NCMC Events From Around the State… August 17, 2009

1). Asheville Art Museum The Asheville Art Museum, celebrating its 60th anniversary, is proud to present Looking Forward: New Works and New Directions for the Permanent Collection from Saturday, September 12, 2009 to Sunday, February 14, 2010. This exhibition highlights 60 works drawn from the permanent collection of the Asheville Art Museum. The exhibition provides an overview of the collection which focuses on American art of the 20th and 21st centuries with an interest in art of the Southeast and Western North Carolina.

2). Bennett Place State Historic Site On August 22-23, park staff and costumed living historians will lead presentations and talks to explain how the Confederate soldiers of North Carolina came to be known as “Tarheels”. Confederate soldiers of North Carolina will also be encamped around the Bennett Farm portraying the daily life of the soldier during the War Between the States. Demonstrations will include marching drills, musket firings, camp life, cooking, and every day life of the soldiers.

3). Reynolda House Museum of American Art Reynolda House Museum of American Art will host a concert titled American Landscapes on Sunday, August 23, at 3 p.m. The concert is part of this year’s Carolina Summer Music Festival, and it takes its inspiration from the landscapes, trees and plantings featured in the current exhibition on view at Reynolda House, “Heroes of Horticulture.”

4). Hickory Museum of Art The Hickory Museum of Art is excited to announce the opening of Treacherous Beauty: The Art of the Dagger on display through February 7, 2010 in the Objects Gallery. The exhibition consists of a variety of 68 knives, daggers and swords crafted by local and international artists.

5). Mint Museum of Art The Mint Museum of Art will present Faces & Flowers: Painting on Lenox China from August 22, 2009 through January 30, 2010. Lenox china is often referred to as America’s greatest porcelain. The exhibition will feature more than 70 objects, including plates, vases and decorative wares with exquisite paintings of orchids, figures, idealized women and landscapes.

6). Fort Fisher State Historic Site Hear the cannons boom at Fort Fisher as part of the program, Cannoneers: “Load, Ready, Fire!" On Saturday, August 22, 2009, costumed staff and volunteers will fire the 12 lb bronze Napoleon cannon and teach the public about Civil War artillery. Cannon firings will be at 11:45am and 3:45pm. As a special treat, Fort Fisher also invites kids of all ages to experience the life of a Civil War soldier as you learn period field artillery drill following the demonstrations.

7). Museum of the Cape Fear Experience North Carolina’s Colonial Heritage at the 2009 Festival of Yesteryear. In these tough economic times, the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex offers a day of free family fun. Consider the upcoming Festival of Yesteryear a cultural stimulus package! This event on Sat., Sept. 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. will be an amazing historical experience for all ages. This year’s festival will highlight the state’s colonial history.

8). The Bascom Evocative paintings in oil, pastel and watercolor will be showcased in The Bascom's next exhibition, Southern Landscapes by Lamar Dodd and Will Henry Stevens. The exhibition, co-curated by Carol Carr and Dr. William Eiland, opens this Saturday, Aug. 22, with a free public opening reception from 5-7 p.m. The exhibition continues through Oct. 17.

9). Weatherspoon Art Museum presents a new exhibit Dike Blair: Now and Again - Falk Visiting Artist opening on Sunday, September 13. This major solo exhibition of the work of New York-based artist Dike Blair includes his trademark gouache paintings and post-minimalist light sculptures. After working and exhibiting internationally for more than three decades, Blair’s exhibition at the Weatherspoon will be his first solo museum show and the catalogue will be the first devoted to his work. We are grateful to the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Rhode Island School of Design for their support of the catalogue.