By October, 2010, Charlotte will have completed their culture campus in up-town, Charlotte. The cultural campus consists of four new venues.... The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, the Knight Theater of Performing Arts, the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts and Culture and the Minr Musuem of Art, Craft and Design. WOW! We have hit the jackpot. And, a few blocks away the finishing touches are being added to the Nascar Hall of Fame.
The Harvey B. Gantt Center opened in October. This center exists to present, preserve and promote African American art, culture and history for the education and enlightment of all. The new building is 46,500 square feet and is located in an area once occuped by the historic Brooklyn neighborhood, the once thriving center of the Black community which was razed in the 1960's. The Gantt Center takes design inspiration from the Myers Street School which was located in the heart of the old Brooklyn neighborhood. The bibical term, "Jacob's Ladder" was used to identify the school and referred to it's prominent exterior stair configuration. The stairs signified pride and importance of education in the advancement of African-Americans. Stairs and escalators carry visitors up to the main second floor lobby from both ends of the building while framing the central glass atrium. The striking visual effect is a direct allusion to the original Jacob's Ladder and perpetuates the ideals of enlightment and advancement through education. The center has scheduled a variety of events for Black History month including "Passage to Freedom," a four week exploration of the Underground Railroad which includes music, dance and exhibitions. Go to www.ganttcenter.org for more information.
The second to open was The Bechtler Musuem of Modern Art. The private art collection of nearly 1500 pieces has been donated to the city by Andreas Bechtler who inherited much of it from his parents Hans and Bessie Bechtler.About 100 pieces are on display at this time. Visitors will see some of the biggest names in 20th century modern art such as, Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder,Edgar Degas, Max Ernst, Joan Miro, Le Corbusier and Jean Tinguely. The thing that makes this collection so charming is that family members lived amoung the artists in Switzerland and collected their work because they knew them. "I enjoyed the the time with them as friends," says Anreas Becthler. It was not just art. It was life, from shopping to just gathereing and chatting. The term "modern art" refers to art from the 1860's to the 1970's. Much of what visitors will see is abstract. To behold it is to see how shapes, colors, textures and materieals can excite the senses without being realistic. A four-story atrium provides vistas across the museum.A lobby cafe features light lunch and pastries and their is also a gift shop adjacent to the cafe. Jack and I spent several hours wandering around the enjoying the art in a very relaxed atmosphere. And, our lunch was excellent. Go to; www.charlotteobserver.com/bechtler and walk through the museum and learn about the Bechtlers and their art.
On January 8, 2010 Jack and I had the privilege with 600 other people of attending the Dance Theater Gala Grand Opening of the Knight Theater. It is an intimte feeling with a contemporary flair. The 1200 seat Knight Theater will be Dance Theatre's primary performance venue for all productions except the Nutcracker. "With the Knight Theater, the feeling is that the audience can really recognize and see each individual dancer," says Dance Theatre President and Artistic Director, John-Pierre Bonnefoux. "I think that is really going to help people identify with the artists in our company." Four a tour of the Knight Theater go to; www.blumenthalcenter.org .
The fourth piece of the cultural campus is the new Mint Musuem which will be finished in the fall of 2010.The Mint Museum of Art initially served the region as the first branch of the United States Mint, coining 5 million in gold from 1826 to the outbreak of the Cvil War. A grassroots community effort during the Depression saved the original Federal style building from demolition and moved it to its present Randolph Road site. The museum formally opened to the public on October 22, 1936 as North Carolina's first art museum. Today it is a rich and diverse resource with noted collections of American art, pre-Columbian art, American and European ceramics, American decorative arts, historic costumes and accessories, African art, Asian art, historic maps, contemporary art and photography. For more information about the Mint Museum, go to; www.mintmuseum.org.
It is very exciting to be a part of such a vibrant city that still has so much warmth and charm and wonderful people.