Public is invited to join our grand re-opening and exciting fall lineup
Following a five-week closure for floor refinishing and other improvements, Mint Museum Uptown will re-open its doors to the public Wednesday August 15, and is inviting the public to join a jam-packed lineup of special events in the coming weeks to celebrate its grand-reopening; welcome its new President & CEO, Todd A. Herman PhD; and enjoy a new fall lineup of exhibitions, as well as new features in its permanent collection galleries. Upcoming events include:
- September 5, Community Coffee : From 8:30-10:30 a.m., the public is invited to Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts, 500 South Tryon Street, to join the Mint’s new President & CEO, Todd A. Herman PhD, for a light breakfast and conversation. The free event will be held in the Morrison Atrium. RSVP at mintmuseum.org/events .
- September 8, Potters Market Invitational : The traditional kickoff to the fall season, sponsored by the Delhom Service League, will bring more than 65 renowned North Carolina potters – the highest number in the 14-year history of the event – to the lawn at Mint Museum Randolph, 2730 Randolph Road, to sell their wares from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tickets are $12 and proceeds support the Mint’s ceramics collection. More at PottersMarketattheMint.com .
- September 12, special screening of “ The Gospel According to André :” Mint Museum Randolph hosts a public screening of the documentary chronicling the fashion career of North Carolina native André Leon Talley, former editor-at-large for American Vogue and curator of The Glamour and Romance of Oscar de la Renta (closing after August 19), with a special appearance by Talley himself. Tickets are $10 or $7.50 for Mint members; more at mintmuseum.org/events .
- September 14-15-16, Grand Re-Opening of Mint Museum Uptown: The community is invited to join this FREE event on Friday September 14 and Saturday September 15 to celebrate the unveiling of Lumisonica , an interactive light and sound installation on the Grand Staircase by international artist Vesna Petresin; the opening of Mainframe, the newest art show organized by Young Affiliates of the Mint (and on view through October 17); a live-painting mural project from local muralists Owl + Arko on Saturday September 15; and a spectacular aerial performance by dancers from Caroline Calouche & Co. , launched from the roof of Mint Museum Uptown and occurring on the façade above the staircase, on September 15 and 16 . The performance, entitled “Perspective,” marks the first “vertical” aerial dance performance of its type in Charlotte. The weekend event will also include live music, cash bar, and food trucks. Details at mintmuseum.org/events .
- Expanded operating hours – soon Friday evenings at Uptown: The grand re-opening weekend marks the debut of new, extended operating hours at Mint Museum Uptown. Beginning September 14, Mint Museum Uptown will remain open until 9 p.m. on Fridays (the Randolph location will maintain the existing schedule of closing at 6 p.m.). The museum is extending Friday hours in response to visitor feedback to make its galleries and programming more accessible and convenient to the public.
Fall exhibition lineup ahead
In the permanent collection galleries, visitors will encounter new frames on signature works of art, as well as newly installed works in the Schiff-Bresler Family Fiber Art Gallery on Level 3. Following the September events, the community is invited to mark its calendars for the Mint’s spectacular fall exhibition lineup, which includes:
African-Print Fashion Now! A Story of Taste, Globalization, & Style : October 7, 2018-April 28, 2019 at Mint Museum Randolph, 2730 Randolph Road; Mint member-only hours Friday October 5, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday October 6, 1-5 p.m.; two fashion designers, Titi Ademola and Alexis Temomanin, speak at 2 p.m. on Sunday October 7. This exhibition introduces visitors to a dynamic and diverse dress tradition and the increasingly interconnected fashion worlds that it inhabits: “popular” garments created by local seamstresses and tailors across the continent; international runway fashions designed by Africa’s newest generation of couturiers; and boundary-breaking, transnational and youth styles favored in Africa’s urban centers. All feature the colorful, boldly designed, manufactured cotton textiles that have come to be known as “African-print cloth.” The exhibition 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. Major funding is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts with the additional support of R.L. Shep, DutchCulture, and the Pasadena Art Alliance. It is presented in Charlotte by PNC Financial Services, with additional support by Wells Fargo Private Bank.
Michael Sherrill Retrospective : October 27, 2018-April 7, 2019 at Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts, 500 South Tryon Street; Mint member-only hours 11 a.m.- 9 p.m. on Friday October 26; Sherrill gives a free public talk 11 a.m. Saturday October 27. In his delicately rendered sculptures Michael Sherrill seeks to elicit a sense of wonder from viewers, and to make them see things fresh. Working with clay, glass, and metal, his exquisite floral forms have the allure of Martin Johnson Heade’s passion flower and orchid paintings and the botanical engravings of John James Audubon, at the same time they are remarkably new. This retrospective will illustrate the artist’s evolution over his more than 40-year career and highlight his contributions to contemporary art, craft, and design. 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 and the Southern Highland Handicraft Guild. Exhibition organized by The Mint Museum. Generous support for the exhibition catalogue and tour provided by the Windgate Foundation; additional funding from the Founders’ Circle Ltd. and Bank of America.
Under Construction: Postwar Collage at The Mint Museum : December 1, 2018-Aug. 18, 2019 at Mint Museum Uptown. This is The Mint Museum’s first large-scale exhibition to explore the dynamic medium of collage. Mint member-only hours 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday November 30. Although this artistic technique, in which materials are cut, torn, and layered to create new meanings and narratives, gained acclaim in the early twentieth century through the groundbreaking work of such artists as Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Kurt Schwitters, and Jean Arp, it experienced a renaissance (particularly in America) after World War II. Charlotte native Romare Bearden is widely credited with rejuvenating and reinvigorating the technique. His work, which has long been a highlight of The Mint Museum’s collection, serves as the point of departure for this fascinating exhibition featuring more than 50 international artists and more than 100 works of art.