ncmuseums

An occasional list of exhibits, programs, and events at North Carolina museums. Sponsored by the North Carolina Museums Council.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Silent Auction items needed, and more

Call for Silent Auction Items

Silent auction items are needed for this year’s Annual Meeting in Fayetteville, March 4-7. If your institution can donate items, please contact Kathryn Beach (profdevelop@ncmuseums.org or 910-466-1330) as soon as possible. Your help in raising money to help cover annual meeting costs is greatly appreciated.

Other notes relative to the Annual Meeting:

1). A reminder that the deadline for registering for the Annual Meeting while taking advantage of the Early Bird Discount is this Friday, February 1, 2008. We will accept registrations at any time prior to or at the Annual Meeting, but full registration fees will be charged after Friday.

2). If you wish to apply for an Art Section scholarship, your application must be mailed by Friday, February 1, 2008.

3). If you wish to apply for a History Section scholarship, your application must be mailed by tomorrow, Wednesday, January 30, 2008.

4). If you plan to attend the Annual Meeting, please check the NCMC website for details on making your own hotel reservations. The gathering will be held at the Hilton Doubletree in Fayetteville.

If you haven't already, please consider attending and supporting the Council and the Annual Meeting sponsors in Fayetteville in March!

Monday, January 28, 2008

Arts Section scholarships offered

First-come, First-served 2008 NCMC Annual Conference Arts Scholarships
Applications Accepted From Now Through February 1, 2008

The Arts Section of the NCMC is offering a limited number of scholarships for the NCMC conference, to be held in Fayetteville March 4-March 7, 2007. For details on the conference, visit www.ncmuseums.org and click on the item in the right-hand column.

Scholarships are open to art museum and gallery professionals across the state and cover the cost of the conference registration, which allows admission to all conference sessions and activities, and also includes all meals from Wednesday evening thru Friday lunch. Applications will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis, so get your form in early! The final day is February 1, 2008, corresponding to the Conference Early Bird Deadline. If scholarship funds remain unclaimed after February 1, they will continue to be awarded.

Applicants do not have to be a member of NCMC. Special consideration will be given to professionals from institutions with limited budgets, and/or those having the greatest distance to travel to attend the conference and/or those new to the profession. No more than two people from any museum may receive the scholarship per year. These scholarships are supported by a grant from the North Carolina ArtsCouncil, an agency funded by the State of North Carolina and the National Endowment for the Arts. Please note: staff at museums and other agencies in the Department of Cultural Resources are not eligible for scholarships.

Scholarship applications and information are available online or contact Lisë Swensson, Arts Section Chair, at art@ncmuseums.org. Return the application as soon as possible; preference will be given to applications in the order they are received. Recipients will be notified as soon as they are approved. Information requested for your application is outlined below, and is also available online.

NCMC Arts Section Scholarship Application
Please fill out the information below and return to: Lisë Swensson, Executive Director, Hickory Museum of Art, 243 3rd Ave. NE, Hickory, NC 28601. Applications can also be sent electronically to art@ncmuseums.org. Applications may be no more than 2 pages.
Name:
Position:
Institution:
Address:
Phone Number: Business: Home: Cell:
Email:
Years with this organization: Years in the arts field:
USE A SECOND PAGE TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IF NECESSARY.
Briefly describe your involvement in the arts field especially as a museum professional:
Briefly summarize your interest in attending this year's conference:
Briefly describe what you expect to gain from your attendance:
Are you a presenter or panelist at this year's conference?
Is anyone else from your institution attending the conference or applying for this award?
(If yes, please give names and specify if they are also applicants for the scholarship.)

The latest museums news

If you haven't already done so, be sure to check out the program offerings, schedule and registration information for the upcoming NCMC Annual Meeting & Conference, to be held March 4-7 in Fayetteville. Deadlines for award nominations, early bird discount conference fees and scholarship applications all fall before the end of this week (January 30, February 1 and February 2). Check it out today!

