You Are Here: Light, Color, and Sound Experience
You Are Here features immersive art installations by 15 contemporary artists, including large-scale light works, sound installations, video works, mixed-media room-size environments, and site-specific projects. Some are delightfully low-tech, transforming ordinary materials into awe-inspiring visuals, while others make use of experimental new media, fusing art and technology in interactive works that change in response to the viewer. The artists in this exhibition employ a diversity of media to create intriguing experiences that engage the senses, activate the imagination, and provide connections between the viewer and the work of art.
You Are Here presents pioneering video, light, and sound installations by Bill Viola, James Turrell, Janet Cardiff, Olafur Eliasson, and Ragnar Kjartansson. Works by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Jim Campbell, and Theo Eshetu use experimental, cutting-edge technology; custom electronics; and digital media. Mixed-media installations by Anila Quayyum Agha, Soo Sunny Park, Mickalene Thomas, and Heather Gordon use low-tech, nontraditional materials. You Are Here also takes visitors outdoors in the Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park to explore projects by Sam Falls and OMAi/Markus Dorninger.
The exhibition also includes the debut of the Museum’s new acquisition of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s Light of Life, a mirrored hexagonal box measuring more than seven feet square and seven feet tall, with three portholes at varying heights to allow the viewer to look inside of the enclosed “infinity room.” The interior of the work is lined with mirrors and filled with LED lights that are programmed to change patterns and colors in a dazzling two-minute light show. Viewers see a kaleidoscopic play of color and light, along with multiple views of their own reflections and those of the other viewers looking through the portholes, all creating an illusion of infinite space and an extraordinary shared experience.
This exhibition takes over an entire floor of the NCMA’s temporary exhibition galleries and also transforms the landscape in the Museum Park, creating a campus-wide presentation of contemporary experiential art.
Sponsors:
Duke Energy
Duke Health
SiteLink
Calvin and Marisa Allen Foundation
Anne Allen Cheatham
Lizzie Cheatham McNairy and Charlie McNairy
Allen Thomas Jr.
Randy Shull and Hedy Fischer
Carlos Garcia-Velez and W. Kent Davis
The OMAi residency is generously supported by the Hartfield Foundation and Libby and Lee Buck
Images, top to bottom: Anila Quayyum Agha, Intersections, 2013, laser-cut wood, lacquer paint, and light bulb, H. 78 x W. 78 x D. 78 in., Courtesy of the artist; Image © 2013 Rice Gallery, photo by Nash Baker. Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, 1984×1984, 2015, computer, digital webcam, projector, and custom software, dimensions variable, Courtesy of the artist; Photograph: Antimodular Research. Bill Viola, The Crossing, 1996, video and sound installation, 13 ft. 2 in. x 9 ft. 5 in., 10:57 min.; © 2017 Bill Viola Studio LLC; Photograph: Alessandro Moggi, courtesy of the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi.
Organized by the North Carolina Museum of Art. This exhibition is made possible, in part, by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources; the North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation, Inc.; and the William R. Kenan Jr. Endowment for Educational Exhibitions. Research for this exhibition was made possible by Ann and Jim Goodnight/The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fund for Curatorial and Conservation Research and Travel.
Plan Your Visit
Special extended hours: During the final weekend of You Are Here, the exhibition will be open special extended hours, Friday and Saturday, July 20 and 21, from 10 am to 2 am. Pizza, beer, wine, and other beverages will be available for purchase 5 pm to 1:30 am. Click here for the menu.
Tickets
$15 Adults
$12 Seniors (65+), military, groups of 10+
$9 Youth 7−18
$6 Youth group
Policies
Photography for personal use is permitted, except where noted otherwise. Share your photos using #NCMAhere and tagging @ncartmuseum. Tripods and video cameras are prohibited. Commercial photography/filming requires approval and may be subject to fees.
Tours
Because You Are Here is immersive and requires personal exploration of spaces, we are not offering tours of this exhibition.
Two weeks of light graffiti, parties, and workshops featuring artist collective OMAi’s large-scale animated projections, including the events below.
Night Bright Community Festivals, 6:30–11:00 pm
Themed light graffiti parties featuring digitally animated projections by Austrian artists OMAi. Fun for all ages with art making, local performers, musicians, and visual artists. After dark OMAi artists will project their creations on a wall of East Building. Food trucks and beverage tent open throughout.
Free, ticket required
May 24 | Magical Forest / Space Is the Place
May 25 | Underwater Love / The Incredible Machine
Family Day: Light Play
Free, ticket required; storytelling sessions require additional paid ticket for children ages 3 to 18
May 19, 10 am-4 pm
Adult Workshops
Ticketed
May 15, 16, 22 and 23, 7–9 pm
Teen Workshops
Ticketed
May 26, 10 am–Noon and 2–4 pm
The OMAi residency is generously supported by the Hartfield Foundation and Libby and Lee Buck.
