Please visit Blumenthal Performing Arts for more information, or call the box office at (704) 372-1000.

FREE EVENTS

NO TICKET! NO RESERVATION! NO PLANNING! JUST BRING YOUR FRIENDS AND DISCOVER SOME OF CHARLOTTE’S BEST MUSICAL TREASURES AND HOW MUCH FUN CAN BE HAD AT THE CHARLOTTE JAZZ FESTIVAL.

April 7 – Kick Off at the Levine Center of the Arts Plaza

11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Musical Activities at the Gantt Center:

Family First Presented by Novant Health:  The Standard Jazz Series | An Interactive Music Demonstration

All Ages, All Levels

Celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month at the Gantt Center with The Standard featuring saxophonist Harvey Cummings II

The Standard Jazz Series creates an opportunity for fans and students alike to enjoy, learn and explore the building blocks and instruments used in jazz music. Master Class Instructor Harvey Cummings II will invite participants of all levels to engage with the band as they trace the story of America’s classical music – jazz – and discover everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-jazz with an Q & A session and interactive musical demonstrations.

Cummings concludes the afternoon (1 p.m. – 2 p.m. on the Gantt Plaza) with a selection of jazz music featuring phenomenal musicians for a unique blend of straight ahead jazz and cool vibes. Get ready for an unforgettable, multi-sensory experience that unites contemporary elements with the rich history of jazz culture!

Noon-4:30 p.m. Activities at the Bechtler:

Create your own Firebird Mosaic Collages on the museum plaza, or go inside to hear spin drums!

2-3:30 p.m. Jazzin’ on the Terrace at the Mint:

Join Charlotte poets, vocalist Nicci Canada, and area jazz musicians as they improv and play the best in jazz & blues tunes as a tribute to the upcoming Charlotte Jazz Festival, April 9-15.  With an early 1900s ‘juke joint’ theme (viewed by some as an indigenous black cultural experience of dancing, live music, and a rural night club setting), guests can hear improv blends that stirs one to move with toes tappin’ and fingers snappin’.

The set will be followed by a sparkling cider birthday salute to Gastonia Artist John Biggers who would be 94 on April 13.  Several of his works on canvas are on view in the Mint’s newly-installed contemporary art gallery.

PLUS:

Food trucks (noon-6 p.m.) and Cash Bar available outside!

Celebrate the opening of the latest Rare Roots Hospitality concept, Fin + Fino Restaurant!

All outdoor activities are FREE and open to the public!

Enjoy Museums on Us admission for Bank of America card holders; and members of the Gantt Center, Mint, and Bechtler will all receive free reciprocal admission to ALL THREE museums! Not a member? Visit each institution’s website to join, or, purchase an LCA Admission Pass good for all three museums!

April 9-15, 2018 Events

PARLOR SOCIAL
Location: The Jazz Garden Tent at Romare Bearden Park
Performance Schedule: Friday, April 13, 2018, 5:30 PM | Tickets: Prices begin at $15.00
Presented by: Blumenthal Performing Arts

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SATURDAY MORNING JAZZ BREW FEATURING THE OCIE DAVIS QUINTET WITH SPECIAL GUEST MARK BRAUD
Location: The Jazz Garden Tent at Romare Bearden Park
Performance Schedule: Saturday, April 14, 2018, 11:00 AM | Tickets: Prices begin at $15.00
Presented by: Blumenthal Performing Arts

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Exhibition Dates February 3, 2018 – July 29, 2018

The Harvey B. Gantt Center is delighted to present By and About Women: The Collection of Dr. Dianne Whitfield-Locke and Dr. Carnell Locke. Dr. Whitfield-Locke and her husband, Dr. Carnell Locke, are avid art collectors and are also committed supporters of artists and African-American art institutions.

By and About Women highlights selected works from their extensive collection which were either created by female artists or feature women as the subject. Like their larger collection, this exhibition represents a comprehensive history of art-making in general, and African-American art, specifically.  Sculpture, sketches, oils, acrylics, paintings, and collages fill the gallery.

Masterpieces by pioneering women including Betye Saar, Camille Billops, Samella Lewis, Elizabeth Catlett, Emma Amos, Lois Mailou Jones, Faith Ringgold, and Augusta Savage headline the exhibition. The Lockes have also gathered work by E. J. Montgomery, Howardena Pindell, and Jacob Lawrence’s wife, Gwendolyn Knight.  Works by multi-media artists such as Robin Holder, Clarissa Sligh, Margo Humphrey and Alison Saar also appear in the gallery.