Events from around the state:

1). Reynolda House Museum of American Art presents Ancestry and Innovation: African American Art from the American Folk Art Museum Friday, February 1 from 7 pm-9 pm. The exhibition will open with a party for the general public featuring music, cash bar, and admission to the main floor of the historic house. For information please call 336-758-5150. Admission is $5, members and students are free.

2). The North Carolina Museum of History presents Curator's Tour: Bearing Witness: Civil Rights Photographs of Alexander Rivera on Saturday, February 2 at 1:30pm. Discover the work of N.C. native and renowned photojournalist Alexander Rivera, who captured pivotal moments in the Civil Rights movement as well as everyday life in the segregated South.

3). North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences - come join us for the 11th annual Groundhog Day celebration. The free event is Saturday, February 2, from 10 a.m. to 4 pm with the shadow ceremony beginning promptly at noon out on Bicentennial Plaza (the ceremony will be held in the Museum Auditorium in case of inclement weather). Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker will join Museum educator John Connors, who will be outfitted in top hat and tails, to assist Wally with the forecast.

4). The Asheville Art Museum is taking part in the National African American Read-In on Sunday, February 3 with a book discussion of Stigmata: A Novel, the debut effort by Pulitzer Prize winning editor Phyllis Alesia Perry. Contact Nancy Sokolove at 828.253.3227 or nsokolove@ashevilleart.org for more about the book discussion.

5). The Piedmont Natural Gas Foundation has generously awarded a $5000 grant to support the Cameron Art Museum's newly-established Minnie Evans Study Center. The Center will act as the primary repository of information relating to the art and life of this North Carolina self-taught artist.

6). Visitors to the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher will have a chance to combine a day at the aquarium with a viewing of one of four classic children's films every Saturday in February. Screening will take place in the aquarium's recently upgraded 165-seat auditorium. Films will begin at 3 p.m. on Feb. 3, 10, 17 and 24. Admission to the February Family Fun Film Festival is free with an aquarium ticket.

7). The High Point Museum presents Blacksmithing Demonstrations in the Historical Park on February 2-3 and February 16-17. Come watch our costumed blacksmith in action as he crafts various iron pieces. Free. For more information, call (336) 885-1859.

8). Cape Fear Museum of History and Science will venture into uncharted waters Feb. 3, when its newest exhibit, OCEAN: Explore. Discover., opens to the public. OCEAN is an interactive, hands-on exhibition that explores cutting-edge research projects from UNCW faculty. The yearlong, temporary exhibit will offer visitors a unique perspective on the ocean. It is designed, in large part, to expose the Lower Cape Fear region to a sampling of the breadth of ocean research that takes place in its own back yard.

9). Bennett Place State Historic Site presents Civil War Cinema: Buffalo Soldiers, starring Danny Glover, on February 16 at 5:30 pm.

10). The Museum of the Albemarle will hold "Pre-Schooler Time" on Thursday, February 14, 2008 from 10:00 am until 10:45 am. Participants must be between the ages of 3 to 5 years old and must be accompanied by an adult. Pre-schoolers will learn about the symbols that represented love in the 18th Century.

11). Cape Fear Museum presents at its Learning Center: Under the Sea: What is an aquanaut? Discover the answer to this question and more as you explore ocean science. Learn why the ocean is salty and rivers are not. Play a fun shell match game and make your own sand dollar. Find out why starfish are not fish at all! February 9, 16, 23. The Learning Center is open Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Activities are free with Museum admission. Appropriate for children ages 5 to 10. Parental participation is required.

12). Greensboro Children's Museum - Registration is now open for the Kids on the Ball & Wee Little Kids on the Ball 6 week class - ($10 registration fee) Kids on the Ball - Tuesdays - Feb. 5 - Mar. 11. Time: 5:15 - 6pm. Wee Little Kids on the Ball - Thursdays - Feb. 7 - March 13. (10:30 - 11am) and Fridays - Feb. 8 - Mar. 14. (10:30-11am). Class size is limited so sign up today!

