribution to the Mint’s Annual Fund to provide Mint Museum tours for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students.

In support of the YAMs’ mission of promoting and celebrating the arts, the charitable event will be an ode to old Hollywood glam featuring live music from Sammy Sinatra and the Mad Men, “the South’s premiere Vegas style lounge act with a twist,” as well as Charlotte’s own DJ Chescov. There will even be a red-carpet walk of fame highlighting the names of attendees who purchased early-bird tickets, recognizing them for their support.

“We’re proud to bring Fall Ball back to Mint Museum Uptown following their Grand Re-opening Celebration,” said Amorette Mangum, co-chair of the annual event. “To make this philanthropic event even more accessible for Charlotte’s young professional crowd, we’ve lowered the ticket prices for the first time in the event’s history.”

Tickets start at just $80 for members and $99 for non-members and include hors d’oeuvres and complimentary beer and wine. To learn more and to purchase tickets, visit https://13800.blackbaudhosting.com/13800/Fall-Ball-2018-MINT-MAIN-EVENT.

Special thanks to the 2018 Fall Ball title sponsor, Felix Sabates Lincoln, and our annual gold sponsor, United Global Technologies, as well as Tito’s Vodka and La Belle Helene for their contributions to this annual event. In addition to Fall Ball, the YAMs are proud to partner with UGT for their 2018-2019 signature events including the YP Mixer, Derby Days, and the Art Show.

About Felix Sabates Lincoln

Felix Sabates Lincoln, located on South Boulevard in Charlotte, has a strong and committed sales staff with many years of experience satisfying customers’ needs. Felix Sabates is proud to sponsor the YAMs and the Charlotte arts community as well as serve as the title sponsor for Fall Ball: Mint Main Event.

About the United Global Technologies

For almost a decade, United Global Technologies has set the standard for US-based IT and engineering services. Founded in 2009, by Elizabeth Bernstein and Jason Monastra, UGT has excelled at meeting the diverse information technology, engineering, and operational needs of industrial and service leaders across the country and around the globe. Through the generosity and tireless efforts of UGT employees, families and friends, philanthropy has become more than an initiative — it is a way of life. UGT is headquartered in Charlotte, NC and is thrilled to be a part of the thriving community. To learn more about UGT visit https://www.ugtechnologies.com/.

About the Young Affiliates of the Mint

Established in 1990, the YAMs are a diverse group of young professionals promoting and supporting The Mint Museum through cultural, social, leadership, and fundraising activities and events. All YAM event proceeds directly benefit Charlotte-Mecklenburg students by offsetting the cost of Mint Museum tours throughout the school year.

For More Information Contact:

Amorette Mangum or Victoria Mathias

Fall Ball Co-Chairs, Young Affiliates of the Mint

youngaffiliatesofthemint@gmail.com

In his delicately rendered sculptures, Michael Sherrill seeks to elicit a sense of wonder from viewers, and to make them see the natural world anew as he works with clay, glass, and metal to create exquisite floral forms. This retrospective organized by The Mint Museum illustrates the artist’s evolution over his more than 40-year career and highlights his contributions to contemporary art, craft, and design.

Michael Sherrill Retrospective opens later this month at Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts, 500 South Tryon Street. The museum will offer member-only hours 11 a.m.- 9 p.m. on Friday October 26; Sherrill gives a public talk, free with museum admission, 11 a.m. Saturday October 27. It is followed by a book signing in the Mint Museum Store with a new, lavishly illustrated catalogue published by The Mint Museum to accompany the exhibition.

The exhibition will travel to the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in summer 2019, and the Arizona State University Art Museum in early 2020.

Temple of the Cool Beauty (Yucca)
Michael Sherrill
Created: 2005
Materials: polychrome, porcelain, Moretti glass, silica bronze
Gift of Ann and Tom Cousins. 2014.78a-b. Collection of The Mint Museum.

