Get your glow on at The Mint Museum’s “Light Up the Night” celebration Feb. 14, powered by Duke Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas

Charlotte, N.C. (February 6, 2020): The Mint Museum welcomes the community to its free Light Up the Night event, powered by Duke Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas, 6-9 PM Feb. 14 at Mint Museum Uptown. The free Valentine’s Day event features immersive experiences for all ages, including glowing swings on the plaza, live music by DJ Fannie Mae, and pop-up maker spaces inside the museum.

One highlight sure to fill Instagram feeds: five circular glow swings installed on the plaza outside Mint Museum Uptown. The LED-lit hoop-shaped swings are designed for guests to twist and glide. Each swing is suspended on rubber-and-rope cords attached to steel structures. LED lights embedded in the swings rotate through neon candy colors when in motion, gradually dimming to a soft white light when still.

The event—free and open to the public—is held in conjunction with special exhibition Immersed in Light: Studio Drift at the Mint, of which Duke Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas is a corporate sponsor. The exhibition, which showcases the Dutch artist collective, runs through April 26 at Mint Museum Uptown. Spotlight tours take place every half-hour in the galleries on the museums Level 3 and Level 4 galleries.

In addition to the gallery experiences, enjoy light bites and illuminated cocktails at the cash bar, and make creative designs at pop-up maker spaces with glow-in-the-dark art activities.

Fans of Immersed in Light can enjoy a special “Fall in Love With Dutch Design” conversation at 6 PM in the boardroom, presented by the Mint’s Senior Curator of Craft, Design and Fashion Annie Carlano, curator for the exhibition. Carlano will showcase exceptional works by Dutch artists and the hottest Dutch designers of the 21st century.

Want more info?
Contact Michele Huggins, the Mint’s communications and media relations project manager, michele.huggins@mintmuseum.org or at 704-337-2122

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 on South Tryon Street—the Mint boasts one of the largest collections in the Southeast and is committed to engaging and inspiring members of the global community.

Duke Energy

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest energy holding companies in the U.S. It employs 30,000 people and has an electric generating capacity of 51,000 megawatts through its regulated utilities, and 3,000 megawatts through its nonregulated Duke Energy Renewables unit.

Duke Energy is transforming its customers’ experience, modernizing the energy grid, generating cleaner energy and expanding natural gas infrastructure to create a smarter energy future for the people and communities it serves. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure unit’s regulated utilities serve approximately 7.7 million retail electric customers in six states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. The Gas Utilities and Infrastructure unit distributes natural gas to more than 1.6 million customers in five states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The Duke Energy Renewables unit operates wind and solar generation facilities across the U.S., as well as energy storage and microgrid projects.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune’s 2020 “World’s Most Admired Companies” list, and Forbes’ 2019 “America’s Best Employers” list. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos, videos and other materials. Duke Energy’s illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Piedmont Natural Gas

Piedmont Natural Gas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, is an energy services company whose principal business is the distribution of natural gas to more than 1 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The company also supplies natural gas to power plants. Piedmont is routinely recognized by J.D. Power for excellent customer satisfaction, and has been named by Cogent Reports as one of the most trusted utility brands in the U.S.

Top Five Reasons to Take an Art of Reading Public Tour at Mint Museum Randolph

1. Meet Fellow Bibliophiles.
The only thing better than reading a book you love is the opportunity to discuss it with others. Art of Reading public tours give you a chance to explore characters and analyze plot turns. The discussion is followed by a visit to the galleries to view art works that connect to the book.

2. The Sunday Afternoon Tours are Less Expensive than Panther Game Tickets.
Public tours take place on selected Wednesdays, 6-7:30 pm and Sundays, 2-3:30 pm. During football season, it’s an alternative activity for a Sunday afternoon. Off season, it’s a great way to spend selected Sundays. [And remember Wednesday evening options too: admission to the museum is free after 5:00.]

