I came here for an event and it was nice. I like the art and that the place was spacious with…read moredifferent rooms and levels. It's perfect for hosting an event.

I highly recommend!…read more The Harvey B. Gantt Center was an amazing experience this evening. Educators night was perfect evening as an educator to collaborate, connect and enjoy their beautiful exhibits. Mario Moore exhibit was captivating and breathtaking! The food provided was amazing: lemon pepper wing, fried cabbage, mac and cheese, veggie spring rolls and peach cobbler for dessert. Delicious! I enjoyed my time at the Gantt Center and I hope you enjoy their exhibits.

I've been to, and shown artwork at loads of galleries around the US and while I usually find myself…read moredrawn to a couple of artists/styles. I was blown away by how many artists I LOVED at the Shain Gallery - they really do have some of the best contemporary artists all available in one cute location. Easy to get to with plenty of places to eat or snack around it, this gallery should be on your must see list if you are in the Charlotte area.

Great art gallery with a large selection of artists to choose from. You are sure to find something…read morethat works here. Found several pieces that were super unique and the staff were super friendly. Many different styles and more art to choose from compared to other galleries in the area.

FREE! super cool way to spend free time. You can even walk into some artists studios and see their…read moreworkspace and that was so amazing. The front desk employee was very welcoming and friendly as well. Highly recommend for art geeks!

I remember when this old church caught fire years ago. I think I was in middle school... The story…read moreI heard was that several homeless people lit a fire in the then empty church to stay warm. They lost control of the fire and the church almost burnt to the ground. The empty, hollowed out skeleton of the church sat abandoned for years. Eventually, the McColl Center came along to bring this gorgeous building back to life! Now, it hosts art exhibits created by visiting artists from all over the world. Most recently, I visited Leah Rosenberg's Color for the People exhibit. It is fun, interactive, vibrant, and of course, full of color! I also enjoyed Nelson Morales' photography. The Fall 2017 residency ends this week and while I'm sad to see the latest class go, I'm excited to meet the next batch of artists to bring their gifts to Charlotte! The next time you're uptown and looking for something to do, I encourage you to visit McColl! Admission is free (with a suggested donation of $5) and they're open Tuesday through Saturday. If you're lucky enough to catch an artist working with their door open, you're encouraged to go into their office/studio and say hello. It's a great chance to meet the artist and learn more about their work!

Super cool spot where you can peruse and purchase art from Local Charlotte Artists, both newbies…read moreand well known alike. The artists are set up mostly in stalls that they rent from the Art League. The pieces range from all sorts of different mediums: Resin, canvas, sculptures, photographs, etc. I've walked through several stalls and while most of the artists set up and go about their day-jobs, you'll occasionally find an artist using their stall as a studio and working on whatever project they're focused on at the time. Everyone I've talked to here has been friendly and inviting. This isn't your stereotypical "snobby" art place. These people are down to earth and eager to see you. Prices range from the super affordable to the super expensive, with a happy medium in every price range in between. One stall I saw had 24x36" resin piece on canvas that was going for $700!! Way out of my price range but I'm sure someone will see it and decide that they aren't leaving without it. If you find something you like, you can take it up front where the cashier will run your purchase on behalf of the artist. Keep in mind that mostly everything is for sale, but some pieces are works in progress or display only. Everything I've seen in here is labeled properly to avoid any confusion. It's a community cornerstone that hosts events, supports charities, and spotlights some of the most prominent artists in the QC. What's not to like?

The website listed it as open and also when I mapped it. I got to the business and the door was…read morelocked. When I tried to call, there were a couple words spoken and it cut off. Now I don't know if I can visit here because there's no way to contact and no way to know it's open.

If you're a history buff, this might be worth a stop. Actually, even if you're not, this might be a…read moregood stop once at least. The grounds are beautiful and very peaceful. We visited on a Tuesday afternoon and hardly anyone else was there, so it was really quiet and relaxing. Most of the grounds have are shaded by trees, so even though it was a hot day (in the high 80s), it was pleasant walking around. What was a disappointment was that we couldn't enter any of the buildings, so the self tour was only to see the exteriors. The exhibits upstairs were interesting, too. One was on political cartoons and the other was on philanthropy; both worth a visit!

Parking is a breeze. It's a lovely structure. There is a flow to this place…read more We arrived about 2PM on a sweltering Friday in August. What a lucky day that for this entire month admission is free, and we were just in time for a guided tour! We viewed the grounds of Hezikiah Alexander's homestead. Our tour guide and group were all terrific. Everyone was eager to learn and respectful of the exhibition and each other. The tour lasted about an hour with great sensory experiences in the garden and it was just the right level of audience interaction. As an African American person, I was appreciative to the mention of the enslaved people who ran this massive house. The kitchen area was really interesting to me, but there were so many spider webs and bugs all around.... I was concerned. The maintenance/cleaning staff should come in there for a quick visit. At the end our tour, the guide rung a gigantic bell and explained the symbolism of the hornet for Charlotte, North Carolina. It was inspiring and quite bad a$$ery. As a British soldier beat a retreat out of town he remarked "this place is just a hornets nest of rebellion!" As an independent colony from the crown, Charlotteans have proudly sported the symbol of the hornet since then. The plight of indigenous people was very lightly addressed with a terrible exhibition of a red dress to bring awareness to missing and murdered indigenous women. They really should seek to create an exhibit more inclusive, relevant and respectful to the original inhabitants of this land. That too is the history of Charlotte.

