Raleigh Contemporary Art Museum (CAM)

[Subway Scoundrel]

That is a great idea!  Maybe the city will hire you for their PR guy! 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They will have to pay more than they probably do now

[MR-2]

The closest really nice aquarium is in Myrtle Beach, SC. I know I am not the only one that feels that it's about time that with a city such as ours intent on having great museums, that a nice aquarium should fit in nicely.

The Aquarium at Fort Fisher is closer actually.

[DanRNC]

Getting back to the whole critical mass of museums in the Triangle, I went to the opening of the Nasher Museum over at Duke Sunday and I have to say I was very impressed. The building is amazing and the collection is incredible as well-especially the fact that its a university museum. Admission is free for Durham residents as well. I highly recommend a trip there.

Nasher Museum

[orulz]

I really wish the NCMOA would move downtown rather than building a new facility on their present campus. Perhaps something on the huge parking lot across Wilmington from the history museum would be nice, that would make a clearly defined "museum district." For some reason I think that would go really well together with the Blount Street redevelopment.

Or perhaps it should go on the south side of downtown, so people would walk down Fayetteville Street to move between the two facilities. Doesn't really matter, as long as winds up downtown.

[DanRNC]

The NCMOA will most likely never end up downtown as they have already secured the land for the new facility. Unfortunately it is under the control of the state so it doesn't have much leeway as far as location. It goes where the state land is. I think a smaller satellite museum may be possible downtown though maybe to feature one of the collections. I think CAM and ArtSpace should hold their own down there.

[ncwebguy]

Existing downtown raleigh "museums":

NC Museum of History (Jones St.)

NC Museum of Natural Sciences (Jones St.)

Exporis (Hargett St.)

Artspace (Davie St.)

Raleigh City Museum (Fayetville St.)

plus other private galleries in and near City Market, Lump, etc.

Other "potential" museums:

- CAM site - already have the land, ongoing working on funding

- Pope House/African-American theater/amplitheater/maybe Shaw U. area just east

of the existing Civic/Convention Center. Just a big parking lot now.... the owner of the land may think it is "too valuable" for this kind of use now, but the community in that area wants something like this.

Also, Durham's Museum of Life and Sciences is almost more "interactive/fun" (butterfly house anyone?) than the Natural Sciences building in downtown Raleigh.

Exploris tries to be like Charlotte's Discovery Place, but with a global communication tilt, but doesn't

seem to pull it off. If they really wanted to be a global experience, they should embrace/support things like last weekend's Celtic fest going on literally right across the street from them, but it was like they didn't know or care. Same thing for Chinese new year celebrations, Octoberfest, the greek festival and international festivals at the fairgrouds, etc.

The NC Museum of Art *used* to be downtown!!! The building due east of Capitol Square still has Museum of Art chiseled above an entrance along Morgan Street. The building is now used by NC DOT I think.

The city of Raleigh does want to support the arts downtown more, partly to up the cultural ante for its citizens, but also as a way to entice conventions to come here as a unique experience to other convention centers in the southeast and across the country. Hopefully this will result in a win-win situation where the arts, tourism, business, etc. all enhance each other, but time will tell. People need to be on board and support what the future will bring, not what the present currently offers.

[MR-2]

The Durham and Raleigh science museums are remarkably different. Both have done a good job updating though. 20 years ago, both museums weren't anything like what they are now. Durham's has taken a physical science theme, while Raleigh's has taken a naturalism theme. I have to say that while some individual exhibits in Durham's are better (the monthy exhibits, the astronomy room), the whole presentation at Raleigh's museum is better. Added to that, Raleigh's museum is downtown, while Durham's is a few miles north, in nowhereville.

[NCMike1981]

I used to walk to the Museum of Life and Science when I was a kid....how dare u say I grew up in Nowheresville?! j/k hehe

Anyway I used to love that museum back in the dinosaur trail days....I think they still have the train there 2 don't they? They basically just moved everything across the street from where it used to be.

[Justin6882]

I found this story in the NC State Technician (school newspaper) yesterday and thought I'd share. It talks of how CAM and the NCSU College of Design will create a more formal partnership and engage students in contemporary art.

Sounds good to me, anything to enrich the cultural aspects of our great city is fine by me.

Contemporary Perspectives

[DanRNC]

I am pretty excited about this project as it seems to have a lot of people and institutions backing it.

[DanRNC]

Here's an article on the CAM project:

Article

[pack-man]

It sounds like this has a decent shot of being pretty nice.

[DanRNC]

I found a schematic of the CAM project and the residential building.

[NCMike1981]

^looks nice!

[Damien]

Maybe this will be a catalyst for other projects in the warehouse district like the metropolitan

[ChiefJoJo]

Where is CAM going to be located exactly? Isn't it on Hargett or Martin St? I forget.

[Jones_]

Where is CAM going to be located exactly? Isn't it on Hargett or Martin St? I forget.

The current, barely used CAM warehouse is at the corner of Martin and Harrington adjacent to Centerline Productions. Centerline (peek in the window its a cool place, I know the owner) is directly accross Harrington from the Humble Pie parking lot. It appears that the rest of the CAM land spills out towards Davie right behind Club Oxygen and perhaps all the way to West Street as well. Previous renderings I have seen show the main entrance facing Martin so this new rendering I assume also faces Martin with the condos crammed into between Centerline, Oxygen and CAM's current building.

[Transplant]

I found a schematic of the CAM project and the residential building.

There are two proposals for the CAM site. One that is smaller, the one above, and a larger one. The larger one has a multi-level CAM, and twice the residential. If I find a rendering, I'll post it.

The larger one is more preferable, but either will be an asset to the city.

[Justin6882]

Looks like the city gave CAM a grant...here's the story. Looks like they'll break ground in a year.

More on CAM

[urbanesq]

great news. I think this will be an excellent addition to the roster of downtown destinations

[BoylanHghts]

This is really great news. I hope this means that CAM will finally move forward with design and construction. They have really had a rough time getting off the ground, and it's too bad, because Raleigh really could use an icon like this for the contemporary art scene.

This could really be the project that pushes the Warehouse district up to the level of Glenwood South. This plus the planned condo on the site south of the Dawson. Now, if only the TTA would move forward, this whole area could be kicked into high gear.

[Justin6882]

There was a very extensive article in the N&O today about this project. Sounds exciting!

Arts group sees museum tower

[Tayfromcarolina]

Was a very great article with links to similar type projects going up in other cities.

[avery]

any news here guys on which design they are leaning towards?

[DanRNC]

I think they are going with the multistory museum building but not certain. In related news the new NCMoA designs will be released next month. The original ones on the architects' website have disappeared.