Grand Opening Program (pdf)

From music, dance, and performance art to discussions, craft demonstrations, and hands-on workshops, there is so much to see and do during the Grand Opening Festival. Do as much or as little as you like, after all everything is free! We encourage you to use the Grand Opening program, with the complete schedule of festivities, to help make the most of this jam-packed weekend.

Not sure where to start? Here are some sample itineraries to inspire your Festival visit:

A North Carolina Experience
Date Night
Digital Guru
Kids in Tow
Culture Lover

A North Carolina Experience

Our state is about more than basketball and barbecue (though both of those are great!). Whether you’re a native or newcomer, you’ll feel right at home.

Reserve a timed-ticket to the Museum Sunday, April 25 at noon. You don’t need to pack anything special, but if you hum James Taylor or Nnenna Freelon tunes as you’re driving to the Museum, you’ll be in the right frame of mind.

10–11:30 am: Start the morning with great gospel sounds: the MLK All Children’s Choir from Raleigh and Durham’s own Gospel Jubilators.

11:30 am: Make your way to the canopy of West Building and watch potters Pam and Travis Owen make examples of classic and contemporary Jugtown ware.

Noon: Enter the new galleries, West Building. Chapel Hill artist Patrick Dougherty’s work is immediately to your right as you enter. NC artists are indicated on the wall labels, among them, Kenneth Noland, John Biggers, Daisy Youngblood, and John Beerman.

Lunchtime: Whether it’s barbecue, veggies, or tacos that say North Carolina to you, there’s something to suit your taste with a variety of food vendors.

Afternoon: Head across the Plaza to East Building and enjoy film shorts—Tar Heel Shorties and enjoy exhibitions from several NC universities.

As you head back to your car, look to your left toward the Museum Park. The three large rings and the whirlgig are by NC artists Thomas Sayre and Vollis Simpson.  You’ve had a North Carolina visit from start to finish!

Date Night

The new Museum is enchanting under the nighttime sky. Galleries at twilight and illuminated gardens and courtyards set the stage for a romantic evening rendezvous.
Reserve a timed-ticket for Saturday, April 24, at 7 pm. Bring your special someone and a blanket for relaxing under the stars.

7 pm: Take in the new building hand-in-hand, and experience the light-filled galleries against a sunset backdrop. Be sure to step outside and enjoy the Rodin Court together. Soak up the romantic surroundings on one of the stone benches: watch the evening sky reflected in the shimmering pool while the bamboo rustles in the breeze.

8-10 pm: Split a delectable dessert—or two from Hereghty’s Heavenly Delicious, and make your way back to the Plaza, where you’ll overhear music from the park theater concert. Find a spot and linger awhile, because the night also holds a special finale—a fabulous fireworks display set to music.

Digital Guru

Some may call you an early adopter. Tech-savvy and social media obsessed, you tweet and blog. You’re into contemporary art and design, so the new @ncartmuseum definitely suits your style.

Reserve a timed ticket for Saturday, April 24, at 6 pm. Download the Museum’s new audio tour (121Mb) and Sound Track (21Mb) tour from home. When you arrive, check in via Foursquare (or Gowalla, or TriOut), and add #ncmaOPEN to your tweets to join in the  conversation all weekend on Twitter.

2 pm: Grab a seat in the auditorium for the Art and Architecture Creative Conversation to learn about the design of the new building.

4 pm: Take a coffee break, and then head to the Plaza Music Stage to witness the The Beast, a Durham-based quartet reimagining hip-hop with their musical eclecticism.

5 pm: Check out the new media exhibition in the Museum’s East Building. Many of North Carolina’s most  talented digital artists, filmmakers, and designers are teaming up to present an innovative mix of light and sound projections, experimental performances, short films, and imaginative fashion creations.

6 pm: Finally, it’s your time to see the new building. Pop in your headphones and tour the new galleries guided by the new Sound Track experience. You’ll want to spend extra time with the many new contemporary acquisitions, including a video installation by Jennifer Steinkamp. You’ll want your camera handy–yes, you can now take snaps in the galleries!–and be sure to add them to our Flickr group to share with everyone.

Kids in Tow

Introduce the whole family to the transformed Museum. The spectacular new building and our many family–friendly activities are sure to delight everyone in the bunch, including little ones.

Reserve a timed-ticket to the new building Sunday, April 25, at 11 am. Pack a snack, a package of markers for our art supply drive, and a camera—there’ll be lots of great photo opportunities indoors and out.

10 am: Let the kids clap, dance, and sing along with the Martin Luther King All Children’s Choir at the Plaza music stage.

11 am: Next, while everyone’s energy is riding high, stroll through the new galleries. There’s enough art to fill many visits, so pick a few highlights: El Anatsui’s huge metal tapestry, the Sawfish Headdress in the African Gallery, and the animal-themed gallery among the European collection.

11:30 am: Step outside into the Rodin Garden, and strike a pose among our famous new sculptures. We’ll capture you in a souvenir photo to take home. While you’re outside, stop to check out the temporary sculpture box featuring images of North Carolina’s people and places.