“The idea for a Michael Sherrill Retrospective was ignited by close study of one of the Mint’s sculpture’s, Temple of the Cool Beauty (Yucca), then on loan from Ann and Tom Cousins, and further research,” said Annie Carlano, the Mint’s curator of Craft, Design, & Fashion. “Surveying contemporary clay globally, Michael’s work is exceptional in its sheer beauty—delicate botanical reveries that chronicle life cycles from blossom to wither. His command of materials, not just clay but metal and glass, and his brilliance as an inventor of tools and technologies, make the magic happen. There is simply nothing like his work anywhere on the planet.”

Carlano serves as lead organizing curator and Marilyn Zapf of The Center for Craft is guest curator; filmmakers Matthew Mebane and Maria White contributed video to the exhibition.

Primarily a self-taught artist, Sherrill moved from Charlotte, North Carolina to the Western North Carolina mountains in 1974. His early influences came from the North Carolina folk pottery tradition and the community surrounding Penland School of Crafts, Seagrove Potters, and the Southern Highland Handicraft Guild, as well as from his studies of the ceramics of Asia and the Americas. These influences are apparent in Sherrill’s functional objects from the late 1970s and 80s. These early explorations led quickly to a new sculptural vocabulary, strong minimalist organic forms inspired by the botanical world. Sherrill’s unique aesthetic sensibilities are matched by his extraordinary skill and inventiveness. A true innovator, he has developed clay bodies and special tools to make the material fulfill his desired artistic outcome.

Over 70 objects will be on view, from a group of Steins (1977) to A Beautiful Death (2017).  Loans from institutions including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; The Museum of Arts and Design, New York; the Racine Museum of Art; and individual collectors in Oregon, Florida, Vermont, and North Carolina are featured.

“The Mint Museum is committed to collecting, publishing, and exhibiting the best of contemporary craft,” said Dr. Todd A. Herman, President & CEO of the Mint. “We have recognized the unique talent of Michael Sherrill since his early forays in functional vessels, and through accessions and exhibitions have acknowledged his creative expression and skill. This retrospective is the culmination of several years of dedication and excellence on the part of Mint staff and I am proud of our team and other contributors.”

Exhibition sections and catalogue

Michael Sherrill Retrospective begins with a sense of place, as the visitor walks through re-creations and interpretations of his cobalt blue studio doors and the woods of his mountain home. Twenty-first-century ceramics, like contemporary art in general, can be characterized as an exciting period of experimentation: to express their creative vision, makers are incorporating new media and technologies to reach beyond traditional methods. Sherrill is one of the foremost practitioners of this approach. His inventiveness and worldview play ahead of current trends, and working off the beaten track, he developed a naturalist’s sensitivity to the botanical wonders of Bat Cave, North Carolina. Finding the universal in the close at hand, Sherrill’s extraordinary evolution in creating with clay—and other materials—is conveyed in this exhibition.

The first section of the exhibition, Early Works, features functional stoneware forms that demonstrate the young artist’s influences from both historic and contemporary North Carolina pottery as well as Native American and Asian inspired shapes, glazes, and raku firing techniques.  It’s the smallest section of the show, due to the fact Sherrill’s oeuvre evolved so quickly from an artist’s initial period of exploration to maturity.

Teapots is the largest section of the exhibition and illustrates the way in which Sherrill uses the utilitarian object as vehicle for his forays into materials, process, and aesthetics. Here we can see sober Minimalist designs, drawing on traditional squat round forms, exuberant colorful expressionist compositions, and pure abstract forms.  In this rich and imaginative installation, reminiscent of a fine tea shop, what is unseen is as important as the surface ornamentation, as Sherrill moves fluidly from stoneware to porcelain. Installed in an imaginative teashop-like setting, this section of the exhibition includes a hand-on activity related teas from around the world.

In an intimate room off the Teapot section is Studio.  In this section of the exhibition visitors will encounter a selection of tools, organic materials, and other curiosities from Michael Sherrill’s actual studio Wonder Wall—a space filled with objects that inspire and invite contemplation.  Underscoring the inventor in the artist, across from the Wonder Wall is an installation of array of colorful clay work tools from the artist’s Mudtools line. Visitors will be able to scroll through the twitter feed of Mudtools to see the amazing ways people around the globe are utilizing these implements.

