NCMC Events From Around the State… January 9, 2012

1). N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences True to its namesake’s nature, “Genghis Khan: The Exhibition” will be occupying the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh for an extra week. But time is running out – the exhibition’s last day is now Sunday, January 22. Don’t miss seeing the largest collection ever assembled of the treasures of the Empire of Genghis Khan!

2). Cape Fear Museum “Grass Roots: African Origins of an American Art “, exhibit opens January 28, highlights the beauty of coiled basketry and shows how a basket can be viewed simultaneously as a work of art, object of use and container of memory. This exhibition features more than fifty baskets and related objects and images. It traces the parallel histories of coiled baskets in Africa and America starting from the domestication of rice in Africa two millennia ago, through the history of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the Carolina rice plantation, to the present. Audiences will learn about the creativity and artistry of Africans in America from the 17th century to the present.

3). Mount Airy Museum of Regional History presents “In the Spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Surry Countians Continuing the Dream” on Saturday January 14 from 7-8:30pm in the Museum Annex. This program of healing will focus on the sacrifices, love, learning, service, perseverance, and hope of the African-American community of Surry County. Light refreshments will follow the program. Free admission, donations accepted.

4). HandsOn! the children’s museum in downtown Hendersonville, invites you to come be as curious as a monkey with us! All week long, Jan. 17 – 20, we will celebrate being curious with self-directed drop-in activities that range from coloring, to drawing, to word searches, to mazes and more. On Wednesday, Jan. 18th, there will be a Book n’ Craft program at 11 am featuring a reading of “Curious George” by H. A. Rey and a monkey craft. These programs are free with the $5 museum admission fee and free for museum members, and sponsored by Fountainhead Bookstore.

5). Waterworks Visual Arts Center Waterworks will host artists’ talks/demonstrations on four Tuesday evenings from 7-8:30 pm. January 17 – “My Career as an Illustrator,” (Walter Stanford); January 24 – “Why Impressionism?,” (Phyllis Steimel); January 31 - “Post Impressionism,” (Don Moore); February 7 – “Within the Wood,” (Rick Sorensen). Tuition is $15 per session or 4 sessions for $50. Call 704-636-1882 to register.

6). Battleship NORTH CAROLINA For the explorer at heart, bring a friend and join us for a behind the scenes tour of unrestored areas of the Battleship NORTH CAROLINA on Saturday, January 14, 2012. The four-hour tour consists of small groups with guides. Guests explore the bow, third deck, Engine room #1, the refrigerator compartments, and climb inside the fire control tower to the top of the ship. The Azalea Coast Radio Club will be in Radio II to explain their work on the ship's radio transmitters.

7). Cameron Art Museum Charlie Brouwer will be in Wilmington at the Cameron Art Museum on Thursday, January 12 from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm to discuss his upcoming public art project with the community. Community participation is encouraged for this public artwork. Program admission to the event is CAM members free and non-members $5.00. No registration is required. Charlie Brouwer is an artist from Floyd County, Virginia. Ladders have often occurred in his sculptures and installations. “Rise Up Wilmington” will be the latest in a series of temporary public art projects he has been creating with communities. These projects are designed to bring the art and artist into closer contact with his audience – especially new audiences.

8). Port Discover Heather Fletcher, owner of “The Cupcakery”, will share her baking tips and teach the science behind baking during “Baking 101,” at Port Discover’s Second Saturday Science program, on Saturday, January 14 at 11:00 am. Children won’t want to miss out on this edible, mouth-watering science lesson! Second Saturday Science is free.

9). Weatherspoon Art Museum presents “Richard Mosse: Falk Visiting Artist” from Jan 14, 2012 – Apr 15, 2012. Photographer Richard Mosse has spent the last two years shooting a new series of work titled “Infra” in the eastern Congo. The artist is known for his restrained and highly aestheticized views of sites associated with violence and fear, such as his 2008 depictions of the war in Iraq, and his large-scale photographs of airplane crash sites and emergency drills. For his work in the Congo, Mosse used Kodak Aerochrome, an infrared film designed in connection with the United States military to detect camouflage in the 1940s.

10). The Gregg Museum of Art and Design presents “Textiles of Exile”, running January 19 – May 12. Working with fibers is one of the oldest of human activities, one of the easiest to seize and carry in an emergency, one of the easiest to hide, one of the most comforting to engage in, and the craft most closely associated with storytelling. In “Textiles of Exile”, the Gregg displays examples from illegal Hispanic immigrants in California, Afghan refugees in Pakistan, threatened women in Peru, relocated Laotian Hmongs in Thailand, and prisoners in the American justice system; all call attention to the universality of the “silent scream” of homesickness.