Noon: “I’m hungry!” Head over to the food vendors, where you’ll find a variety of lunch options from Whole Foods, Only Burger, Neomonde, and more to satisfy everyone in the group.

Afternoon: A stop by Creation Stations in the Park Theater completes your family adventure. Create your own mini-metal tree to take with you, or a portable art collection, experiment with paper designs, and decorate a frame for your commemorative photo.

Culture Lover

Plan to arrive at the Museum by noon on Sunday, April 25 to partake in a cultural treat for the senses.

Reserve your timed ticket to the Museum at 1 pm; remember to pack your binoculars if you enjoy getting to see dancers and musicians up close.

Noon: Enjoy the premiere of a new work by the Carolina Ballet followed by a conversation with Robert Weiss in the Museum Auditorium, East Building.

1 pm: Make your way into West Building; you’ll notice the Dendy Dance Theater performers and NC potters along the way. Take a stroll through the building and be sure to see the Picasso in the modern and contemporary galleries, the expansive European collection, and of course, the two Monet paintings in the Impressionist gallery. Finish your tour in the Rodin Court.

2 pm: You’ll hear the sounds of Charanga Carolina from the Plaza and if you like contemporary art, head back to the auditorium for a talk about SECCA in Winston-Salem. Or take a break and enjoy a snack from Hereghty Heavenly Delicious or Tea Gschwender.

3 pm: It’s time for the Festival Finale, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, The Resurrection, in the Park Theater—a grand finish to the day!

Check back Monday for two more itineraries: “All Natural” and “Movers and Shakers.”

Photo by kyoungdb9

What says “North Carolina” to you?

Contribute your picture, and you could be part of a large-scale photo installation that reflects the people and places of North Carolina for the Grand Opening of our new gallery building April 24–25.

Send us a digital photo of yourself, or a group shot with family or friends, taken somewhere in the state—whatever says North Carolina to you—and we might just select your photograph for our commemorative display.

Show us your hometown, annual N.C. vacation spot, or favorite local grub! Be creative! Keep in mind we’re looking for photos of faces—and places.

You only have until Friday, February 26, to submit your photos via our Flickr group! Don’t delay—we want to capture as many people and places from across the state as we can for this historic occasion!

(Oh, and be sure to read all the instructions and requirements before uploading your photos.)

Yesterday, you heard about Patrick Dougherty’s sculpture of swirling saplings for the new gallery building. Maybe you noticed that we didn’t refer to it by its title. It wasn’t an omission; it was because it doesn’t have one yet. And that’s where you come in!

For Patrick, sculpture is about conversation, about openness between the artist and the viewer. His creations are more than great visual art; they are a form of social art.

His monumental stick sculptures are typically commissioned for outdoor spaces—parks, museums, universities, the side of a Max Azria store in Los Angeles—where Dougherty and a team of volunteers build from scratch over the course of numerous weeks. And not surprisingly, Dougherty’s work attracts a lot of attention! And he embraces it!

He’s known to put down his sticks, and talk about his work with anyone who pauses long enough. The stares, opinions, and questions—he sees each interaction as an opportunity to bring the casual viewer into his art. And ultimately, those conversations inform his sculptures, sometimes their shape or direction, and even their name.

While, we can’t open the doors to the new building in the midst of moving hundreds of priceless works of art, we’re doing the next best thing—sharing the installation with you via Flickr. We invite you to take a look and help Patrick name the new work of art.

Submit your title suggestions by commenting below or emailing us. You can also submit  through Facebook or Twitter. We’ll pass your ideas along to Patrick for his selection.

Come on, let’s talk!

A steady stream of visitors poured through the front doors. They arrived all day long, and many came up until the moment we closed. Families. Teenagers. Toddlers and lots of them. People of all ages. People from across the state and even from across the country.

They pondered art, conversed with friends, shared a meal in the restaurant, laughed with their children, strolled through the Park, and bought a treasure in the store.

It felt like a preview of the new kind of Museum we’re creating—a community gathering place, a social hub—a place where a variety of experiences, from the recreational to the leisurely to the sublime, await each and every visitor.

On the verge of closure, it was a great to see the Museum so full of life.

Our Last Visitors

All the way from Floyds Knobs, Indiana, Mary Jo and John Gohmann were the final visitors to leave the Museum as our doors closed on Sunday. Little did they know that by being the last to step out the front door there was a special surprise for them—a package full of Museum goodies and a photo request!

The couple was in Raleigh visiting their daughter Joanna, a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a 2009 summer intern for the Museum. The couple planned a visit after their daughter told them it was their last chance to visit until April 2010.

The interplay of traditional craftsmanship with contemporary art and architecture has a fascinating history in North Carolina—Black Mountain College is a prime example—and Jack has his own place in that story. And now, in a serendipitous sequence of events, Jack’s legacy and some 100 tons of Western North Carolina have found an unlikely home in the sleek new building at the North Carolina Museum of Art.