13). During the weekend of February 22-24, the Cameron Art Museum will present the Civil War Living History Weekend and Battle of Forks Road Living History Weekend, an outstanding event that recreates the final fight to take Wilmington on February 20, 1865. This educational program affords visitors a great opportunity to learn more about the role of African American troops during the Civil War history. Step back in time with African American, Union and Confederate re-enactors, special guest speakers, and Civil War historians. The year 2008 marks the 143rd anniversary of the Battle of Forks Road, an important skirmish that preceded the fall of Wilmington during the Civil War.

14). Historic Oak View County Park - Join us on February 23 from 10-4 for the opening of the park's newest original exhibition, "Seeing the Light: How Electricity Changed Rural North Carolina." We'll have guest speakers and guided tours of the exhibit throughout the day. Visit the website for details about speaker and tour times.

15). Apply to the Museum Assessment Program (MAP) today! There's an affordable way for you to: strengthen your museum's operations, build your capacity, establish priorities. For 26 years, museums of all sizes and types have partnered with the Museum Assessment Program (MAP) to attain excellence in operations and planning. MAP is a low-cost confidential process of guided self-study that includes consultation with a museum professional. Postmark Deadline: February 15, 2008. The application and guidelines are available for download at http://www.blogger.com/www.aam-us.org/map. Questions? Contact MAP Staff at map@aam-us.org or 202-289-9118.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Award nominations deadline extended

Good news! The deadline for the annual NCMC Professional/Service Awards and Multi-Media Awards nomination submissions has been extended.

After many frantic calls from museum professionals who "need a few more days," the committee has agreed to a new deadline. Get busy. Entries now must be postmarked by Saturday, February 2, 2008, in order to be eligible for the competition.

If you haven't already done so, check out the various Award categories at this link. Nominate your mentor, a co-worker, a newbie in the field, or a volunteer who has made a difference in your organization. Did you advertise any programs or events during 2007? Bundle those materials with a nomination form and send them to: Jenean Todd, Cape Fear Museum, 814 Market Street, Wilmington NC 28401-4731.

Newsletter, Elections & History Section Scholarships

1). The very latest NCMC Newsletter is finished. You can take a look at it as a PDF by going here and clicking on the item in the right-hand column on the front page -- or go directly to the pdf by following this link. Lots of announcements, news, exhibit information and more, along with color photos, in the newest issue!

2). Among the news in the latest newsletter is the following item the Council wishes to share with all members, as the Annual Meeting of the Council will include the important business of electing a portion of the Board -- those volunteers who do work throughout the year to keep the Council active and moving forward: Per the NCMC Operating Guidelines, the following NCMC Board positions are to be filled in even-numbered years (such as 2008): Annual Meetings Chair, Archives Chair, Governmental Affairs Chair, Newsletter Chair, and Professional Development Chair. Terms of service for those positions are two years. Below is the official slate of nominees being recommended for election at the 2008 annual meeting.

Annual Meeting Chair: Courtney Hybarger (President James K. Polk State Historic Site, Pineville)
Archives Chair: Harry Warren (N.C. Museum of Forestry, Whiteville)
Governmental Affairs Chair: Edith Brady (High Point Museum, High Point)
Newsletter Chair: Kyle Bryner (Museum of Anthropology, WFU, Winston-Salem)
Professional Development Chair: Kathryn Beach (Museum of the Cape Fear, Fayetteville)

3). Applications sought for history-section scholarships (and due soon!)

History Scholarships for the 2008 NCMC Annual Conference - Attend the Conference Sessions for Free!

The History Section of the NCMC is offering two scholarships for the NCMC conference in Fayetteville this March (conference details available at http://www.blogger.com/www.ncmuseums.org). The scholarship covers the cost of the conference registration and will be offered to a museum or history professional across the state. We expect the applications to be very competitive in the scholarship's fifth year, so get your form in early! The deadline is January 30.