Dr. Whitfield-Locke is passionate about collecting and has filled their home with art by master African-American artists working during the last 100 years.  She has served on the board of the International Review of African American Art, the most significant publication in the field — now based at Hampton University – and has been a major supporter of the James Porter Colloquium at Howard University and the David Driskell Center at the University of Maryland.

Featured Artists 

• Emma Amos (b. 1938)
• Juanita Anderson
• Camille Billops (b. 1933)
• Chakaia Booker (b. 1953)
• Margaret T. Burroughs (1915 – 2012)
• Vivian E. Browne (1929 – 1993)
• Elizabeth Catlett (1915 – 2012)
• Irene Clark (1927 – 1984)
• Tanya Murphy Dodd
• Robin Holder (b. 1952)
• Margo Humphrey (b. 1942)
• Loïs Mailou Jones (1905 – 1998)
• Gwendolyn Knight (1913 – 2005)
• Samella Lewis (b. 1924)
• Evangeline J. Montgomery (b. 1933)
• Mary Lovelace O’Neal (b. 1942)
• Howardena Pindell (b. 1943)
• Barbara Chase Riboud (b. 1939)
• Faith Ringgold (b. 1930)
• Alison Saar (b. 1956)
• Betye Saar (b. 1926)
• Augusta Savage (1892 – 1962)
• Joyce J. Scott (b. 1948)
• Clarissa Sligh (b. 1939)
• Gilda Snowden (1954 – 2014)
• Rénee Stout (b. 1958)
• Sharon E. Sutton (b. 1941)
• Alma Thomas (1891 – 1978)
• Yvonne Edwards Tucker (b. 1941)
• Ruth Waddy (1909 – 2003)
• Shirley Woodson Reid (b. 1936)
• Joyce Wellman (b. 1949)
• Deborah Willis (b. 1948)
• Elizabeth Youngblood (b. 1952)

About the Curator
Dr. Michael D. Harris is an artist, scholar, curator and professor presently teaching at Emory University in Atlanta. As a scholar, Harris has published Colored Pictures: Race and Visual Representation (2003) and has contributed to or co-authored a number of other publications. He has had articles on contemporary African art and African-American art published in a number of books and journals.

Harris is among the few African-American scholars to hold terminal degrees in studio art, African-American Studies and in art history. Also a practicing artist, Harris has been a member of the artist collective AfriCOBRA, the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists, since 1979 and has exhibited across the United States, in the Caribbean, and in Europe. His work is represented in the collections of Morehouse College, Howard University, University of North Carolina, the City of Atlanta, the Hampton University Museum, Dillard University, the David Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art at University of Alabama, the Atlanta airport and in many private collections.  Dr. Harris earned his BA in Education at Bowling Green State University; MFA in Painting, Howard University; MA in African-American Studies, Yale; MA, MPhil, and Ph.D. in History of Art from Yale University.

Image credits: Shirley Woodson Reid, Grey Silk Waist, Blue Dress, Father and Sons, 1996, Courtesy of Dianne Whitfield-Locke and Dr. Carnell Locke.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE 

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SILENCIO, Koral Carballo, Created: 2014, From the series El ultimo día del mundo

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

October 28 – June 17, 2018 / Develar y Detonar (Reveal and Detonate) features the powerful, thought-provoking work of more than 40 of Mexico’s leading photographers. 

Develar y Detonar (Reveal and Detonate) features the powerful, thought-provoking work of more than 40 of Mexico’s leading photographers. This not-to-be-missed exhibition examines the wide range of approaches that these photographers use to explore subjects, ranging from their own personal histories and relationships to their engagement with the country’s diverse landscape to pressing social and political issues ranging from land use, drug trade, and immigration to beauty, sexuality, and gender. Ranging in size from a few inches across to floor-to-ceiling murals, some of these works are highly formal; others make a play for sheer beauty; still others are manipulated or staged to instill a sense of magic and wonder. Develar y detonar promises to open an engaging dialogue around the power of photography to both document and question many aspects of modern life, examining issues that are not isolated to residents of Mexico but that stretch across cultures and borders, connecting us all.

This exhibition is drawn from the Televisa Foundation’s rich collection of contemporary art; after having been seen in Madrid and Mexico City, The Mint Museum’s presentation marks its U.S. debut. Develar y Detonar is also the central exhibition in a community-wide initiative celebrating Mexican photography titled In Focus/Enfoque, which involves many arts and cultural organizations across Charlotte this fall.

This exhibition explores a wide range of important topics including: personal histories, cultural traditions, environmental concerns, the effects of violence, changing ideas about gender and sexuality, and new approaches to the medium of photography. Visitors may find some subject matter challenging.

