NC Cultural Resources Newsroom

WINSTON-SALEM – The North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources announced the formal acceptance of the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) as an operating entity of the N.C. Museum of Art on Dec. 13, 2007.  SECCA is dedicated to creative excellence in the visual arts and interprets the diversity of American contemporary art.

“We value SECCA’s contribution to the lively arts scene in Winston-Salem and its influence across the region,” said Department of Cultural Resources Secretary Lisbeth C. “Libba” Evans.

The Department of Cultural Resources is organized into three primary operating groups: Archives and History, the State Library, and the Arts, which includes the North Carolina Arts Council, NC Symphony, NC Museum of Art and now SECCA.

Dr. Lawrence J.Wheeler, Director of the N.C. Museum of Art announced that Mark R. Leach will assume the position as Director in January. Leach earned a bachelor’s degree in Ceramics in 1981 from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock; received a master’s degree in Twentieth Century Art and Non-profit Administration from Harvard University in 1987; and earned a certificate from the Getty Leadership Institute for Museum Management in 1997.  He has been part of the cultural scene in North Carolina for 17 years, notably as founding Director and later Chief Curator of the Mint Museum of Craft + Design in Charlotte.

“SECCA has a proud history of presenting innovative and groundbreaking contemporary art,” Wheeler said. “We are proud to have Mark’s expertise as we look forward to continuing SECCA’s programming and building an exciting future.”

Set on the 32-acre former estate of James G. Hanes, the facility boasts more than 33,000 square feet of gallery space and houses the 300-seat McChesney Scott Dunn Auditorium for performing arts and film.  Cultural Resources is evaluating and assessing repair and maintenance needs to be undertaken in 2008.

“We are excited that we found someone with a solid knowledge of North Carolina and North Carolina’s arts resources to start the next phase of SECCA’s service to the community and the state,” said SECCA Board of Directors President Thorns Craven.

SECCA opened in 1956 as a non profit visual arts organization to provide visual art space for local artists, blossomed into a regional center with scope of service covering 11 southern states, and is known for bringing traveling exhibitions of nationally prominent artists to the community.

The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources is a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina’s arts, history and culture. For more information about the Department of Cultural Resources visit www.ncculture.com