3. It’s a New Way to View Mint Art. Just Imagine:
Mr. Darcy holding that Derby Porcelain coffee cup and saucer in the Portals to the Past Exhibition (Pride and Prejudice). Or, Frida Kahlo wearing a distinctive necklace similar to the jadeite one in the Ancient American Galleries (The Lacuna). Or, Tree-ear admiring the 12th Century Korean porcelain bowls in the Wares of the World Exhibition (A Single Shard). Or, Sarah Grimke learning plantation social customs by using the Staffordshire miniature tea and coffee service in the Portals to the Past Exhibition (The Invention of Wings).

4. Tours are Free.
Free to museum members; free after admission for non-members.

5. There’s A Tour for All Interests.
Choose from four current book tours: Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen); The Invention of Wings (Sue Monk Kidd); The Lacuna (Barbara Kingsolver); or A Single Shard (Linda Sue Park).

More information on group tours can be found here.
A fifth tour for Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns will launch at Mint Museum Uptown April 2019.

Michele Allen and Alice Ross, Docents and Members, Public Tours Task Force

#LongLiveArts Free Community Festival

Get ready for the 2nd Annual #LongLiveArts FREE Community Festival! The entire community is invited to Levine Center for the Arts to enjoy this special collaboration between the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture and Mint Museum Uptown.

All three of the Levine Center for the Arts museums will open their galleries for FREE access during regular museum hours.

Free ArtBreak Tours * Live Entertainment * Food Trucks * Interactive Activities & Lots of Fun!

FESTIVAL HOURS
11:00am – 4:00pm

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SCHEDULE

The festival is made possible by the THRIVE Fund, administered by Foundation For The Carolinas.

Visitors can use SMARTIFY on their phones to learn behind-the-scenes info on selected works of art

If you’re a fan of visual arts and you own a smartphone, you’ll want to download the free SMARTIFY app before your next visit to The Mint Museum – or more than 30 other participating art museums worldwide.

The Mint Museum is the latest to enter works of art in its collection into the database used by SMARTIFY, a global mobile app also in use at museums worldwide including National Gallery (London); Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York); and The Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam). Using image recognition technology, the app allows gallery visitors to scan and identify works of art in using their smartphone, to access rich interpretation, and build a personal collection. The Mint’s participation officially launches November 22, though visitors can now test the app on the first group of objects in the database.

“We at The Mint Museum decided to join SMARTIFY because it’s a great way for visitors to learn more about the art we have on view,” said Lyndsay Kibiloski, the Mint’s digital media specialist who is overseeing the effort. “I often look at our works on view and want to know more, and with this app, you can do just that. We hope that visitors will find SMARTIFY to be both a useful and fun way to interact with the Mint’s collection.”

The Mint started with providing information about signature works from its Craft + Design Collection – specifically, Project Ten Ten Ten , a group of works of art by leading artists and designers around the world commissioned in conjunction with the opening of Mint Museum Uptown in 2010. Most are permanently installed at Mint Museum Uptown. Additionally, visitors can scan the famous Chihuly chandelier in the entryway and the monumental Sheila Hicks sculpture in the atrium. Those objects plus Tom Joyce’s “Thicket” sculpture on the terrace are accessible without paying museum admission, and the remainder are accessible free each Wednesday evening from 5-9 p.m. Additionally, hard copies of the supplemental content will be available at the Mint’s front desks by the November 22 launch for anyone who does not use a smartphone.

The Mint is in the midst of adding new objects to the database each quarter moving forward, with a group of objects on view at Mint Museum Randolph in the next installment. In the coming weeks, labels will be added to works of art that appear in the database so visitors will know which ones to scan.

Working across a growing network of museums, SMARTIFY is becoming a global platform for art. Using advanced image recognition technology, SMARTIFY instantly identifies works of art by scanning them on your smartphone. Simply by holding the phone up to a work of art, detailed information about the work is instantly shown onscreen. Glimpses of curatorial research, links to video or audio content, or hidden stories behind the work can all be brought to visitors in a seamless experience, in the presence of the work itself.