Reveal and Detonate (Develar y Detonar): Contemporary Mexican Photography is organized and circulated by Televisa Foundation, Hydra Photography, and Centro de la Imagen. It is presented to the Charlotte community with support from Bank of America.

This exhibition is part of In focus/Enfoque. As a major supporter of arts and culture across the region, Bank of America led the planning, collaboration, and funding of In Focus/Enfoque. The Arts & Science Council is supporting collaborative community engagement and programming efforts. For details, visit CharlotteCultureGuide.com/InFocus.

Esta exhibición es organizada y puesta en circulación por la Fundación Televisa, Fotografía Hydra, y el Centro de la Imágen. Es presentada a la comunidad de la ciudad de Charlotte gracias al apoyo de Bank of America.

Esta exhibición es parte de In Focus / Enfoque. Como patrocinador principal de las artes y la cultura a través de la región, Bank of America lideró el planeamiento, la colaboración y el financiamiento de In Focus/Enfoque. La coordinación educativa y comunitaria es liderizada por el Arts & Science Council.

Esta exhibición explora una variedad amplia de temas que incluyen: historias personales, tradiciones culturales, preocupación por el medio ambiente, efectos de la violencia, ideas cambiantes sobre el género y la sexualidad, y nuevas perpectivas en el ámbito de la fotografía.  Personas visitando el museo puede que encuentren algunos temas fuertes.

SPONSORS

Alfred Manessier, Flamme Vive, © 1954 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

From March 23, 2018, through September 9, 2018, the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in Charlotte, North Carolina, will present Wrestling the Angel, an exhibition that examines how religion and sacred art appear in work made by seemingly secular, avant-garde artists. The examples on view critically investigate the role of religion and spirituality as both a social component and as a visual language often implicitly present in daily life, even if the image is not explicitly referencing the original religious source.

Religious practices and spiritual contemplation have been integral to object-making throughout recorded history. Many disciplines study the practice, but most stop abruptly with the modern era. Yet numerous artists over the last two centuries have acknowledged that a religious upbringing, spiritual practice, or sacred art impact their work, whether overtly or obliquely. This effect can be seen in diverse ways—aesthetically, thematically, and formally.

Often these religious elements have intertwined with a larger social and political project. In times of uncertainty, religion offers another path of comfort, guidance, and reprieve. There are numerous examples of artists investigating spiritual practices to find respite in traumatic times or to bring a deeper empathy to their practice. These artists hoped to incorporate the use of contemplative practices to support a sense of empathy in their work that resonated outward into their audiences. In 1943, Alfred Manessier sought refuge with Trappist monks during the Nazi occupation of France; their ascetic, meditative lifestyle offered him a new direction and he infused his work with similar tranquility, presented in his paintings included in the exhibition. In the same period, Manessier’s contemporary Jean Bazaine, who also incorporated Christian themes into his abstract compositions, organized protest exhibitions in France against the Nazi occupation. Bazaine believed in the power of abstract art to unite diverse cultures against the divisive German government. Other artists on view sought non-Western sources. Mark Tobey and Sam Francis, for example, explored Tao and Zen Buddhist practices that affected both how they lived their lives and marked their canvases.

Some artists investigated the role of organized religion in social conflict. Using traditional stories and symbols, these artists sought reconciliation. Marc Chagall, Jean Bazaine, Georges Rouault, and Sandrow Birk looked to tomes such as the Bible and Qur’an to explain the religious intolerance sweeping their cultures. In the years between World War I and World War II, French artist Georges Rouault looked to the story of Christ in a series of 58 lithographs entitled Miserere, all of which will be on view. With somber tones and gestural brushstrokes, Rouault detailed this story of sacrifice as a way to remind audiences that the Passion was meant to ameliorate suffering, not perpetuate it. In this way, artists presented religious and spiritual traditions as tools that can reinforce values of social justice, not undermine them.

Still others juxtaposed details from religious art with topical references to examine the relationship between traditional practices and contemporary life. When Andy Warhol presented his icons of Marilyn Monroe (on view), Jacqueline Kennedy, and Elizabeth Taylor, he merged publicity photos and tabloid blow-ups with the icon of saints that filled his vision when he attended daily Mass through his childhood. Many artists explore the transition of moral education from Sunday school to Sunday matinees. Contemporary artists like Tom Thoune included in the exhibition ask what it means when children learn a moral code from Walt Disney—“if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all”—instead of Bible verse—“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”?