Contemporary Sculpture begins with transitional objects from teapot botanical abstractions to full blown sculpture. Inspired by the ubiquitous rhododendron that he sees every day on his daily walks with his wife Margery, the artist crafted a series of ceramic and life size sculptures in 2008. Still, this is not entirely a linear path, as Sherrill hones his naturalist sensibilities, skill, and technologies creating both large scale an intimate ornate plant forms and makes huge creative leaps to Neo-Minimalist sheaths, reminiscent of Agnes Martin paintings. The last group of objects in the visitor’s path was created since 2014. Showing his fantastic facility with clay, glass, and lost wax casting bronze in wall mounted and freestanding sculptures, objects such as Black Medicine, A Beautiful Death, and Dutch Solomon eschew any doubt that he is a Southern American master.

Each section is introduced by a video that features Michael Sherrill addressing the visitor. Shot on location in Bat Cave and including some vintage film, the videos were produced by Matthew Mebane and Maria White, award winning documentary filmmakers based in Charleston, South Carolina.

A scholarly exhibition catalogue, edited by Carlano, accompanies the exhibition. It features essays by Marilyn Zapf, Assistant Director and Curator, The Center for Craft and Guest Curator; and Ezra Shales, Associate Professor of Art History, Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Published by The Mint Museum, the book will be available for $40 at both museum locations; beginning November 15, it will be available online at store.mintmuseum.org.

Michael Sherrill has received numerous prestigious awards, including the US Windgate Fellowship: Crafts and the Arts, US Artists (2010) and is a highly regarded teacher and lecturer throughout the United States, and in Japan and China.  He serves on several non-profit boards and councils including the Archie Bray Foundation, and the Center for Craft, and has served as a member of the Founders’ Circle Board of Directors.

Mint curators Annie Carlano, Senior Curator of Craft, Design & Fashion and Emily Pazar, former curatorial assistant for Craft, Design & Fashion are the organizing curators; Marilyn Zapf, Assistant Director and Curator, The Center for Craft, Asheville, N.C., is Guest Curator.

The exhibition is organized by The Mint Museum. STEELFAB is the presenting sponsor for the exhibition. Generous support for the exhibition catalogue and tour provided by the Windgate Foundation; additional funding from the Founders’ Circle and Bank of America.

Media and invited guests are invited to preview the exhibition from 10 a.m.-noon on Thursday October 25; RSVP to leigh.dyer@mintmuseum.org.

African-Print Fashion Now! A Story of Taste, Globalization, and Style introduces audiences to the dynamic traditions of African dress featuring colorful, boldly patterned printed cloth. The exhibition, opening to the public at Mint Museum Randolph October 7 following two days of Mint member previews, highlights the interplay between regional preferences and cosmopolitanism that has long flourished on the continent, while highlighting the expansiveness of 21st-century African-print fashion.

The exhibition will be open to Mint members on Friday, October 5 from 11 AM-6 PM and Saturday October 6 from 1-6 PM, and will open to the public on Sunday, October 7 from 1-5 PM. Two fashion designers with work featured in the exhibition, Titi Ademola and Alexis Temomanin, will be in Charlotte from Thursday through Sunday and are available for media interviews. Sunday’s event includes a public talk with both designers from 2-3 PM, free after museum admission. Public opening day also includes a drumming performance and a light reception with cash bar. Ademola, a Ghanian/Nigerian designer, is founder of the KIKI label, while Temomanin is the British-Ivorian founder of menswear brand Dent de Man.

African-Print Fashion Now!, organized by the Fowler Museum at UCLA, expands the Mint’s presentations of contemporary fashion into a broader cultural arena, and continues the Mint’s emphasis on presenting exhibitions that represent diverse voices and backgrounds. “This exhibition aligns with our mission to explore the meaning of fashion in a global 21^st-century context,” said Annie Carlano, Senior Curator of Craft, Design, & Fashion at the Mint. “From the bold, dynamic cloth, to the inventive, sculptural silhouettes, the textiles and fashions in this exhibition have inspired and infiltrated Western fashion, art, music, and popular culture.”

