Twenty-three feet tall. Inflated, and illuminated. And yes, they are bunnies.
See the bunnies and much more as the North Carolina Museum of Art celebrates the grand opening of its redesigned and expanded Museum Park, with a free, family-friendly event this Sunday, Nov. 6.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome the people of North Carolina and beyond to the NCMA to experience the new Museum Park,” said Dan Gottlieb, director of planning, design, and the Museum Park.
“These celebration events are just the beginning. We encourage our visitors to reimagine the future of the park as special community gathering space for both exciting programming and relaxing meditations with nature and spectacular works of art.”
The bunnies are part of the fun, as the museum hosts the final day of “Intrude,” the exhibit by artist Amanda Parer which has visited more than 30 cities around the globe.
Also part of Sunday’s free event, which runs from 1 p.m. to dark, are the Park Discovery Walk, bike tours, pop-up art workshops and live music by Al Strong and Friends, Kaira Ba, and the Onyx Club Boys.
Other activities include the Hammock Grove and Geocaching Nook, gourmet culinary demonstrations, and new art installations including a bronze tree sculpture by Italian artist Giuseppe Penone, playful benches designed by Hank Willis Thomas, and a work by Cuban artist Yoan Capote made from metal crowd-control barricades and designed to resemble a brain if viewed from above.
New features
New features of the expanded park include:
The Ellipse, a manicured lawn surrounded by a 600-foot elliptical wooden bench and a sparkling walkway with seating, overlooking the upper meadow;
The Promenade, a wide path connecting the museum’s galleries and the park, past wave gardens, works of art, and long views; and
Wave Gardens, 20 mounded contemporary gardens interlaced with paths and benches and planted with more than 150,000 varied plants.
“These new community gathering spaces in the park, like the Ellipse where people can relax or play, and the contemporary gardens that welcome interactions with both the beautiful landscape and significant works of art by international artists, will truly connect art, nature, and people,” said NCMA Director Lawrence J. Wheeler.
“Not only do we want our visitors to enjoy creative experiences with art and with each other, but we also hope they reimagine what a museum can mean to them: elegant gallery and outdoor art adventures; recreation and imagination; events, exhibitions, and installations; and creative escape.”
Learn more, at ncartmuseum.org.
