WINSTON-SALEM, NC – If money is tight and the kids have wintertime cabin fever, the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) may be able to help. SECCA is offering a free family fun day March 7 from noon to 5 p.m. in Old Salem.
SECCA and Old Salem Museums & Gardens are teaming up to host a special community day that will offer free activities and family fun. Activities are planned to highlight the opening weekend for a public art sculpture called Rise Up Winston-Salem by Virginia artist Charlie Brouwer.
March 7th activities include a Family Art Activity based on making ladders (noon to 4 p.m., Old Salem Barn), Spoken Word Poetry Performance by students from the after-school program of the Gateway YWCA (1:30 p.m., MESDA Auditorium) and an Artist’s Talk by Brouwer (3 p.m., James A. Gray Auditorium). The Poetry Performance will feature students reciting original spoken word poetry inspired by the installation.
Part of the novelty of the public art sculpture that Brouwer will create is that the sculpture will be made entirely out of ladders loaned to him by community residents. He will create the sculpture on site in Old Salem from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., March 6-8. The sculpture will be located in the Tavern Meadow. Visitors are welcome to drop by and talk with Brouwer while he designs Rise Up Winston-Salem.
At 3 p.m., Brouwer will stop work on the sculpture to present an engaging overview of his work. In his practice, Brouwer uses the ladder as both metaphor and material: constructing fragile monuments to reflect the aspirations of the communities in which he works.
To learn more about the exhibit or installation, please visit www.secca.org
While closed for renovations, SECCA is taking its art and education programs into the local community by launching Inside Out: Artists in the Community II. The installation by Brouwer is the first in this series of seven public art installations in the community.
This project is supported by a grant from The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art, and by a program grant provided by the James G. Hanes Foundation. In-kind support provided is by Sundance Plaza Hotel, Spa and Wellness Center.
SECCA is designed to involve audiences in the art of our time. SECCA is an operating entity of the North Carolina Museum of Art, an agency of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. SECCA is also a funded partner of The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County.