What’s at the top of my to-do list the next time I have the luxury of a lazy afternoon to kill? Thoroughly exploring Chapel Hill’s own Ackland Art Museum.
This oft-overlooked local gem is currently home to “Carolina Collects,” a survey of some of the most relevant and renowned art and artists of the past 150 years. The collection houses a wealth of artistic mediums from sculpture to drawing to photographs created by Andy Warhol, Romare Bearden, Auguste Renior and countless other highly sought-after aesthetic geniuses of the modern age.
Best of all, the collection, consisting of more than 90 pieces, is borrowed entirely from the personal collections of UNC-Chapel Hill alumni. Each artist is featured only once, allowing for an immensely diverse showing bound to appeal to any viewer, whether novice or connoisseur.
“The broad range of great art and artists that the Ackland has assembled for this exhibition is remarkable—from icons of early modernism to big, bold contemporary pieces,” said Sheldon Peck, an alumnus of the class of 1963. “It’s a must-see show.”
The Ackland also houses a permanent collection of more than 16,000 pieces.
These ancient earthenware pieces are a part of the museum’s Chinese and Japanese collection, one of the most extensive collections of Asian art in the Southeast and the only of its kind in North Carolina.
Pictured above is “Viranda Post from the Palace Complex at Efon-Alaya,” a part of the West African collection.
For those who prefer a little more guidance during their museum experience, the Ackland has a variety of programming to suit any interest level. One Wednesday each month, they host “Art Over Lunch,” an hour-long lunchtime lecture by a community artist. Attendees bring a bag lunch and listen as the speaker shares inspiration and information about some of the museum’s current collections.
UNC-CH Art professor, Beth Grabowski, spoke October 5 on “Print and the Paradox of Nostalgia.”
Grabowski explored the concepts of identity and the displacement of nostalgic feelings through various paintings, prints and photographs. Nostalgia, she said, “sustains us in the face of a difficult present and an uncertain future.” We see what we want to see, she elaborated, so as to fit into our personal frame of reference.
The Ackland Art Museum is a fantastic cultural resource, likely only a few minutes away from your front door! Have you been there yet? If so, what was your favorite exhibit? Let us know with a comment!
All photos taken by Katie Hunter.