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Three double-sided walls are being constructed in the main gallery of the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art. The work will be completed in time for the fall opening on September 12, 2008. Photo: SECCA Staff photo
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SECCA Starts Renovations in the Main Gallery
SECCA is renovating the main gallery space by adding three double-sided walls. The walls will be used to display pieces of contemporary art.
"We are building the walls as part of our continuing effort to improve the quality of the building, grounds and programing experience at SECCA," said Mark Leach, SECCA director. "The walls will provide a more intimate space for exhibits and enhance our visitors' exposure to and involvement with the art shown in the lower gallery as they flow through the space."
Completion of the construction is anticipated prior to the upcoming fall exhibit opening Sept. 12. Two new shows will open to the public Sept. 12 -- photography and video by Dutch artist Erwin Olaf and contemporary quilts by seven leading North American quiltmakers. The opening reception will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
The quilt exhibition is designated to be shown in the main gallery space utilizing the new wall configurations while Olaf will premier in the Potter Gallery, renovated earlier this spring. Video installations will also be shown in select rooms of the historic Hanes home.
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Steven Matijcio
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Meet SECCA's New Curator of Contemporary Art
Bringing outstanding perspective into the international arena of the art of today, Steven Matijcio joined the staff of the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) as curator on August 1.
SECCA director Mark Leach says, "Steven's insight into international art practices will bring SECCA to the forefront of cutting-edge contemporary ideas and art-making on the global stage. His vision will provide a rich foundation for SECCA's program as we move into an exciting era in partnership with the North Carolina Museum of Art."
In December 2007, SECCA became an operating entity of the North Carolina Museum of Art and the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources.
"With his breadth of experience," Leach continues, "Steven brings the energy and ideas that will infuse SECCA's exhibits with substantial cultural meaning -- fulfilling and pushing forward the purpose and mission of the art center."
Born in Toronto, Canada and educated in New York, Matijcio has an accomplished background in the gallery and museum field. He has held positions at the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery and has organized projects across all media and themes. For the past three years he has worked as curator at the Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art in Winnipeg, Manitoba (one of Canada's most respected and cutting edge institutions exhibiting contemporary art). During this tenure, Matijcio curated a provocative series of exhibitions featuring the work of Marina Abramovic, Marc Bijl, Minerva Cuevas, Nathalie Djurberg, Omer Fast, Sarah Anne Johnson, Hulda Stefīnsdīttir, Shaan Syed and Anna von Gwinner.
Matijcio says, "Joining SECCA is an opportunity for me to become part of a team, a mandate, a history, and a gallery known for its willingness to be a trailblazer in today's art world. I'm looking forward to working in the vibrant Winston-Salem community, alongside Mark [Leach], whose passion, experience, and ambition will undoubtedly lead SECCA into a bright new era."
Alongside his activities in curating, writing and criticism, Matijcio is an active researcher and lecturer who has been the recipient of numerous awards including a Governor General's Award and the Orpheus Prize in Humanities. He was named a University of Toronto scholar all four years of his undergraduate study, and received both a fellowship and scholarship to attend graduate school at the Center for Curatorial Studies in New York (Bard College).
Under curators such as Marcia Tucker, Ivo Mesquita, John G. Hanhardt and Christiane Paul, he co-curated an exhibition that investigated the effects of institutional structures on the human body (Instructure). Matijcio was commissioned by the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation to organize an online exhibition highlighting important, but lesser-known works by the iconic Mapplethorpe (Momentum).
Matijcio has also worked in numerous academic arenas. He served as an instructor in the University of Manitoba's School of Art from 2007 - 2008. He is currently researching the relationship between art and political activism, and has received a number of travel grants to conduct research in countries such as Italy, Germany, Austria and Brazil.
Matijcio has edited and published a number of notable texts. He conducted interviews with Jane Alexander, Shaun Gladwell, Nasrin Tabatabai and Babak Afrassiabi for the 2006 Sao Paulo Bienal Catalogue, and has written for journals such as Canadian Art, Border Crossings, Locus Suspectus, and Canadian Architect. As part of his curatorial practice, Matijcio has contributed essays on the work of Daniel Barrow, Richard Hines, Micah Lexier, Dominique Rey and Diana Thorneycroft, and worked as editor/curator for the recent publication Scratching the Surface: The Post-Prairie Landscape.