The scholarship will cover the cost of the conference registration, which allows admission to all conference sessions and activities, and also includes all meals from Wednesday evening through Friday lunch. If the winning applicant is not an NCMC member, the scholarship will cover NCMC dues for one year. The NCMC History Section provides funding for this scholarship.
More information about conference schedules, sessions, and registration forms for NCMC 2008 is now available. If you have additional questions regarding NCMC History Section scholarship issues, contact Harold Jacobson, hjacobson@roanokerapidsnc.com (History Section Chair), or Heidi Bleazey (History Section Vice-Chair): heidi.bleazey@ncmail.net.

Hoping to see many of you in Fayetteville in early March. The time to register and make hotel reservations is NOW!

Thursday, January 17, 2008

If you haven't already done so, be sure to check out the program offerings, schedule and registration information for the upcoming NCMC Annual Meeting & Conference, to be held March 4-7 in Fayetteville: www.ncmuseums.org/ncmc/conference/2008/index.html.

Events from around the state:

1). Sunday, January 27 at 2:30 pm - Olivia Raney Library - Wake County Historical Society hosts Dr. Walt Wolfram, William C. Friday Distinguished Professor at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS) at NC State University. Dr. Wolfram has pioneered research on a broad range of vernacular dialects across North Carolina. He will share his findings.

2). Reynolda House Museum of American Art presents a concert by the Carolina Piano Trio on Friday, January 25 at 8 p.m. in the Babcock Auditorium. Members of the ensemble include Barbara McKenzie, piano, Jacqui Carrasco, violin, and Elizabeth Anderson, cello. The program includes Frank Martin's Trio on Irish Folk Melodies, Graces, Furies by American composer Michael Alec Rose, and Mozart's Trio in C Major, K548. For information and to purchase tickets, please call 336-758-5150.

3). "Made in China: Export Porcelain from the Leo and Doris Hodroff Collection," on view at the Mint Museum of Art: The cross-cultural connections between Asia and the West are vividly displayed in the extraordinary exhibition, Made in China: Export Porcelain from the Leo and Doris Hodroff Collection at Winterthur, which chronicles the history of Chinese export porcelain from 1550 to 1850. The exhibition will be on view from January 26 to April 20, 2008 at the Mint Museum of Art.Made in China showcases approximately 150 superbly crafted plates, tureens, vases, sculptures and other wares from the Leo and Doris Hodroff Collection of Chinese export porcelain at the Winterthur Museum in Delaware.

4). The North Carolina Aquariums will celebrate the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday by waiving admission fees. This year's holiday falls on Monday, January 21. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is one of two holidays each year that the aquariums reserve for the public to visit without an admission charge. The other "free day" is Veterans Day (Nov. 11). The aquariums are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 362 days each year. Normal admission charges are: $8 adults; $7 seniors; $6 ages 6-17. The aquariums offer free admission for: age 5 and under; registered groups of N.C. school children; N.C. Aquarium Society members.

5). In September 2007 the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail officially dedicated a new permanent display about the trail in the W. Kerr Scott Dam & Reservoir Visitor Center in Wilkesboro, NC. The project was a joint partnership between the National Park Service and the Army Corps of Engineers. There is an article with photos about the exhibit in the 2007 Progress Report for the trail -- go to the website, click on the "Management" link, then "Our Partners." The Progress Reports for the last four years are posted (including the one for 2007).

6). The Gregg Museum of Art & Design at NC State University is pleased to present RANDY SHULLCROSSING BOUNDARIES: A mid-career survey of the work of Asheville, NC, designer and craftsman Randy Shull. Randy Shull is nationally known for his work in furniture making and design, and is becoming increasingly well-known and respected for his work as a landscape architect and exterior designer. Based in Asheville, NC, Randy was recently featured in American Craft Magazine in "A Tale of Two Houses", an article about the redesign and renovation of his and a friend's homes in Asheville. The exhibit will run from January 24 - May 11, 2008. The exhibition will then travel to San Francisco, Bellevue, WA, and New Orleans. The exhibition and its travel plans were made possible by a generous grant from the Windgate Charitable Foundation.