My daughter got us tickets. It was beyond amazing…read more The information about his life was surrounded by replicas of his works. There were areas where they brought is life and works to life. There were plenty of places to sit and enjoy. There was plenty of room for everyone to read without standing on top of one another. We spent a full half-hour in the final immersive room lying on a rug propping ourselves on plush pillows. We watched the entire 360 degree show. Hats off to the creators! The entire experience is a history lesson disguised as artwork. If you love history and/or art, you will love this experience! MOST SINCERELY

A nice experience but not worth the cost…read more While visiting one of my besties and her baby, she really wanted to check this Immersive experience of Van Gogh artwork. She's a huge fan, and use to do some kind of work at an art museum in Washington DC, so this place seemed up her alley. She graciously paid $90 for our tickets ($40/adult + taxes and fees), and was sorely disappointed. The old huge warehouse was renovated into a small showcase of Van Gogh art via a few tv monitors and interpreted art sculptures that represent Van Gogh's themes. The main event is the 30 min art instillation that projects on the walls, with strobe lighting and loud music..which is the immersive experience that you're essentially paying for. Of course, there's an overpriced gift shop area..with posters, t-shirts, and art jigsaw puzzles..and a mini bar with over priced snacks items. We were happy to support the culture..but this not truly worth the cost. Thankfully the restrooms were clean (but did not contain any changing tables..and auntie Nneka changed a poopy diaper!!). Also, there was air conditioning and welcoming staff members who were helpful and offered to take our pictures with any of the life sized sculptures. So, its a nice effort..but only if you trying to be supportive of the cause..otherwise..semi hard pass on this one.

Oh how I love this place! They have been around forever......years ago they were out on…read moreIndependence, and now tucked away off of Morehead, still nice and cozy with beautiful jazz playing in the background.......definitely sets the mood for art shopping. This man knows art like the back of his hand, his has prints, giclee, originals, you pick it and he'll also frame it. A one stop shop.

Magnificent free museum. The front desk check-in lady was incredibly flattering, she thought I was…read moreactually playing in the Charlotte FC game when she asked why I was in town, and me being in town "for the game" was delightfully read by her as me playing in the game, which was an "I wish" moment. Number of people who think I look like a MLS player that are not my mommy: we're up to one now, but men remember every compliment they receive (most don't get that many) so obviously I will remember this forever. The museum has a large footprint in the building for being an overall relatively small museum. There is a lot of empty floor space which is for vibes I guess, or the Southern deep fried ambiance that you need adequate room to maneuver yourself around the wide open walkways when Bojangles is sufficiently well-loved around these parts. The museum is very similar to the STL Gateway Arch Museum, in terms of set up, focus on limited time periods, lewks, and content depth. This free museum is an introduction to a very interesting, historically rich city that gives you a taste of the history (but isn't a dissertation on every little thing) and gets you excited about the future of the city based on some key moments in modernity. While the state government was very particular about which bathroom you used up until it was repealed in 2020, CLT had originally passed local protections that the state got threatened by and made an international spectacle of for years of high profile constitutional litigation and appeals. If you read somewhat fast you can get through the entire museum in under 30 minutes; it is closer in size to the Bechtler rather than the Mint. It is well situated on S. Tryon (the city so far has resisted the obvious name change to Trigon, for all my Teen Titans bros, bro-ettes, and non-binary brxs) to hop, skip, or frogger across the street to the Bechtler and Mint for further museum experiences nearby. They have weird hours and occasional closure days (put actually tell you about it in advance) so be sure to check their webpage to plan ahead for when you can drop in. The gift shoppe is very small but every purchase helps support the free museum so I picked up a shirt for my next volunteer shift at the food bank this week. When you visit here too I am sure you will want to contribute something (voluntarily) to help support the free museum. That is when you know you have a free museum that actually works as intended. A great place to start to realise why Charlotte is one of my favourite American cities, and it could be one of yours too.

This is a small elegant museum, free to enter. It captures the history and evolution of Charlotte…read moreand North Carolina pretty well. It's a single floor, takes about 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how much time you spend on each topic. Lots of images, maps, explanation of milestone moments for the city and the state that shaped it over centuries. The two key events I remember from visit are Charlotte's role in ending segregation and the city became the a leader in banking world. Highly recommended for anyone visiting Charlotte for the first time.