Artful: What to do and see in Charlotte
Each week, Grace Cote and Lia Newman offer Observer readers a to-do list on immersing yourself in visual arts around town. Newman is director/curator of the Van Every/Smith Galleries at Davidson College, Cote is senior coordinator at Jerald Melberg Gallery, and they collaborate on the blog HappeningsCLT (happeningsCLT.com).
Who to meet
Hollis Hammonds, upcoming artist-in-residence at McColl Center for Art + Innovation. We look forward to all of the new artists-in-residence starting Jan. 11 in Charlotte, but are especially keen on Austin-based Hammonds, whose intricate, large-scale drawings and installations are an enchanting depiction of memory, destruction and consumerism. The experience of her family home burning down when she was 15 has guided her art process into many iterations exploring objects and the value we project onto them. She’s the UNC-Charlotte artist-in-residence and will teach a class with painting professor Susan Brenner while in residence.
Where to go
Ciel Gallery for the opening of “My Life as a Dog” at the Southend First Friday Gallery Crawl (6-9 p.m.). This juried show contains artworks created with the prompt “Show us what the life of a dog is really like.” Ciel has partnered with the Humane Society and will accept donations to its Wish List at the opening.
What to do
The Mint Museum has adopted the “special exhibition fee” trend in a big way, but Jan. 10 you can see the new Eugene Thomason show for a steal! The special exhibition fee of $12 (on top of $12 admission) will be waived and admission to both the museum and “From New York to Nebo: The Artistic Journey of Eugene Thomason” (free for children and members) will be only $6 for nonmembers. This Sunday Fun Day, 1-5 p.m., also offers crafts for kids of all ages.
This story was originally published December 30, 2015 at 4:36 PM.