The app is currently available at: Royal Academy of Arts, UK; The National Gallery, UK; National Portrait Gallery, London, UK; The Wallace Collection, UK; The Bowes Museum, UK; Turner Contemporary, UK; Ben Uri Gallery, UK; Sculpture in the City, City of London, UK; Guildhall Art Gallery, City of London, UK; Middlesborough Institute of Modern Art, UK; Deutsche Bank at Frieze Art Fair, UK; Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Netherlands; The Rijksmuseum, Netherlands; Mauritshuis, Netherlands; Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro, Italy; Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia (Doge’s Palace, Museo Correr etc.), Italy; Museo San Donato, Italy; Le Musée en Herbe, France; Spray Collection, France; Little Beaux-Arts, France; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Spain; Laguna Art Museum, USA; Museum of Contemporary Photography, USA; The State Hermitage Museum, Russia; The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Russia; The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, USA; The Getty, USA; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA; LACMA, USA, and The Mint Museum, USA.

Coming soon: National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (EMST), Greece; Horst-Janssen-Museum, Oldenburg, Germany; Musée National des Beaux-arts de Québec, Canada, and many more.

Mint, Bechtler, Gantt Center, Knight Theater invite the public to free event

The public is invited to Levine Center for the Arts on Saturday, June 3, 2017. African dancing. A portrait paint-off. Drums. Art-making. Aerial dancing. Jazz. Food trucks. T-shirt screen printing. Hip Hop Orchestrated. Cuban dance. And FREE museum access all day.

The arts come alive at the second annual #LongLiveArts Festival, hosted by the four member institutions of Levine Center for the Arts – the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, the John S. and James L. Knight Theater, the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, and Mint Museum Uptown. The public is invited to the 500 block of South Tryon Street between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. for the festival. Interactive art-making workshops for all ages begin on Saturday morning at 11 a.m., with a main stage set up on Levine Avenue of the Arts and emceed by Emmy Award-winning poet and author Boris “Bluz” Rogers.

Community artists are invited to join a #LongLiveArts Festival Multi-Artist Paint-Off, sponsored by Binders Art Supplies and Frames, where local artists compete in a live painting competition. The artwork will then be auctioned off with proceeds going to support the Levine Center for the Arts.

Other performers and activities scheduled as part of Saturday’s activities include Caroline Calouche’s aerial dancers; Drums4Life; Cuban Jazz by Charlotte Repertory Dance Theatre; Roving Puppetry by Drew Nowlins; an art class with Cathay Dawkins; salsa dancing demonstration, as well as interactive art-making activities led by the education staffs of the three member museums. Docents from the three museums will lead free 30-minute “ArtBreak” tours inside each museum at noon, 1 p.m., and 2 p.m.

For a complete schedule, click here or visit our facebook page.

WHAT: #LongLiveArts Community Festival

WHEN: Saturday, June 3

11 a.m.-4 p.m.

WHERE: Levine Center for the Arts, 500 block of South Tryon Street, including Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, John S. and James L. Knight Theater, Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, and Mint Museum Uptown

ABOUT LEVINE CENTER FOR THE ARTS

Levine Center for the Arts is one of Charlotte’s major cultural destinations, home to Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, John S. and James L. Knight Theater, and Mint Museum Uptown. The Center was made possible through the support of the City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, Campaign for Cultural Facilities, and The Leon Levine Foundation, one of the country’s largest and most impactful philanthropic organizations, along with the generosity of Bank of America Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, and Duke Energy Foundation, among many others.

A generous grant from the THRIVE Fund is enabling the four institutions to work more closely together than ever before to increase visibility and access to the unified center. The $250,000 award from the THRIVE Fund over two years is making possible the center’s first-ever joint marketing campaign, as well as free monthly lunchtime tours and a free community festival. The THRIVE Fund was established in 2013 to provide financial stability for Charlotte’s cultural sector under the leadership of Hugh McColl, former Bank of America chairman and CEO, and is currently administered by the Foundation For The Carolinas. The Mint Museum spearheaded the grant and is managing the project in collaboration with the other institutions. More information at levinecenterarts.org.