“The Mint is honored to be one of three venues for this important exhibition, and very pleased to collaborate with the Fowler Museum, UCLA, for the first time,” said Dr. Todd Herman, PhD, President & CEO of the Mint. “Additionally, we are deeply grateful to Charlotte’s own Michael Gallis for his role in bringing this exhibition to our community.”

The works featured throughout the exhibition demonstrate the vital role that African-print has played in the expression of beauty, fashion, and heritage, while creating transcultural connections across Africa and into the larger world.

The exhibition is complemented by an interactive design studio created by the Mint’s Learning & Engagement team, offering visitors of all ages opportunities to design their own prints, experience African-print fabrics, and go on a scavenger hunt through the exhibition.

Four sections weaving multiple themes

The exhibition is organized into four sections: “It All Starts with Cloth,” “Portraits in Print,” “Regional Styles, Fashion Preferences,” and “New Directions.” Collectively, the installation includes dozens of tailored fashions, nearly 100 archival and contemporary cloths, approximately 20 black-and-white studio portrait photographs from the 1960s and 1970s, a series of runway videos, and several works by contemporary visual artists. Ensembles on view draw from the Fowler’s collections, private loans, and the extensive archives of the Dutch textile manufacturing company Vlisco.

Several themes weave their way throughout the exhibition, mimicking the cyclical nature of fashion trends and the ripple effects of politics and technology on the formation of identity. One theme is consumer agency, both in determining designs and patterns through purchasing power and by commissioning unique ensembles from seamstresses and tailors. Another theme is the theatrical power of fashion, and its ability to express individualism or collective solidarity, whether in a family portrait or Women’s Day Marches in communities across the continent. Finally, a link between imaging and fashion surfaces in each section of the exhibition. From formal portraiture to visual arts to ubiquitous African fashion calendars to street style photos shared by cell-phone, it is clear that representations of fashion have always been a nuanced form of communication.

Fashion subtly communicates about place, heritage, and belonging through such means as appropriation, pastiche, and revival. Throughout the exhibition, African-print fashions are considered to be creative responses to key historical moments and empowering projections about Africa’s future.

About the Exhibition

“It All Starts with Cloth” addresses the history of African-print textiles, originally inspired by batik or wax-resist cloth from Indonesia. A dense grid of more than 60 cloths manufactured in Europe, Africa, and Asia evokes the vibrating colors and designs stocked in open-air markets and cloth shops across the African continent. A visual timeline of production across these regions outlines the history of the cloth trade in West and Central Africa from the 1800s to the present. Archival photographs and dramatic film footage of the Vlisco factory in operation transport audiences to the production of cloth in the Netherlands.

“Portraits in Print” leaves behind the brightly colored world of African-print fashion and enters an intimate black-and-white space of memory. A gallery introduces four photographers from Africa’s “golden age” of black-and-white photography in the 1960s and 1970s: Francis K. Honny (Ghana, 1914–1998); Jacques Toussele (Cameroon, 1935–2017); Omar Ly (Senegal, 1943–2016); and Mory Bamba (b. Mali, 1949). Their photography studios in newly independent West African countries provided a platform for an ascending middle class to see themselves and be seen by one another. The portraits are indicative of a historical moment when local African-print ensemble styles gained new significance as expressions of national and Pan-African pride and identity.

“Regional Styles, Fashion Preferences” takes an in-depth look at localized contemporary African-print fashion whereby stylish dress is a feature of daily life. Ensembles on view from Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal reflect an array of styles, all of them customized and individually made to order. This section presents a case study from Kumasi, Ghana to illustrate the interactive commissioning process between seamstresses or tailors and their fashion-conscious clientele. The bold patterns of the cloth engineered with subtle and striking variations in style reveal the ingenuity and flair of regional designers.

“New Directions” bridges regional cultures with transnational art and fashion networks, beginning with African-print styles on global runways in Paris, New York, Dakar, and other cities. Designers in this section include Titi Ademola (b. London, based in Ghana), Ituen Bassey (b. Nigeria), Afua Dabanka (b. Germany, based in Ghana), Lisa Folawiyo (b. Nigeria), Adama Amanda Ndiaye (b. Democratic Republic of the Congo, based in Senegal), Alexis Temomanin (b. Côte d’Ivoire), Gilles Touré (b. Côte d’Ivoire), and Patricia Waota (b. Côte d’Ivoire). Ensembles on view feature full-length gowns and men’s blazers, metallic wax print, and architectural pleating and boning—all of which harmoniously marry the drape of the fabric with the strategic construction of print patterns for stunning results.

