Craft museum marks its move to the new Mint Museum Uptown with a farewell party
Charlotteans can enjoy their own “Night at the Museum” to bid farewell to the original location of the Mint Museum of Craft + Design. The Mint Museum will invite the public for a final walk-through of the craft museum’s original location (220 North Tryon Street) at a “Last Look Friday” event, before relocating its collections to the new Mint Museum Uptown scheduled to open in October 2010. Enjoy a night of live entertainment, art activities and refreshments in an empty museum on Friday, March 5, 6:00 – 10:00 p.m.
The celebration will honor the art collections and past exhibitions housed at the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, and provide a sneak preview of new additions at the Mint Museum Uptown. Guests of all ages can participate in do-it-yourself art activities from sculpture to interactive photography sessions, observe artist demonstrations and dance to live music by The Swingin’ Richards.
Prior to the celebration, guests can participate in the Last Look Friday Photography Contest by submitting photographs of the Mint Museum of Craft + Design. Photos will be judged by museum staff in the categories of “Most Artistic Image,” “Best Dressed Museum-Goers” or “Best Architectural Image,” with winners to be announced the evening of the event. All submissions will be projected on a slideshow in the galleries. The public can submit photographs by uploading them to The Mint Museum’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/mintmuseum) or by e-mailing them to elizabeth.isenhour@mintmuseum.org. The deadline for submissions is March 4 at midnight.
The Mint Museum’s expansion project includes the construction of a five-story facility in uptown Charlotte and the reinstallation of the historic Mint Museum Randolph. When the expansion is complete, The Mint Museum’s total combined square footage will grow by more than 60 percent, allowing more opportunities to showcase works from the permanent collection and better accommodate significant traveling exhibitions. The new Mint Museum Uptown will house the collections from the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, as well as significant collections of American art, contemporary art, and a selection of European art from the Mint Museum Randolph.