The public is invited to Levine Center for the Arts on May 21

Salsa dancing. Puppets. A portrait paint-off. Drums. Aerial dancing. Jazz. Food trucks. An Arts Guy. An outdoor symphony concert. And FREE museum access all day.

All this and more will be part of the inaugural #LongLiveArts Festival , the first event of its kind to be hosted by the four member institutions of Levine Center for the Arts – the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Blumenthal Performing Arts’ Knight Theater, the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, and Mint Museum Uptown. The public is invited to the 500 block of South Tryon Street between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. for the festival – and both before and after those hours to enjoy a free “plazacast” of Charlotte Symphony’s Romeo & Juliet, showing from a big screen in front of the Firebird statue at 7:30 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday evenings. The Bechtler and Mint will also offer special hours of free access on Friday May 20 in conjunction with the plazacast (the Bechtler will offer Bechtler by Night from 6-9 p.m., while the Mint will offer free general admission from 6-8 p.m.).

More fun for all ages begins Saturday morning at 10 a.m., with a main stage set up on Levine Avenue and emceed by Moira Quinn, Vice President of Charlotte Center City Partners. And about that Arts Guy? He’s part of a new marketing initiative jointly launched by Levine Center for the Arts institutions, and he will represent the Charlotteans and global visitors who want to learn more about the cultural offerings of the Queen City. Watch for him to give behind-the-scenes insights to Saturday’s audience.

Community artists are also invited to join a #LongLiveArts Festival Portrait Paint-Off, in which participants are invited to meet local oil painter Gordon James. He will first paint a live model from 10:15 to 11 a.m., and then at 11:30 and 1:45, audience members will be invited to grab some art supplies and paint volunteer models. The paint-off contest will give prizes including gifts from the three museum gift shops and free passes to return to the Levine Center for the Arts museums.

Other performers and activities scheduled as part of Saturday’s activities include the Charlotte Symphony’s Musical Petting Zoo; Caroline Calouche’s aerial dancers; Drums4Life; Africano Campbell; Blue Moon Puppets; an art class with Cathay Dawkins; Dancehall Groove; and a salsa dancing demonstration, as well as interactive art-making activities led by the education staffs of the three member museums. Docents from the three museums will lead free 30-minute “ArtBreak” tours inside each museum at noon, 1 p.m., and 2 p.m.

For a complete schedule, click here or see facebook.com/levinecenterart .

WHAT: #LongLiveArts Community Festival

WHEN: Saturday, May 21

10 a.m.-6 p.m., followed by Charlotte Symphony “plazacast” of Romeo & Juliet

WHERE: Levine Center for the Arts, 500 block of South Tryon Street, including Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Blumenthal Performing Arts’ Knight Theater, Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, and Mint Museum Uptown

For further questions, please contact:

Leigh Dyer

Director of Public Relations, The Mint Museum

704.337.2009

Leigh.Dyer@mintmuseum.org

ABOUT LEVINE CENTER FOR THE ARTS

A generous grant from the THRIVE Fund is enabling the four institutions to work more closely together than ever before to increase visibility and access to the unified center. The $250,000 award from the THRIVE Fund over two years is making possible the center’s first-ever joint marketing campaign, as well as free monthly lunchtime tours and a free community festival to be held on May 21, 2016. The THRIVE Fund was established in 2013 to provide financial stability for Charlotte’s cultural sector under the leadership of Hugh McColl, former Bank of America chairman and CEO, and is currently administered by the Foundation For The Carolinas. The Mint Museum spearheaded the grant and is managing the project in collaboration with the other institutions. More information at levinecenterarts.org.