The intersection of art and nature is a hallmark element of the new building. No where is this to be more evident than in the narrow glass-clad South Court—which slices into the building, bringing the surrounding landscape into the middle of the classical gallery. And unlike the new building’s four other courtyards, which feature paved surfaces and sculpture, the South Court is intended to be a natural, contemplative space. And large native rocks are the central element of that vision.

Jesse Turner, a landscape designer with Lappas + Havener, knew that the Museum was looking for large-scale boulders. He immediately thought of the Owen family, close family friends from his childhood in western North Carolina. Jesse called his father, John Turner, director of the Southern Highlands Reserve. John worked with Jack for more than 30 years at the Reserve, where Jack was responsible for all the rock work throughout the 120-acre private native plant garden and research center. John contacted Jack’s son Travis, who followed in his father’s footsteps and runs the family quarry and rock business, located 50 miles southeast of Asheville, N.C.

Travis agreed to donate 14 boulders from Canton, N.C. in memory of his father to the Museum. He selected each of the rocks, and in June came to the Museum to direct their placement in the narrow strip of dirt, in a careful, thoughtful arrangement—just as his father would have done.

Transporting and placing the granite rocks, some as heavy as 15 tons, is no easy task, and required the goodwill and help of many. Travis enlisted the help of two cousins, who drove all the way from Florida to lend their 18-wheelers. Once the boulders arrived at the Museum, placing them inside the glass courtyards required the expert use of a crane donated by Earl Johnson of Southern Industrial Constructors.

John Turner couldn’t think of a more fitting tribute for his good friend and colleague. “Jack had a unique ability to see rocks in their natural environment and picture them in a placed setting, in a way that made a statement.”

The late Jack Owen

In April 2010, when you gaze across the new building’s South Court, you’ll see more than a bunch of moss-covered boulders—you’ll see an installation that celebrates the people of our state who create art out of their everyday work.

Tomorrow, the Museum Park comes to life for Earth Day at the NCMA, a celebration of art and nature.

While green demonstrations, activities, and workshops will inspire more earth-friendly lifestyles, we’ll also be doing our part to put on an earth-friendly event.

We’re hosting our celebration in a Park for one thing, which makes our event pretty green to begin with. Doesn’t it just make sense to celebrate Mother Earth in a park rather than surrounded by parking lots?

Think twice before you throw that fork in the garbage. Throughout the festival, new recycling stations with bins for recyclable materials, compost, and trash will help reduce waste.

We’re also helping the planet and people in need by collecting gently worn shoes for donation to Soles4Souls, a nonprofit that recycles and reuses footwear around the world. Collection areas will be set up at the festival.

Lunch items and concessions from Blue Ridge Restaurant will come with compostable serving materials. Decorations—larger-than-life flora—were made from reusable materials from The Scrap Exchange. Much of the signage is being reused from last year’s festival. And we won’t be passing out festival maps and event schedules, so on that note take a look at the event map here before you come—and in honor of Earth Day—don’t print it out! (If you need help finding your way around the Park, friendly Museum ambassadors wearing Earth Day T-shirts will be around to help.)

Hooray! We welcomed our 1000th Facebook Fan this week. Thanks everybody!

Once I get into work I settle in, get my cup of coffee, turn on the computer and log on to Facebook. (Jealous? I’m lucky to have a job where, not only do I have access to Facebook-it’s part of my job description.) The anticipation builds as I open the Museum’s Facebook page…and voila…see that 6 more fans magically appeared overnight!

It’s exciting to see the results of our Facebook efforts right there in black and white: 636 fans. (That’s up from 169 fans just 4 months ago!) I’ve even started recording the number of fans on a whiteboard outside my cubicle for fellow colleagues to track our progress.

More important than numbers is the idea of connecting with our community, and for us that means, first and foremost, citizens across North Carolina. Right now, we’re striving to have fans from all 100 counties in North Carolina taking part in our Facebook fan base. When we reach the 100th county, all our fans will be rewarded! So tell all your friends from Murphy to Manteo to join in the Facebook fanfare.

Social media and Web 2.0 is a relatively new venture for the NCMA. I love reaching out to virtual Museum lovers and connecting with them on-line. And in the next year we’ll be trying new…and better ways to do just that. I hope it won’t be too long before you’re following our tweets on Twitter and customizing your own NCMA page. Stay tuned!

Our special exhibition of large-scale abstract cityscapes—Julie Mehretu: City Sitings—closes this Sunday. Julie Mehretu is an internationally renowned artist; don’t take my word for it—take it from MoMA, the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis, and SFMOMA in San Francisco.

You’ll discover lots of familiar graphic elements—maps, corporate logos, graffiti, architectural renderings, and urban grids—embedded in her canvases. So come out and play a game of “I Spy” with the Stadia series and see what you can find.

P.S. Before you visit, check out our City Sitings web page, where you can zoom in on details in the works of art and share what you find.