Juxtaposed with these glamorous designs are contemporary works by photographers and other visual artists who incorporate print-cloth imagery to convey evocative messages about heritage, hybridity, displacement, and aspiration.

Members of the media and invited special guests are invited to preview the exhibition from 5:30-7 PM on Thursday October 4 at Mint Museum Randolph, 2730 Randolph Road in Charlotte. Light refreshments, wine, and beer will be served. RSVP to Leigh.Dyer@mintmuseum.org.

Publication

The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated volume generously funded by the R. L. Shep Endowment Fund at the Fowler Museum. The publication includes essays authored by exhibition co-curators Suzanne Gott, Kristyne S. Loughran, Betsy D. Quick, and Leslie W. Rabine with additional essays contributed by Kathleen Bickford Berzock, Boatema Boateng, M. Amah Edoh, Helen Elands, Anne Grosfilley, Karen Tranberg-Hansen, Helen Jennings, Sandra Klopper, Stephan F. Miescher, Hansi Momodu-Gordon, John Picton, Elisha P. Renne, Victoria L. Rovine, Ken Aïcha Sy, and Nina Sylvanus. It is on sale for $40 in both locations of the Mint Museum stores.

Credit

African-Print Fashion Now! A Story of Taste, Globalization, and Style is organized by the Fowler Museum at UCLA in association with Vlisco Netherlands B.V. It is guest curated by Suzanne Gott with Kristyne S. Loughran, Betsy D. Quick, and Leslie W. Rabine. In Charlotte, Annie Carlano, Senior Curator of Craft, Design, & Fashion, is the project curator. Major funding is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts with the additional support of R. L. Shep, DutchCulture, and Pasadena Art Alliance.

The exhibition is presented in Charlotte by PNC Financial Services with generous additional support from the Mint Museum Auxiliary, Wells Fargo Private Bank, and Moore & Van Allen.

ABOUT THE FOWLER MUSEUM

The Fowler Museum at UCLA explores global arts and cultures with an emphasis on works from Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the Americas—past and present. The Fowler enhances understanding of world cultures through dynamic exhibitions, publications, and public programs, informed by interdisciplinary approaches and the perspectives of the cultures represented. Also featured is the work of international contemporary artists presented within the complex frameworks of politics, culture, and social action.

Above image:

MAINFRAME will remain on view through October 19 with these hours:

Wednesdays: 5-9 PM

Fridays:5-9 PM

Saturdays: 11 AM-6 PM

Sundays: 1-5 PM

The Young Affiliates of the Mint (the “YAMs”) announce their Third Annual Juried Art Show,
MAINFRAME, a participatory compilation of works that explore the role of technology, will host an
opening night celebration from 7 – 10 PM on Thursday, September 20 in Mint Museum Uptown’s
Level 5 expansion space.

Opening night is open to the public and will serve as an opportunity for the show’s jurors, featured
artists, and guests to view and discuss the interactive pieces on display. Opening night will include a
DJ, cash bar, and a photo booth with the opportunity to pose with some of your favorite nostalgic
technology.

The YAMs distinguished panel of jurors, Lia Newman, Curator of Director/Curator of the Davidson
College Art Galleries; Ivan Toth Depeña, an Charlotte-based new media artist; and Kelly McChesney,
Public Art Director of the city of Raleigh and Director of Lump, a non-profit alternative art space in
Raleigh, North Carolina; selected 18 talented artists to feature for this year’s exhibition. The featured
artists include: Jeffrey Barninger, Chris Clamp, Meredith Connelly, Travis Donavan, Caitlin and
Misha, Cynthia Hua, Andrew Leventis, Alex McKenzie, Joy Meyer, Leah Mulligan, Daniel Pillis, David
Sackett, Thomas Schmidt, Lydia See, Jordan Vinyard, and Christina Weisner.