Mint is one of more than 1,800 Blue Star Museums nationwide

The Mint Museum and several of its uptown neighbors are once again joining Blue Star Museums, a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 1,800 museums across America to offer free admission to all active duty military personnel, including active Reserve and National Guard, and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2013. Leadership support has been provided by MetLife
Foundation through Blue Star Families. The complete list of participating museums is available at
www.arts.gov/bluestarmuseums.

All Blue Star Museums, including the Mint, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Discovery Place, Johnson C. Smith University (which is hosting the exhibition COURAGE: The Carolina Story that Changed America in its James B. Duke Memorial Library) and Levine Museum of the New South, are offering free admission to all military ID holders and up to five family members. In addition, the Mint is offering free admission to any veteran with a Veterans Identification Card and up to five of their family members for the summer. The initiative applies to both Mint locations, Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts, 500 South Tryon Street, and Mint Museum Randolph at 2730 Randolph Road.

“We are thrilled to offer our support to military families and veterans this summer,” said Hillary Cooper, director of communications and media relations at The Mint Museum. “This initiative enables us to deepen our community connections and serve as a family-friendly center for learning and inspiration.”

“Blue Star Museums is something that service members and their families look forward to every year and we are thrilled with the continued growth of the program,” said Blue Star Families CEO Kathy Roth-Douquet. “Through this distinctive collaboration between Blue Star Families, the National Endowment for the Arts and more than 1,800 museums across the United States, service members and their families can connect with our national treasures with this unparalleled opportunity to visit some of the country’s finest museums for free.”

This year, more than 1,800 (and counting) museums in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa are taking part in the initiative, including more than 450 new museums this year. Museums are welcome to join Blue Star Museums throughout the summer. The effort to recruit museums has involved partnerships with the American Association of Museums, the Association of Art Museum Directors, the Association of Children’s Museums, the American Association of State and Local History, and the Association of Science-Technology Centers. This year’s Blue Star Museums represent not just fine arts museums, but also science museums, history museums, nature centers, and 75 children’s museums. Among this year’s new participants are the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California, Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum in Northport, Michigan, the Totem Heritage Center in Ketchikan, Alaska, and the World Museum of Mining in Butte, Montana.

ABOUT BLUE STAR MUSEUMS

Blue Star Museums is a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 1,800 museums across America. The program runs from Memorial Day, May 27, 2013 through Labor Day, September 2, 2013.

Some special or limited-time museum exhibits may not be included in this free admission program. For questions on particular exhibits or museums, please contact the museum directly. To find out which museums are participating, visit www.arts.gov/bluestarmuseums. The site includes a list of participating museums and a map to help with visit planning.

This is the latest NEA program to bring quality arts programs to the military, veterans, and their families. Other NEA programs for the military have included the NEA/Walter Reed Healing Arts Partnership; Great American Voices Military Base Tour; and Shakespeare in American Communities Military Base Tour.

ABOUT BLUE STAR FAMILIES

Blue Star Families is a national, nonprofit network of military families from all ranks and services, including guard and reserve, dedicated to supporting, connecting and empowering military families. With our partners, Blue Star Families hosts a robust array of morale and empowerment programs, including Books on Bases, Blue Star Museums, Operation Honor Corp, Blue Star Careers and Operation Appreciation. Blue Star Families also works directly with the Department of Defense and senior members of local, State and Federal government to bring the most important military family issues to light.

Working in concert with fellow nonprofits, community advocates, and public officials, Blue Star Families raises awareness of the challenges and strengths of military family life and works to make military life more sustainable. Our worldwide membership includes military spouses, children, parents, and friends, as well as service members, veterans and civilians. To learn more about Blue Star Families, visit http://www.bluestarfam.org.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector. To join the discussion on how art works, visit the NEA at arts.gov.

Free admission for survivors in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month

The Mint Museum wishes to express its support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We are offering free admission to all breast cancer survivors at both Mint Museum Uptown and Mint Museum Randolph throughout the month of October. Simply notify the Guest Services staff of your status at the time of your visit (no documentation required). In addition, survivors can receive 25 percent off a new Mint membership if purchased during your visit.