Pin it Down: Interactive Voting
Take a pin that best represents your answer to the question that will be rotated every two weeks.
Create Your Own Immersive Room
Use images from the NCMA collection to create your own immersive experience.
iPad Artist Interviews
Watch video interviews with various artists from You Are Here to learn about their processes and inspirations.
Parking
Visitor parking is free and available in the Blue Ridge lot, on the right after entering the Museum drive. Overflow parking is behind West Building, on the left after entering the Museum drive. Visitor drop-off is located between West and East buildings and can be reached by turning left after entering the Museum drive and following the signs.
Accessibility
In addition to our general Museum accessibility, we are including additional accommodations for visitors to You Are Here: Light, Color, and Sound Experiences.
For all visitors:
The exhibition guide alerts visitors about works with low light, bright or flashing light, or loud noise.
For visitors with low vision or who are blind:
Audio description is provided for 15 selected works in the exhibition.
- A printed transcription of audio descriptions is available.
Wall labels throughout the exhibition use large-size text.
For visitors sensitive to loud noises:
- Noise cancellation headsets are available from the Box Office.
Most visitors will likely spend about one to two hours in this exhibition.
What is the layout of the exhibition?
Check back for a map of the exhibition. Exhibition guides will also be given to visitors at the exhibition.
Is there a suggested route for experiencing You Are Here?
The exhibition guide shows a suggested route, but viewers are free to explore the exhibition in any order they choose.
Is there a restriction to how long I can spend in the exhibition? Can I enter and exit the exhibition more than once with my ticket?
While entry to the exhibition must be within the day on your ticket, you can spend as long in the exhibition as you like on the day. Most visitors will likely spend about one to two hours in the exhibition. You can enter and exit the exhibition on the same day listed on your ticket. If you’d like to return to further experience the exhibition on another day, a great option is to apply the price of your ticket toward a Museum membership, which allows for another free exhibition visit.
Is this exhibition suitable for children?
All ages can enjoy You Are Here.
Shop
The Exhibition Store is open during exhibition hours. Also visit the main Museum Store in West Building for fashion items, art books, beautiful artist-crafted jewelry, and educational toys, books, art kits, and games. There are items for every budget and all occasions.
Dine
The Museum offers two dining options: Iris, a full-service restaurant, and Sip, a casual coffee bar, both in West Building.
Iris, West Building
Iris is a sophisticated, full-service restaurant featuring contemporary American cuisine with regional and international flavors in a distinctly modern setting. Specializing in seasonal fare using many locally sourced ingredients, the Museum restaurant, led by chef Andy Hicks, features culinary works of art that showcase a complex culture of flavors. View the menu here.
Reservations for Iris are accepted and encouraged. Call (919) 664-6838.
Hours
Tuesday–Saturday
11:30 am–2 pm
Iris After Dark
Friday 5:30–8:30 pm
Sunday 10:30 am–2:30 pm
Closed Mondays
Sip, West Building
Stop by our coffee bar for a quick pick-me-up. Featuring local Joe Van Gogh coffee, espresso-based drinks, tea, and pastries, Sip is next to the main Museum Store.
Hours
Tuesday–Sunday 10 am–4:30 pm
Closed Mondays
Stay
Homewood Suites, Raleigh Crabtree Valley (2.8 miles from NCMA)
Marriott Fairfield Inn & Suites, Courtyard, or Residence Inn, Raleigh Crabtree Valley (3.2 miles from NCMA)
Hyatt Place Raleigh West (3.7 miles from NCMA)
The Umstead Hotel and Spa (5 miles from NCMA)
Arrange group hotel accommodations or visits to other attractions in the Raleigh area through the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The NCMA communications team is happy to work with members of the press to coordinate media visits, arrange interviews and photo shoots, and provide high-res images. If you would like to schedule a visit or photo shoot, set up an interview with a curator, or request high-res images from the exhibition, please email or call Kat Harding, Assistant Director of Communications and Marketing, at (919) 664-6795. Links to press releases are below.
You Are Here: Light, Color, and Sound Experiences to Close Sunday, July 22
Wells Fargo Sponsors Free Day at North Carolina Museum of Art’s Immersive Special Exhibition
North Carolina Museum of Art Acquires Yayoi Kusama’s Light of Life
North Carolina Museum of Art Opens You Are Here: Light, Color, and Sound Experiences in April 2018