These explorations can be less literal—consider Niki de Saint Phalle with art on view that incorporates decorative motifs from religious architecture to evoke the symbolism of these forms when they cross over from a religious context into secular life. In each case, these artists address how spiritual pursuits manifest themselves in contemporary life, whether they appear in traditional or colloquial guises, and the critical presentation of Wrestling the Angelwill encourage viewers to consider how these practices continue to define societies and their relationships to each other and the larger world.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE May 18, 2018 – May 25, 2018
TICKETS Prices begin at $20.00
PRESENTED BY Opera Carolina

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EVENING OF THE GRAY CAT, Romare Bearden, Created: 1982, Collage on board. Gift of Bank of America. 2002.68.3. Art © Romare Bearden Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY. www.vagarights.com

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Shortly after he was born in Charlotte, Romare Bearden’s family relocated to Harlem. The time he spent immersed in the vibrancy of the Harlem Renaissance during the 1920s forever influenced his career as a visual artist. Especially important was the effect of Harlem’s jazz scene, many of whose members were close friends of the artist and his family. For Bearden, jazz, the blues, and folk music were always cultural subjects that epitomized the Black experience. Yet, music was also a creative stimulant for Bearden. He often equated the visual arts to music and the painter to the musician. “The more I just played around with visual notions as if I were improvising like a jazz musician,” he once explained, “the more I realized what I wanted to do as a painter, and how I wanted to do it.” This exhibition explores and celebrates the impact music had on the visual harmony in Romare Bearden’s work.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE 

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Christopher Warren-Green, conductor

Exhibition Dates February 3, 2018 – July 29, 2018

“The principal themes which connect and shape our collection are faith, family, and African-American history and culture.”
– Patrick Diamond

A Creative Journey: The Collection of Judy and Patrick Diamond began during a year-long residence in East Africa when the couple were fresh out of graduate school and has continued throughout their life together. Their metaphorical journey reflects the geographic journey of their lives from Boston, where they met, to stops in Tanzania, Williamstown, Massachusetts, Chicago, Charlotte, and Atlanta.

Patrick says:

“We began collecting out of a desire to learn more about the many significant contributions which have been made to American culture by artists of African-American descent. Equally important was our interest in providing our son with an introduction to the importance and richness of our African-American heritage. When I was a child growing up in South Carolina, black people were not allowed admission to the City’s art museum. Consequently, I was an adult before my first visit to a museum. We wanted our child to have a different experience, and for our home to further enhance his introduction to the visual arts and history.”

The quality of their collection, built with passion and an astute eye, has allowed them to gift works to various arts institutions. Among the 20th Century African-American artists collected, we can find works by Romare Bearden, Margaret Burroughs, Jacob Lawrence, Charles White, Elizabeth Catlett, Richard Hunt, Hale Woodruff, Sam Gilliam, along with 19th Century and early 20th Century icon Henry O. Tanner, as well as younger artists like Radcliffe Bailey and Cedric Smith.

Featured Artists 

• Benny Andrews (1930 – 2006)
• Radcliffe Bailey (b. 1968)
• Romare Bearden (1911 – 1988)
• Tarleton Blackwell (b. 1956)
• Margaret T. Burroughs (1917 – 2010)
• Sam Gilliam (b. 1933)
• Richard Hunt (b. 1935)
• Jacob Lawrence (1917 – 2002)
• Hughie Lee-Smith (1915 – 1999)
• Juan Logan (b. 1946)
• Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe (b. 1951)
• Ben Parrish
• Cedric Smith (b. 1970)
• Henry O. Tanner (1859 – 1937)
• Cheryl Warrick (b. 1956)
• Charles White (1918 – 1979)
• Hale Woodruff (1900 – 1980)
• Richard Yarde (b. 1939)

About the Curator 

Dr. Michael D. Harris is an artist, scholar, curator and professor presently teaching at Emory University in Atlanta. As a scholar, Harris has published Colored Pictures: Race and Visual Representation (2003) and has contributed to or co-authored a number of other publications. He has had articles on contemporary African art and African-American art published in a number of books and journals.

Harris is among the few African-American scholars to hold terminal degrees in studio art, African-American Studies and in art history. Also a practicing artist, Harris has been a member of the artist collective AfriCOBRA, the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists, since 1979 and has exhibited across the United States, in the Caribbean, and in Europe. His work is represented in the collections of Morehouse College, Howard University, University of North Carolina, the City of Atlanta, the Hampton University Museum, Dillard University, the David Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art at University of Alabama, the Atlanta airport and in many private collections.  Dr. Harris earned his BA in Education at Bowling Green State University; MFA in Painting, Howard University; MA in African-American Studies, Yale; MA, MPhil, and Ph.D. in History of Art from Yale University.

Image credits: Richard Yarde, Heal, and Toe (Savoy Series), Courtesy of Judy and Patrick Diamond