Your art museum commissioned El Anatsui to create an extraordinary wall hanging for the new West Building. It is front and center, and you enjoy it every time you enter the building. It is one of his best.

The success and popularity of our work by this master inspired us to present the exhibition El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa. It is a fantastic review of the great work from his 40-year career. There are, of course, the breathtaking wall hangings woven from found metallic elements. But you might be surprised by the power of his sculptures, drawings, and paintings incised in wood.

You should not miss this exhibition. It is one of the most alluring and captivating shows the Museum has ever presented. And it is yours until July 29. The art world is envious of you.

Larry Wheeler is director of the North Carolina Museum of Art.

We are reminded of the story of our beginning at the North Carolina Museum of Art today as we open Rembrandt in America 55 years after that first exhibition. With nearly 30 paintings by the master himself, the show assembles the largest number of authentic Rembrandt paintings from American collections ever.

I believe the genius of Rembrandt is readily apparent in this exhibition. It’s the miracle of the human being that begins to be communicated with a sense of the soul, the artistic expression of not only the body but of the soul. It’s easy for us to engage with that, and to come away with an elevated soul of our own after experiencing this stunning collection.

This exhibition represents our Museum at its finest. Our own Dennis Weller, curator of Northern European Art, co-curated the exhibition as well as co-authored the catalogue, also titled Rembrandt in America. Museums and private collectors all over the country have lent works to this important exhibition that has been years in the making.

Rembrandt in America is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you simply must not miss. I invite you to come early and return often. When you visit, take your time, study the details, and feel the awe of being in the presence of one of the greatest Old Masters—right here at the NCMA.

30 Americans, currently showing at the Museum until September 4, is jam-packed with some of the most provocative, engaging, and humorous expressions about the world we live in from 31 of America’s most respected artists, among them Kara Walker, Mark Bradford, Glenn Ligon, Carrie Mae Weems, Lorna Simpson, and Nick Cave. Kehinde Wiley’s monumental work is breathtaking. All of the artists are African American. While you are here, don’t miss Alter Ego, Anthony Goicolea’s first comprehensive retrospective of his work in all media, exploring adolescence, the mythology of landscape, and the mystery of family.

Many of the same artists in 30 Americans are also in the collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University and are currently on view in Building the Contemporary Collection: Five Years of Acquisitions until August 14.  The Ackland Museum at UNC–Chapel Hill has exceptional work by contemporary German artists including Gerhard Richter and Joseph Beuys in the exhibition De-Natured.

Downtown Raleigh is popping with the opening of the new Contemporary Art Museum. Not only is the building worth a visit to remind you of a New York gallery experience, but so are the very cool exhibitions by Dan Steinhilber (recycled materials ingeniously reinterpreted) and Naoko Ito (a meditative response to nature). Step over to Flanders Gallery to prove to yourself that Raleigh is not far removed from New York.

For a day’s outing, head up to Winston-Salem for a visit to SECCA, the Southeast Center for Contemporary Art (about 1 ½ hours’ drive from Raleigh). Wow. Not only are the galleries among the most striking contemporary art spaces in North Carolina, but the exhibitions organized by their brilliant curator, Steven Matijio, are truly of a world standard. Currently on view are: American Gothic: Aaron Spangler and Alison Elizabeth Taylor; Oscar Muñoz: Imprints for a Fleeting Memorial; and Clark Wittington & Artists in Cellophane (AIC): The Art-o-Mat Enterprise. On the way home, visit the Weatherspoon Art Museum at UNC–Greensboro, where excellent contemporary work is always on view, including the best new works on paper you will find anywhere.

Ready. Set. Go. You are bound to find a revitalizing new energy in these experiences. So, NCMA members, get going. And plan to start right here at the NCMA for an art jolt you don’t want to miss.

Outside incredible progress has happened in the last month, including installation of two new outdoor works of art (sculptures by Ursula von Rydingsvard and Roxy Paine). And in the coming weeks, the landscape will be transformed.

On a personal note, on October 1, I completed my fifteenth year as director. It has been a great privilege to lead the North Carolina Museum of Art through its growth in these dynamic years. None of our achievements would have been possible, however, without the support of the community, our members, and our volunteers. Likewise, the staff is doing a brilliant job organizing the arduous and time-consuming move which is being executed with great professionalism. I am proud of their creativity and commitment.

As we move forward, stay tuned for the most exciting things yet to come.

But we would be remiss to think of the next few months as simply about art movement or anticipation of unveiling the new gallery building. This time is about so much more. We are not simply moving from one building to another. Rather, so many facets of what make this museum the beloved place it is are being transformed to create the best possible visitor experience for viewing, learning, contemplating, exploring, and enjoying our outstanding collection.

The most visible sign of the transformation will be the light-filled, expansive galleries that will allow the artwork to take center stage. Within those spaces the collection will be installed in an innovative way often inviting the visitor to see works of art differently than before. Many new and splendid art acquisitions will be on view for the first time and the sculpture garden will connect the bright interior galleries with the stunning landscaping surrounding the building. The restaurant and store will be in new locations with expanded selections. And a fresh new logo will welcome the transformation of the Museum.

We are excited to share with you the installation of the 45-foot tall stainless steel tree by Roxy Paine next week as well as the massive cedar vessel crafted by Ursula von Rydingsvard at the end of the month. Both will be centerpieces of the new gardens surrounding the Museum. Be sure to follow the installation process right here in the blog.

We can’t wait to share our new home with you as we herald a new era of arts in our great state. Let the countdown to April 2010 begin!

It was a thrill to announce to the media on Tuesday that the new 127,000 square foot gallery building will be very energy efficient–well beyond typical engineering standards, which gives us the “green” light to register for LEED certification (I’m hoping it will be at the gold level). In addition to exceptional energy efficiencies, the use of natural daylight throughout, controlled storm water runoff, and the development of cisterns for rainwater and AC condensation storage to sustain the landscape are key elements in the plan.

As the Museum’s 164-acre campus becomes melded with parkland and gardens, the natural world will become a full partner in the human experience with art. The new plaza and landscape architecture will unfold before your eyes over the next year.

Why so serious? A museum’s art collections are the center of an art museum’s purpose. Each object, selected with great care, holds within it the values and ideas relevant to the culture that created it. In the aggregate they represent the vicissitudes of civilization over recorded time. The responsibility of the art museum is to care for these objects in their trust, to engage publics in considering the art, and to pass them along to succeeding generations.

As art established its own economy in recent decades, many works achieved sensational monetary value. Collectors have in many cases converted their art to liquid capital. That is not an option for art museums who are protectors of a public trust. Museum ethics require that funds secured from the sale of a work of art must be reinvested in the enhancement of the art collection, not its operating capital. This principle is central to our values at the NCMA.

It is your collection and always will be.

Dr. Larry Wheeler, Museum Director, will be posting periodically from the Director’s suite.