Mint Museum Executive Director Phil Kline announced the inaugural exhibitions to be presented in conjunction with the new Mint Museum Uptown’s grand opening on October 1, 2010. They are New Visions: Contemporary Masterworks from the Bank of America Collection and Contemporary British Studio Ceramics: The Grainer Collection.
Designed by noted architectural firm Machado & Silvetti of Boston, the 145,000-square-foot Mint Museum Uptown will be part of the Levine Center for the Arts located in the heart of Charlotte’s business district. In addition to the Mint, the cultural campus includes the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, and the John S. and James L. Knight Theater, along with corporate, retail and restaurant facilities.
The Mint Museum Uptown will house the world renowned collections of the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, as well as the American Art and Contemporary Art collections and selected works from the European Art collection. The latter three collections are moving from the Mint Museum Randolph. The new five-story facility will include two full floors of galleries, each featuring 12,000 square feet of permanent collection space and 6,000 square feet of changing exhibition space. A dramatic multi-story atrium, named for the late Robert Haywood Morrison in honor of his foundation’s gift to the Museum, will serve as a central hub of activity and features a 60- by 60-foot glass curtain wall offering spectacular views of the urban landscape. The building also includes a café, a Family Gallery, painting and ceramics studios, classrooms, a 240-seat auditorium, a Special Events Pavilion with outdoor terrace, and an expanded Museum Shop specializing in crafts of the Carolinas. These amenities and special features will provide inspiring venues for hosting public programs to reinforce the Museum’s dual priorities of making art and education experiences accessible to the community.
Following the opening of the new uptown location, the Mint Museum Randolph will maintain its current location in the historic Eastover neighborhood and execute a reinstallation plan of its galleries designed to showcase collections of Art of the Ancient Americas, Decorative Arts, and Historic Costume & Fashionable Dress, along with selections of African Art, Asian Art, Ceramics, Coins & Currency, European Art, Native American Art and Spanish Colonial Art.
About The Mint Museum:
The Mint Museum is the overall brand for the exceptional facilities that define the heart of the visual arts experience in Charlotte.
The Mint Museum Randolph opened in 1936 as the first art museum in North Carolina. It is housed in what was the first branch of the United States Mint. When it opened in 1999, the Mint Museum of Craft + Design extended the Mint brand into uptown Charlotte. It was designed to honor the legacy of the region’s rich craft heritage, and has become one of the foremost craft and design museums in the nation.
Opening one year prior to The Mint Museum’s 75th anniversary, the Mint Museum Uptown will combine innovative architecture with groundbreaking exhibitions to provide its visitors with unparalleled art experiences. When the expansion is complete, The Mint Museum’s total combined square footage will grow by more than 60 percent, allowing more opportunities to showcase works from the permanent collection and accommodate significant traveling exhibitions.
www.mintmuseum.org
