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The Mint Museum plans to re-open to public for free weekend Sept. 25-27
September 1, 2020, Charlotte, N.C.— In light of Gov. Roy Cooper’s decision to allow museums to re-open at 50 percent capacity in Phase 2.5, The Mint Museum is thrilled to announce it plans to welcome the public back with a free weekend and celebration, presented by Chase, at both museum locations the weekend of Sept. 25-27. (Mint members will be able to return beginning Tuesday, Sept. 22.) A strategic planning team has been working for months on re-opening plans and precautions. The museum is excited to open its doors again with a host of exciting new exhibitions and installations to share.
The Mint is also talking with several other museums in the city to possibly coordinate re-opening events.
“This is the great news we’ve been waiting for over the last five-and-a-half months,” says Mint President and CEO Todd A. Herman, PhD. “We appreciate the governor’s recognizing the special place museums hold in the community.”[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”40318″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]To create a safe environment for staff and guests, all visitors will be required to wear masks, and we have implemented safety protocols that align with CDC directives. There will be timed-ticketing to ensure we stay within the occupancy guidelines, and we have social-distancing signage in place to guide guest through the galleries. The Lewis Family Gallery remains closed to the public due to the many touch points in the space. To make the signage noticeable and tie back to our collection, we used the iconic Queen Charlotte painting by Allan Ramsay, on view at Mint Museum Randolph, to inform our signage. Guests will even see a life-size cardboard cut-out of Ramsay’s Queen Charlotte, wearing a mask and holding a 6-foot-tall scepter that serves as a ruler to demonstrate social distancing.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”12″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Guests to The Mint Museum will be met with new exhibitions and installations, including:
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- Foragers by Brooklyn-based artist Summer Wheat: This monumental four-story “stained glass” work of art will cover all 96 windows of Mint Museum Uptown’s Robert Haywood Morrison Atrium. Foragers is a tribute to all of the female makers and laborers who helped make Charlotte the thriving metropolis it is today. Foragers is generously sponsored by the Wells Fargo Women Artists Fund. It will be on view when the museum re-opens.
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- New Days, New Works: The exhibition showcases 80 works of art from the Mint’s permanent collection, many of which have never been on view before. New Days, New Works is a striking juxtaposition of color, material, time and place—from a suite of black-and-white photographs done in collaboration by artists Carolyn DeMeritt and Pinky/MM Bass to artist Pilar Albarracín’s Ceiling for Offerings, a work made up of hundreds of colorful flamenco dresses that hang from the ceiling.
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- Local artist de’Angelo Dia is the latest Constellation CLT artist, whose work is on view in the public spaces of Mint Museum Uptown. His works portray characters with bold expressions and elements that explore African-American culture and the hybrid culture of the African diaspora.
[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”37619″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Classic Black: The Basalt Sculpture of Wedgwood and His Contemporaries, on view at Mint Museum Randolph, has been extended through January 3, 2021. The exhibition features 100 black basalt sculptures made by Josiah Wedgwood and other Staffordshire potters in late 18th-century England, and is set against the distinctive linework and colorful gallery walls painted by local mural artist Owl.
Museum tickets will be available for purchase through our website, as well as iinformation on safety protocols. We encourage guests to purchase online, though in-person ticketing is still available.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Contact: Michele Huggins
Media relations and communications project manager
michele.huggins@mintmuseum.org, 704-564-0826 (c)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]