7). The N.C. Transportation Museum received some positive, much-anticipated news as the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources announced receipt of $2,159,500 from the General Assembly for the restoration and preservation of the Museum's Power House, which will complete an important phase in the Back Shop restoration project. The Power House, which once generated electricity for the entire Spencer Shops facility, is being restored both to preserve the unique structure and the historic generators and machinery it houses, and as a component of the Back Shop Complex restoration. Once completed, the building will have exhibit areas on its original uses, and house the heating and cooling units for the Back Shop.

8). Lorraine Walsh, Chair of Multimedia Arts and Sciences at UNC-Asheville, will talk about digital methodologies and computing in drawing at the Asheville Art Museum's WNC Resource Center on Thursday, January 31 from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. Admission to this event is free with Museum membership or admission. This event is held in conjunction with the exhibition Lines of Discovery: American Drawings, which is on view in the Museum's Appleby Foundation Gallery through Sunday, February 10, 2008.

9). The Hickory Museum of Art recently completed construction of a new gallery honoring the life and work of the Museum's founder and first director, Paul W. Whitener. The Paul Whitener Gallery will officially be unveiled during a ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday, January 19 at 2 PM. A reception and open house will immediately follow from 2 - 4 PM. The public is invited to attend. (E-mail: KAllen@HickoryMuseumofArt.org).

10). Reynolda House Museum of American Art presents a Gallery Talk by Allison Slaby, the Museum's assistant curator, on Tuesday, January 29 at 5:30 p.m. The talk will center on the exhibition, Wordplay: Text and Modern Art, on view in the West Bedroom Gallery of the historic house. This exhibition explores the ways in which artists have integrated words and text into their designs as well as the rich material that language introduces to their work. Artists featured in the exhibition include Lorna Simpson, Shusaku Arakawa, Jasper Johns, Robert Cottingham, Glenn Ligon, and Edward Ruscha. The Gallery Talk will be followed by a cash bar reception. For information, please call 336-758-5150 or see the website. Admission is $5.

11). Maud Gatewood: Catching the Moment will be on display at the Asheville Art Museum Friday, January 25 - Sunday, May 18, 2008. This exhibition is organized and curated by the Asheville Art Museum, and is sponsored in part by the Midgard Foundation, Drs. Robert and Priscilla Bleke and Mr. & Mrs. Russell E. Newton Jr. An opening reception will be held at the Museum Friday, January 25 from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. Light hors d'oeuvres and refreshments will be served. This event is free for Museum members or with Museum admission.

12). On Saturday, Jan. 26, visitors to the N.C. Transportation Museum (NCTM) can learn how the shipwreck graveyard of the Atlantic shaped the destiny of the Outer Banks. Kevin Duffus, author of Shipwrecks of the Outer Banks-An Illustrated Guide, will show documentary clips and present a wide-ranging discussion of North Carolina shipwrecks and their legacy at 1 p.m. in the museum's Roundhouse Orientation Theater.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Conference and Other News

If you haven't already done so, be sure to check out the program offerings, schedule and registration information for the upcoming NCMC Annual Meeting & Conference, to be held March 4-7 in Fayetteville: www.ncmuseums.org/ncmc/conference/2008/index.html.

Events from around the state:

1). Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem will host a Reading by Kate Blackwell at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 22 ($8/$5 members and students), and a "Wordplay" Gallery Talk by Allison Slaby at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 29. The "Wordplay" exhibit remains on view through May 4. Reynolda will also open "Ancestry & Innovation: African American Art from the American Folk Art Museum" with an opening reception on Friday, February 1 from 7-9 p.m. ($5/members and students free). Several events will be held in conjunction with the exhibit -- visit the website for details.