We honor all those who have fought and are fighting breast cancer. The Mint Museum is committed to its role in sustaining a healthy community in Charlotte and beyond.

Image:

BLANCHE LAZZELL. American, 1878-1956

Bouquet of Flowers 1914

oil on canvas

Museum purchase with funds provided by the Mint Museum Auxiliary. 2009.3

Special veteran-themed programming planned as part of Blue Star Museums Initiative.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 23, 2012) – The Mint Museum and two of its uptown neighbors are joining Blue Star Museums, a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 1,600 museums across America to offer free admission to all active duty military personnel, including active Reserve and National Guard, and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2012.

All Blue Star Museums, including the Mint, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, and Levine Museum of the New South, are offering free admission to all military ID holders and up to five family members. In addition, the Mint is offering free admission to any veteran with a Veterans Identification Card and up to five of their family members for the summer. The initiative applies to both Mint locations.

“We are happy to be able to offer ourselves as a resource to support military families and veterans this summer,” said Hillary Cooper, director of communications and media relations at The Mint Museum. “We are an ideal family-friendly attraction and this initiative offers a chance to deepen and broaden our community connections.”

The Mint recently acquired the work “Defiant Gardens” by Texas artist Dario Robleto, and the seven-foot-tall, five-foot-wide wreath-shaped sculpture has proven thought-provoking for veterans and military families because of its powerful themes of wartime memories. “Defiant Gardens” incorporates paper pulp made from American soldier’s letters, Victorian hair flowers braided by war widows, dried flowers from various battlefields, and even tiny carrier-pigeon message capsules among its materials. The work was added to the museum’s permanent collection through the generosity of the Mint Museum Auxiliary. The museum is inviting military families and veterans to experience the work along with its other collections and exhibitions, and plans to offer special programming incorporating “Defiant Gardens” later in the summer (details will be announced at a later date).

The Blue Star Museums initiative is just one part of the excitement going on this summer at the Mint. Spots are still open at the Mint’s Summer Art Camps, and new exhibition openings, educational programs, celebrations, and more will continue while school is out. For more information, visit mintmuseum.org.

National Blue Star Museums announcement

The Mint’s announcement follows a national announcement of the Blue Star Museums initiative in New York City on Tuesday. “Through Blue Star Museums, the arts community is extending a special invitation to military families to enjoy over 1,600 museums this summer,” said NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman. “This is both an opportunity to thank military families for their service and sacrifice, as well as a chance to create connections between museums and these families that will continue throughout the year. Especially for families with limited time together, those on a limited budget, and ones that have to relocate frequently, Blue Star Museums offers an opportunity to enjoy one another and become more fully integrated into a community.”

This year, more than 1,600 (and counting) museums in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa are taking part in the initiative. Leadership support has been provided by MetLife Foundation through Blue Star Families.

FOLLOW: Blue Star Museums is on Twitter at @NEAarts, hashtag #bluestarmuse. To learn more about the White House’s Joining Forces initiative visit JoiningForces.gov and follow on Twitter @JoiningForces and on Facebook. Follow Blue Star Families on Twitter, @BlueStarFamily, and on Facebook.

ABOUT BLUE STAR MUSEUMS

Blue Star Museums is a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 1,600 museums across America. The program runs from Memorial Day, May 28, 2012 through Labor Day, September 3, 2012. The free admission program is available to active-duty military and their family members (military ID holder and up to five family members). Active duty military include Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and active duty National Guard and active duty Reserve members. Some special or limited-time museum exhibits may not be included in this free admission program. To see which museums are participating, visit www.arts.gov/bluestarmuseums.

