Charlotte, NC

Bechtler Museum of Modern Art
DESCRIPTION: via the generosity of the Andreas Bechtler family of art patrons, Charlotte has gained a new gem in 2010; designed by Mario Botta, same designer of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; with dramatic 4-story atrium vistas plus hallways and galleries that do sweet justice to the grand art they contain; museum collections include works by many influential artists of the 20th century including Miró, Giacometti, Picasso, Calder, Hepworth, Nicholson, Warhol, Tinguely, Ernst, Le Corbusier, and Chillida; the evaocative and uplifting museum includes a cafe and well stocked museum store

ADMISSION: Adults 8, Age 65+ and College Students with ID $6, Age 11-18 $4

DAYS & HOURS: Mon, Wed-Sat 10a-5p, Sun Noon-5p

ADDRESS: 420 South Tryon Street  MAP

PARKING: discounted parking at the Wells Fargo Cultural Campus Garage at 550 South Tryon Street

PHONE: 704-353-9200

WEBSITE: http://www.bechtler.org

Levine Museum of the New South
DESCRIPTION: An interactive museum housing the nation's most comprehensive interpretation of post-Civil War Southern history; tells stories of men, women and children, Black and white, rich and poor, long-time residents and newcomers who have reinvented the South since the Civil War; the award-winning permanent exhibit called Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers features many aspects relevant to African American history; covering 8,000 square feet, the exhibit features a case study illustrating the profound changes in the South since the Civil War; visitors step inside a one-room tenant farmers house and run a hand through a pile of seed cotton, play checkers on the front porch of a mill house and sit in Good Samaritans Hospital Chapel, one of the first African American hospitals in the South or sit at a lunch counter and hear personal accounts from local sit-in leaders; modest admission fees, but there is

DAYS & HOURS: Tue-Sat 10a-5p, Sun Noon-5p

ADDRESS: 200 East 7th Street  MAP

PARKING: 90 minutes FREE parking at Seventh Street Station and all day on weekends

PHONE: 704-333-1887

WEBSITE: http://www.museumofthenewsouth.org

Mint Museum of Craft + Design
DESCRIPTION: Housed in a former department store, this renovated building for Mint Museum showcases the work of the designers who both conceive and fabricate original and unique objects in the traditional craft mediums of ceramic, fiber, glass, metal and wood; a permanent collection, education programs, research, publications and changing exhibitions are rapidly moving this museum to acclaim in the art & design world, the museum is highly noted for its glass art by Dale Chihuly, Tom Patti, Stanislav Libensky and Jaroslava Brychtova

ADMISSION: Adults $10, Students and Age 65+ with an ID $8, Ages 5-17 $5, Ages 4 and under enter free

DAYS & HOURS: Tue-Sat 10a-5p, Third Thursday 10a-8p, Sun Noon-5p

ADDRESS: 220 North Tryon Street  MAP

PARKING: Free parking for 2 hours in Dunhill Hotel Garage parking deck accessible from 6th Street

PHONE: 704-337-2000

WEBSITE: http://www.mintmuseum.org

McColl Center for Visual Art
DESCRIPTION: In the vanguard of contemporary art and features a strong representation by a diverse range of Carolinian artists; has also featured a major Afro-Cuban exhibition and has a notable artist-in-residence program

ADMISSION: Free; fees for select events

DAYS & HOURS: Tue-Sat 11a-4p

ADDRESS: 721 North Tryon Street  MAP

PARKING: Free in the paved and gravel lot at the corner of Church and 10th Streets

PHONE: 704-332-5535

WEBSITE: http://www.mccollcenter.org

Mint Museum of Art
DESCRIPTION: initially served as the first branch of the United States Mint before the Civil War; a grassroots community effort during the Depression saved the original Federal-style building from demolition and moved it to its present Randolph Road site; the museum opened to the public in 1936 as North Carolina's first art museum; now it originates and hosts major national and international exhibitions and features public programs including daily tours, seminars, lectures, family day festivals, and adult and children's art classes; resources include two research libraries, a slide and videotape library, teacher training programs, and in-school programs 

ADMISSION: Adults $10, Students and Age 65+ with an ID $8, Ages 5-17 $5, Ages 4 and under enter free

DAYS & HOURS: Tue 10a-9p, Wed-Sat 10a-5p

ADDRESS: 2730 Randolph Road  MAP

PARKING: free on premises

PHONE: 704-337-2000

WEBSITE: http://www.mintmuseum.org