NCMC Events From Around the State… June 18, 2012


The North Carolina Museums Council recently established a Southeastern Museums Conference Annual Meeting Registration grant. One full, paid registration to the November 7-9 Annual Meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia will be awarded. Deadline for applications: August 15. Forms available on NCMC web site.

1). Asheville Art Museum is pleased to announce the region’s premier “Fine Art Print Fair”, to be held at the Museum on Saturday, June 23 from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (free with Membership or regular admission) and Sunday, June 24 from noon – 5:00 p.m. (free admission for all visitors). An exclusive Preview Reception will be held at the Museum on Friday, June 22 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. (tickets are $35 for Members, $45 for non-Members).

2). Blowing Rock Art & History Museum Artist and folk art collector Barry Huffman will give this month's Third Thursday lecture at the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum at 4 p.m. on June 21. Huffman and her husband Allen have been passionate collectors since they began accumulating Catawba Valley pottery in 1977. Today, they focus on whimsical and idiosyncratic folk artists from across the Southeast. BRAHM currently features several pieces from the Huffmans' collection in its current exhibit, "Curious Collections: An Exhibit Celebrating the Passion of Collecting."

3). Cape Fear Museum presents “Learning Center: Creative Chemistry” on Saturday, June 23 and 30 from 1-4 PM. Free for members or with Museum admission. Is Oobleck a liquid or a solid? What does an atom look like? Find out as you investigate matter. Explore solids, liquids, and gases and experiment with mixtures! Unravel a colorful mystery and experiment with acids and bases.

4). Reynolda House Museum of American Art will present an exhibition titled, “Affinities: Pairings from the Collection” from June 30 through Dec. 2, 2012 in the West Bedroom Gallery of the historic house. This small focused assemblage of works from the museum’s collection will invite the viewer to look at two very distinct works side by side and consider their differences and their similarities. Admission to this exhibition is included in the cost of admission to Reynolda House. Viewers will be asked to contemplate three pairs of artworks in different media. Works will create unexpected juxtapositions for the visitor to compare and contrast and to enjoy.

5). The Bascom “Her Impressions”, celebrating the achievements of the talented women artists who helped the Impressionism movement blossom in America, opens in the Bunzl Gallery at The Bascom on Saturday, June 23rd, with a public reception from 6 – 8 pm. From household names like Mary Cassatt to lesser known artists like Ada Murphy and Sara Hess, the movement called Impressionism flourished within the community of American women painters despite the restrictions placed on them by the strict social mores of the late 19th century.

6). Kings Mountain Historical Museum opened its newest exhibit, “Go Tell It on the Mountain: The Churches of Kings Mountain, NC” on June 19. Bringing together artifacts and photographs from several of the area churches, this much anticipated exhibit chronicles the growth of organized religion in the area. The exhibit will be on display at the Kings Mountain Historical Museum, June 19 - September 8, 2012, Tuesday - Saturday, 10AM - 4PM.

7). Tryon Palace presents “Printmaking Workshop” with Tryon Palace Summer Artist-in-Residence on Thurday, June 21, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Join artist-in-residence Julie Niskanen at Tryon Palace this month and learn the art of printmaking -- with a historical twist! This month’s workshop will focus on the Palace gardens, including the Kitchen Garden, where you can observe the kinds of plants that sustained early settlers to this area. Participants will have time in the gardens to make sketches or photographs (bring your digital camera or camera phone) before returning to the History Center, where Julie will teach you to create a unique monotype print from your studies, using her Civil War-era portable iron printing press.

8). Black Mountain College Museum & Arts Center invites the community to join us on Thursday, June 28th for an interdisciplinary evening of poetry and dance with Asheville-based poets Katherine Soniat and Tracey Schmidt and dancer Claire Elizabeth Barratt. All three women have developed strong reputations for their deeply original work. Come see what happens at the intersection of word and dance!

9). N.C. Department of Cultural Resources The N.C. Underwater Archaeology Branch (UAB) will host a rare behind-the-scenes tour of its facility on Wednesday, June 27, at 10 a.m., to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the sinking of the “Modern Greece” in 1862. “Modern Greece” was the first major blockade-runner lost in the Cape Fear region during the Civil War. N.C. Department of Cultural Resources Secretary Linda Carlisle will unveil a wayside sign at the North Gazebo at Fort Fisher State Historic Site at noon to commemorate the role of “Modern Greece”.

10). CSS Neuse & Gov. Caswell State Historic Site  After many years of planning and preparation, the CSS Neuse will move to its new climate controlled home in downtown Kinston on Saturday, June 23. The 141 foot remains of the vessel will be loaded onto moving dollies at sunrise to begin the short journey from Vernon Avenue to downtown. The 260 tons will travel at the dizzying speed of one mile per hour and should arrive at its destination after two hours. The ironclad CSS Neuse was a new class of warship built with iron plates attached to protect her crew. Because of her weight and the receding Neuse River, she saw little military action and was scuttled and burned by her crew in 1865.