ABOUT BLUE STAR FAMILIES

Blue Star Families is a national, nonprofit network of military families from all ranks and services, including guard and reserve, with a mission to support, connect and empower military families. In addition to morale and empowerment programs, Blue Star Families raises awareness of the challenges and strengths of military family life and works to make military life more sustainable through programs and partnerships like Operation Honor Cards, MilKidz Club and Blue Star Museums. Membership includes military spouses, children and parents as well as service members, veterans and the civilians who strongly support them. To learn more about Blue Star Families, visit www.bluestarfam.org.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

This is the latest NEA program to bring quality arts programs to the military, veterans, and their families. Other NEA programs for the military have included Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience; Great American Voices Military Base Tour; and Shakespeare in American Communities Military Base Tour.

Mint Founding Family Member and Internationally Celebrated Pianist Dorothy Lewis-Griffith to Perform.

As part of its year-long celebration of its 75^th anniversary, The Mint Museum is inviting the public to a free event on December 4 that brings a member of one of the museum’s founding families to the museum for a piano concert and celebrates two other aspects of the Mint’s storied history.

Internationally known pianist Dorothy Lewis-Griffith plans a performance at the heart of the program at the Mint Museum’s Randolph Road location – which holds a special connection to her family. Her late father-in-law, E.C. Griffith (1889-1973), donated the three-acre tract of Eastover land on which the museum now sits in 1933, paving the way for The Mint Museum to open three years later. Her father-in-law went on to serve on the Mint’s original board of directors.

Lewis-Griffith, a High Point native, made her orchestral debut with the North Carolina Symphony at age 14. She has since given recitals and performed as a soloist with orchestras in major cities throughout the United States, China, Brazil, and several European countries. She has released recordings of piano music on iTunes and CD. Among the pieces she plans to perform is one called “Electric Church” by Robert Starer (1924-2001), who was inspired by a photo of a church taken by Lewis-Griffith’s daughter, Dorothy Griffith, and composed the piece in 1989 for an exhibition at the Hickory Museum of Art. Rounding out the program are favorites by Clementi, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Chopin, Debussy and Gershwin.

Lewis-Griffith said she is looking forward to helping to celebrate the museum’s anniversary. “I became a member of the Griffith family in 1959, after the old Mint was moved to Randolph Road, and I gave several recitals on the newly purchased Baldwin piano. I will be performing on that same instrument on December 4, and I will be thinking of my cherished memories of E.C. Griffith, who we called Poppy.”

“The Mint Museum invites the greater Charlotte community to join us in this celebration of our anniversary as we look forward to our next 75 years of inspiring and engaging the next generation,” said Dr. Kathleen V. Jameson, President and CEO of The Mint Museum.

Also featured during the December 4 event will be a discussion by local historian Mike Sullivan titled “It’s All About the Gold.” It will explore the history of gold mining and the role it played in the development of Charlotte – including its selection as the location for the first branch of the United States Mint. And following Lewis-Griffith’s performance, Brian Gallagher, Mint Curator of Decorative Arts, will lead a tour of A Thriving Tradition: 75 Years of Collecting North Carolina Pottery, the Mint’s newest exhibition showcasing treasures from the Mint’s permanent collection dating from its earliest days, as well as loans from local collectors.

FREE continuous shuttle between the Mint Museum Randolph and Mint Museum Uptown

Just in time for the Black Friday rush of holiday shopping, The Mint Museum is offering a FREE continuous shuttle between the Mint Museum Randolph and Mint Museum Uptown locations this Friday and Saturday (November 25 and 26) from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. as a special “thank you” to its museum guests. Visitors can park for NO CHARGE at Mint Museum Randolph, 2730 Randolph Road, take a FREE shuttle to Mint Museum Uptown, and then return via FREE shuttle to Randolph.

The Mint Museum Gift Shops are the perfect spot for every holiday shopping need, with a huge array of gifts for the arts and culture lovers on shoppers’ lists. The Mint Museum Uptown Gift Shop will be opening on Mondays (in addition to its regular weekly hours) for the first three weeks in December, beginning Monday, December 5 through Monday, December 19.