News

Auxiliary Board Approves $150,000 Donation for Education and Weir Exhibition

September 2012

Funds were raised during the 2012 Room to Bloom Celebration. In keeping with the Auxiliary mission statement, Dr. Kathleen Jameson suggested the allcoation of funds as follows:

Contemporary Architecture and Design Series 

The Auxiliary's support of this new series last year was instrumental in its success.  Launched in 2012, the series brings architects and designers from a diverse range of industries to share knowledge, expertise and innovative perpectives. This year's roster includes Cortney and Robert Novogratz, who, with their seven children, are featured on Bravo's show " 9 By Design;" Matthias Pliessnig, an independent furniture designer based in Philadephia; Ian Cunningham, Design Director and head of Industrial Design of Rubbermaid; Preston Scott Cohen, Principal of Preston Scott Cohen and Chair of Department of the Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design; and Michael Graves.

2012-2013 Education Programs

Given the long-standing commitment to supporting chidren's education in the region, the Auxiliary will be the lead sponsor on all major education programs during the upcoming year:
  1. Sunday Fundays:  These popular interactive programs that bring families into the museum to enjoy activities including performances, artist demonstrations, craft projects, family tours and more. Each month centers around a specific theme that ties into the mueum's special exhibitions and permanent collection and average an attendance of 150 families per month.  In addition Sunday Fundays incoporate movement, healthy eating, and healthy living choices for families as part of First Lady Michele Obama's Let's Move Campaign for Museums and Gardens.
  2. Exhibition Programming: As part of each major exhibition, the Learning & Engagement team offers programs, artist and curator lectures, classes, guided tours, and more. These programs are central to the museum's efforts to engage community members of all ages, further estbalish the museum as an essential resource for pre-K-12 education and the mastery of 21st century skills, and encourage lifelong learning that fosters immersive experiences within an arts and design setting.
  3. Saturday Art Sessions: This popular program at Mint Museum Randolph encourages families to explore the musuem and make art together.  Families drop in any time between 10:00am and 3:00pm.The museum provides all of the art supplies, so children and adults are free to relax, have fun and let their imaginations soar. Sessions introduce families to the museum collections in the galleries first, and this experience of guided exploraing then inspires the hands-on projects in the museum classrooms.  Art activities are appropriate for all ages, and parents are encouraged to become involved with the creative process.

Exhibition Support: The Weir Family, 1820-1920, Expanding the Traditions of American Art

The Weir Family, 1820-1920 is the first major exhibition to examine collectively the paintings of the American artists Robert Walter Weir (1803-1889) and his two sons, John Ferguson Weir (1841-1926) and Julian Alden Weir (1851-1919). In doing so, it traces the trajectory of American art across the nineteenth century and into the twentieth, exploring the wide range of styles in which Robert and his two sons worked, as well as the way in which theri transatlantic encounters helped to shape their art.

This stunning exhibition presents a rare opportunity for museum visiotrs to see such fine examples of work by these leading American artists.  The paitings in the show touch on broad themes that are as relevant today as they were during the artists' lifetime: the importance of international connections, of reflecting upon our country's history, and of familiar relationships.  Visitors will find landscapes of the Hudson River area, Italy, France, and the Netherlands, and the pastoral Connecticut countryside in styles ranging from the exquisite detail of the Hudson River School to the flickering brushwork and light filled atmosphere of Impressionism.  Likewise, the exhibition includes engaging portraits of the artist's friends, family members, and models also rendered in an equally dymanic range of styles, colors and formats.

This exhibition was organized by Weir expert Marian Wardle for the Brigham Young University Art Museum, which is a major repository for works by these artists due to its relationship with one of the family's descendants. It will feature more than 70 important paintings drawn from public and private collections and will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue featuring essays by leading scholars in the field. Mint Museum Uptown is the final venue for the exhibition, which has already appeared at the Brigham Young University Museum of Art and the New Britain Museum of American Art. This exhibition is supported by the  Henry Luce Foundation and by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Its presentation in Charlotte is generously made possible by McColl Brothers Lockwood and McColl Partners, and the Mint Museum Auxiliary.