2). The Asheville Art Museum will open "Nace Brock: Painter, Poet and Photographer" from 5-8 p.m. on Friday, January 18th - free for members or with admission. Also on the 18th: Art Break: "Expectant Gaze: Art from the Eye and Mind," by Nancy Sokolove, noon to 1 p.m.; and an American Drawings lecture by Tom Butler, 6-7:30 p.m. On Saturday the 19th, the "Western Carolina Regional Scholastic Art Awards" exhibit opens, from 10-5, free. On the 20th, the "Home Is Where One Starts: Paintings and Drawings by Stone Roberts" exhibit will close (1-5 p.m.).

3). The N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher will offer its Aquarist Apprentice program at 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 5 and Saturday, January 19. Fee is $20 per participant; for ages 10 and up, ages 14 and under must be accompanied by adult. Pre-registration is required - 910-458-7468.

4). The N.C. Maritime Museum, Beaufort is offering a wildlife driving tour and bird watching from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 30. Fee: $10. Reservations required -- call 252-728-7317. The exhibit "Art Works in Beaufort" continues on view through January 13.

5). The next lecture in the Bruce Porter Lecture Series at the Museum of Coastal Carolina, Ocean Isle Beach is "Tracking Dolphins" by Keith Rittmaster -- 7 p.m. on February 12.

6). Programming for January at the Greensboro Children's Museum includes the new Active Story Time (Jan. 4 and 17 at 10:30 a.m.), the new Kids on the Ball (January 11, 12, 18, 25 and 31), and Wee Little Kids on the Ball (January 14, 15, 18 and 24). See the website for all program details.

7). The next special programming at Historic Oak View County Park, Raleigh, is literary artist Ella Joyce Stewart, presenting "Tale Mastery: Original Farm Stories and Other Tales" from 10-11 a.m. and a workshop, "Forgotten Rural Black Women: What happens when the men and farms are gone?" from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 12.

8). The Museum of Anthropology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem will present "Ties that Bind: Wedding Customs from around the World" on exhibit from January 25 through May 3. Free admission; open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

9). At the Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill: "Theme and Variation: Print Sequences from Ornament to Abstraction" through February 24; "Picturing the World: Carolina's Celebrated Photojournalists," opening January 11 (opening reception 6-8 p.m. on the 11th; remaining through April 6); and "Perspectives on Public Justice," opening January 18 (through May 4). A panel discussion, "The Role of the Photojournalist in Society: Responsibilities and Outcomes" will be from 4-6:30 p.m. on Sunday, January 13.

10). Special events at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh include First Friday from 5-9 p.m. on January 4, and Astronomy Days from 9-5 on Saturday, January 26 and noon-5 p.m. on Sunday, January 27. "Nature Fun for the Very Young: Reptiles" will be from 10-10:45 a.m. on Monday, January 7 ($6 per child/parent pair; register at 919-733-7450 ext. 555).

11). Bennett Place State Historic Site, Durham will host "Civil War Cinema: Horse Soldiers" on Saturday, January 19 at 5:30 p.m.

12). The N.C. Museum of History, Raleigh is currently exhibiting "'Showboat': The USS North Carolina" through November 16, and will open "Bearing Witness: Civil Rights Photographs of Alexander Rivera" on January 25, remaining through March 1, 2009. The Capital City Five will perform at the Museum at 3 p.m. on Sunday, January 13; and the Seventh Annual African American Cultural Celebration will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, January 26.

13). The Museum of the Albemarle, Elizabeth City, will hold a free program, "Valentine Faire: A Colonial Celebration," from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 2.

14). The Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University will open its biennial exhibition by faculty from the School of the Art and Design on January 23rd, remaining through March 15.

15). The Cape Fear Museum, Wilmington is offering Winter Jazz: "Sea Pans" on Friday, January 4 from 6-8 p.m. ($5/free for members); Learning Center: "Playing with Math" on Saturday, January 5, 12 and 19, from 10-4 (free with Museum admission); and a New Hanover County Residents' Free Day on Sunday, January 6, 1-5 p.m.