The artists’ work exposing technological devices and developments since the dawn of the mainframe
computer will be on display in Uptown until October 17, 2018 during Mint Museum hours on
Wednesday & Friday evenings, Saturdays, and Sundays. MAINFRAME is the Third Annual Young Affiliates of
the Mint Art Show, following the 2016 inaugural exhibition, 80×80: An Art Show, heralded as the best
Charlotte exhibition of 2016 by Creative Loafing , and the 2017 art show, GENDERED, drawing in
over 2500 attendees for a politically and culturally relevant exhibition.

MAINFRAME’s opening night is part of the Grand Re-Opening Celebration for Mint Museum Uptown. The celebration continues throughout the weekend, with Friday bringing Mint to Move Cultural Dance Night and performances of the vertical aerial dance “Perspective” by Caroline Calouche & Co., and Saturday bringing a live mural painting from local artists Owl + Arko, live music, more performances of “Perspective,” cash bar and food carts. More details and schedule at mintmuseum.org/events. For more information about MAINFRAME or to contribute as an individual or corporate sponsor, visit youngaffliates.org/artshow or email: youngaffiliatesartshow@gmail.com

Monday September 17 update: All grand re-opening activities are now scheduled THIS WEEK! Join us for the YAMs’ opening party for MAINFRAME on Thursday Sept. 20, 7-11 PM; “Perspective” aerial dances by Caroline Calouche & Co. on Friday & Saturday, Sept. 21 & 22; Mint to Move Cultural Dance Night Friday, 7-11:30 PM; and a FREE community day this Saturday, 11 AM-6 PM! More details at mintmuseum.org/events.

Sunday September 16 update, 5 PM ET: Both locations of the museum will be closed to most staff on Monday September 17, and the scheduled Board of Trustees meeting is postponed. NEW UPDATE: The Delhom Service League has decided to postpone its Tuesday program at Mint Museum Randolph. A new date will be scheduled soon. We will continue to monitor the situation and post any relevant updates here.

Friday September 14 update, 9:45 AM ET: The Mint Museum plans to open its galleries today, 11 AM-6 PM ET, but will close to the public on Saturday, September 15 and Sunday, September 16 to ensure the safety of the public, our visitors, and staff. Check back here for further updates.

Thursday September 13 update, 12:15 PM ET: The Mint Museum’s galleries remain open today (Thursday) observing normal hours, and at this time, the museum plans to open galleries normally at 11 a.m. ET on Friday. Assuming nothing changes, the Mint is postponing its originally scheduled plans to extend Friday operating hours at Mint Museum Uptown, and will close at 6 p.m. ET. (Beginning on Friday Sept. 21, weather permitting, Mint Museum Uptown will be open to the public until 9 p.m. each Friday). Of course check back here or on our Facebook or Twitter accounts before heading out, and please stay safe!

Wednesday September 12, 1:30 PM ET UPDATE: The Mint Museum staff hopes to announce an entire new schedule for all events listed as part of our previously scheduled lineup for September 14/15/16, but we will wait until after the hurricane passes to publicly post most dates. Right now our focus is on ensuring the public and our own staff and art collection remain safe in the days to come. The museum’s public hours of operation will be updated day to day in the coming days. New event dates will be announced as soon as weather conditions permit.

Wednesday September 12, 8 AM ET PREVIOUS POST: The Mint Museum’s staff has been working diligently since the weekend to monitor forecasts and evaluate all of the many activities scheduled for the public this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Most of them will be re-scheduled to later dates, so please keep an eye on this space for details, as we expect things to be confirmed soon. (Hint: We hope you are keeping Sept. 20, 21, and 22 open).

If the museum can safely operate, we will continue to observe our scheduled operating hours this weekend. Those decisions will be made day-to-day. And assuming the museum is open, we do expect local muralists Owl + Arko (pictured here) to be starting their mural, which must be finished in time for the community-wide Talking Walls Charlotte mural festival, coming up October 10-13. They’ll be inside the museum periodically between now and then working on the wall just inside Mint Museum Uptown’s main entry, so please plan more than one visit to check their progress.