The Main branch of Charlotte’s Public Library is in the heart of the city center. The 157,000 sq. ft. building anchors Charlotte’s Arts & Education district and provides many services including materials, programs and meeting rooms to Charlotte residents. Located on the back wall of the first floor of the library is a large mosaic work by Romare Bearden, Before Dawn. Before Dawn came about when Bearden was commissioned by CharlotteMecklenburg Art in Public Places and The Charlotte Observer and planned to complete an original work for the city’s new Main Library in 1988. However. Bearden died of a stroke before completing the work. The Library has use of Before Dawn, a large format piece that depicts images from Bearden’s childhood visits to his grandparents’ home in Charlotte as a mosaic reproduction. The mosaic is made from glass tiles forged by the Corvatto Maosaic Company in Ital
The Harvey B. Gantt Center offers exhibits and educational programs that explore the experiences and celebrates the triumphs of people of African descent in the United States. October 2009 marked the opening of the Afro-American Cultural Center as the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts and Culture. The name of the facility honors Harvey Bernard Gantt, a community leader and businessman. Gant was a trailblazer, the first African-American student admitted to Clemson University and Charlotte's first African-American mayor. The Center is a dedicated space to present, preserve and celebrate excellence in the art, history and culture of African American and people of African descent. Included in the permanent collection are several works by Romare Bearden. While there has never been an exhibit dedicated to Bearden exclusively, The Gantt Center has several Bearden works on display in its permanent collection. One painting by Bearden is featured prominently in the lobby of The Gantt Center. It sets the tone for the whole museum.
The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art houses a unique and rare collection of 20th-century modern pieces of artwork. Amassed by a North Carolina resident family and donated to the museum, the permanent and rotating exhibits demonstrate significant contributions to art from this time period.The museum building itself is unique, created by a well known Swiss architect, and designed specifically to showcase the pieces of work. The Betchtler Museum is visited by thousands of art enthusiasts each year who are welcome to view the collection and rotating exhibits. Distinguishing itself from Charlotte's other Uptown museums, The Bechtler is Charlotte’s boutique cultural space. The distinct red terracotta tiled building was designed by internationally acclaimed architect Mario Botta and opened in 2010. This jewel of a museum houses the personal collection of the Swiss industrialist family, The Bechtlers. Found in the museum are works by the most important and influential artists of the mid-20th century including Miro, Giacometti, Picasso, Calder and Warhol.
Charlotte’s Mint Museum Uptown makes up the second part of the city’s Mint Museum, and plays a vital role in Charlotte's Levine Center for the Arts. The Mint Museum Uptown was established in 2010, and is one of two branches which make up Charlotte's Mint Museum, the first art museum in the state of North Carolina, founded in 1936. The Mint Uptown’s exterior is strikingly beautiful, its five-story, 145,000-square-foot facility having been designed by the illustrious Machado Silvetti design firm of Boston. The museum houses a number of cutting-edge exhibits, an internationally renowned Craft + Design collection, and exceptional collections of American, European, and contemporary art, among other things. While it is one of two branches which make up the Mint Museum, the Mint Uptown houses different collections and exhibitions than the Mint Museum Randolph. Anchoring Charlotte’s main cultural district, The Mint Museum Uptown opened its doors in 2010 and is home to its internationally acclaimed Craft + Design collection as well as important collections of American, contemporary and European art. A popular attraction at The Mint is the Romare Bearden Gallery which is located on the fourth flour and showcases work by the artist and offers an excellent retrospective of Bearden’s work.
“Spiral Odyssey” is sculptor Richard Hunt’s homage to Charlotte native, Romare Bearden. The sculpture was installed in May, 2017 in the southeast corner of Romare Bearden Park, a calm, public greenspace open to the public in the heart of Charlotte’s bustling Uptown commercial district. The sculpture is made of stainless steel, is 30 feet tall and weighs approximately 8,000 pounds. The piece is a primary focal point in the part and the art is a subtle but permanent reminder that the park is dedicated to an artist. Charlotte takes great pride that Romare Bearden was born in the city. As Bearden's legacy continues to grow, so are the many opportunities for Charlotte to expand upon its cultural life as a community by this important association.
This 5.4-acre public park was dedicated in honor of Charlotte native and internationally acclaimed artist, Romare Bearden. Dedicated in 2013, Romare Bearden Park is located just a block from where the artist was born. The park is designed in a collage motif to honor the artist's best-known style and features two formal gardens, a courtyard, a playing field, and several waterfalls. The park is utilized by a broad spectrum of the Charlotte community for varying purposes including fitness and cultural arts programs.
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Truist Field is a baseball stadium located in Uptown Charlotte. Built in 2012, the complex is the home of the minor league team, the Charlotte Knights. Truist Stadium is Charlotte’s third sports complex for professional sports, accompanying Bank of America Stadium for football and the Spectrum Center for basketball. Unknown to many, the artist Romare Bearden was a highly-skilled baseball star and even had a chance to play in the major leagues.
401 S Graham Street is where the home of the paternal grandparents of Romare Bearden once stood and where the artist was born in 1911. The neighborhood, called the Third Ward, was one of four wards or sections that radiated from the city’s epicenter at the intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets when Charlotte was first developed. The Third Ward is adjacent to the Second Ward which was where the historic Brooklyn neighborhood, a once bustling center of the Black community, was located. Historic Brooklyn and most of the homes and businesses in the Third Ward including the Bearden homeplace were razed in the 1960’s to make way for Charlotte’s urban development. When Bearden was a boy, he visited his grandparents at their Charlotte home during the summers and those experiences made a significant impression on the artist and influenced his art.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
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Starting from the place of his birth, this tour through Uptown Charlotte traces Romare Bearden's life and career spanning from 1911 until 1988 and chronicles the many achievements of this multitalented individual .
