When trying to find the center of art in Raleigh, few places come to mind like the North Carolina of Museum of Art.The Museum of Art is a place most students visited in third or fourth grade. Other people are always there like senior Heather Farmer: “I go every weekend to see what is new,” she says.  The Museum’s history began in 1924, when the North Carolina State Art Society was formed. Its mission was to generate interest in creating an art museum for the state. In 1928, the society was able to raise funds and received approximately seventy-five paintings by bequest from Robert F. Phifer, a North Carolina native and businessman. In 1929,  the first in a series of temporary art exhibition spaces opened in the Agriculture Building in Raleigh. More recently, the museum is welcoming two new exhibits. The Worlds of M. C. Escher: Nature, Science, and Imagination opened October 17 and runs until January 17 located  in the East Building, Level B in the Meymandi Exhibition Gallery.  Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester and the Creative Mind opens on October 31 and ends January 17 located in the East Building, Level B in Gallery 2. To take a tour of either exhibit, it is $12 for a youth ticket (7-18) and $18 for an adult ticket. Sophomore Nate Mcdonald loves the accessibility of the different exhibits saying, “I love the diversity of works that is available to see!”

The Museum also offers various things outside of exhibits. They host Friday Night Sound Bites, discussions on various pieces of art, which is on Fridays at 6pm and 7pm, Studio Samplers, where students can learn what a studio class will offer and try numerous applications of different mediums, with tickets starting at $30 for Members and $35 for nonmembers, and Teenage workshops, where teenagers learn about the exhibits and create their own works of art, with tickets that are $15 for Members and $20 for nonmembers.

Upcoming Studio Samplers

November 10:  Everything that rises must converge. This refresher workshop on one-, two-, and three-point linear perspective reinforces what Leonardo mastered and what participants see in the Escher exhibition.

November 17: The world upside down. After looking at M.C. Escher works and the permanent collection, create your own impossible scenes that defy the conventions Western atmospheric perspective.

December 1:  The power of observation. After a preview glimpse of the Leonardo da Vinci exhibition, create a sketchbook to take into the world so that you can follow the artist’s example and record what you see.

Upcoming Teen Workshop

Printmaking in Escher’s World Saturday November 7, 1-4pm in East Building Lobby. Explore the convergence of math and visual art in the escher exhibition. Under the guidance of local artist Derek Toomes, experiment with printmaking and create your own works of art. Register by Tuesday, November 3. All materials are provided.