He looks forward to employing all of these skills and experiences at SECCA, cultivating a more robust writing program, expanding exhibition geography and organizing public programs to better connect audiences to art. Matijcio notes the importance of community involvement in all these ventures, and seeks to make SECCA a hub for cultural activities of all kinds - connecting with students, artists, colleges and universities, filmmakers, and a range of audiences. With an eye toward fall and beyond, he says, "this center has the history, vision, and staff to be a truly special place -- I can't wait to be part of its future."
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Pat Hall
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SECCA Hires New Development & Membership Officer
Patricia A. Hall, M.Ed., CFRE, joined SECCA's staff on May 15, 2008 as the new Development & Membership Officer. As a development professional with over 20 years experience, Pat most recently served as the Director of the Annual Fund at the North Carolina Symphony in Raleigh, NC. "Since I have moved to Winston-Salem, I have met wonderful people, including the core group of the SECCA Friends organization and am looking forward to meeting with key supporters in the near future," says Pat.
Mark Leach, Director, says,"Pat brings outstanding professional fundraising experience to SECCA at a time when we are entering perhaps the most exciting era yet. I look forward to working with her in the community."
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Ellen Wallace
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SECCA Hires New Marketing & PR Manager
Ellen D. Wallace began her position as SECCA's new Marketing and PR Manager on May 1, 2008. With deep community roots, Ellen comes to SECCA after serving over 20 years at RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, most recently as Manager of Culture and Communications.
SECCA Store Sidewalk Sale!
The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) is having a sidewalk sale of the entire inventory of items from the art center's visitor's shop. The sale will be held at SECCA, 750 Marguerite Drive, on Saturday, Sept. 13 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Sale items include jewelry, ceramics, speciality decor items, books, stationary, children's games and much more. All items will be sold at greatly reduced prices. The sale will be held in the parking lot in front of SECCA.
Remodeling the store is one of the first steps in SECCA's long-range plan to revitalize the arts center. Jan Campos, a quilt artist from Charlotte and the new SECCA merchandising manager, created the sale as a way to clear current inventory from the shop in preparation for a total upgrade and renovation of the store.
Campos' goal for a new shop will be to increase sales by streamlining the items offered and to arrange them effectively and attractively. New items sold at the store will have a clear connection with the art center's contemporary art mission.
"As SECCA's new image unfolds," Campos says, "the store will play a key role in promoting that signature with the public. I'm very excited about starting fresh with a clean canvas to promote the wonderful things happening at SECCA."
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Design Firm Selected for SECCA Renovation
The design firm Szostak Design Inc. (SDi) of Chapel Hill has been awarded the contract to renovate the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) by the state of North Carolina.
The objective of the renovation will be to replace the roof of the 46,400 square foot arts center and the climate-control system for the building.
SDi has won 12 regional and state design awards since 1986. Major projects the firm has designed include: The Durham Performing Arts Center, the Science and Technology Building for East Carolina University, the Sommerhill Gallery in Chapel Hill and the Broughton Hall for North Carolina State University.
Mark Leach, director for the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art states, "We're looking forward to begining the process of renovation. We have exciting and broad-based plans for the arts center and they all start with improving the facility."
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Heritage Woods Residents at SECCA
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Heritage Woods Residents Visit SECCA
Twelve people from the independent living community Heritage Woods recently toured the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA). Agnes David, one of the guests, worked for Mr. James G. Hanes, who bequeathed his home to SECCA. "Mr. Hanes was a wonderful man," Ms. David said. "He was very progressive and ahead of his time." Members of the tour group also included Doris Ingalls, Mary Tatum and Frances Peden.
The visit was a result of a community outreach program instituted at SECCA this summer. Director Mark Leach says, "SECCA is reaching out to the community in vital ways. The staff is volunteering and offering personalized tours to many groups -- including this one by Hertitage Woods Community. At Heritage Woods, we were able to support their wellness program by helping residents learn more about contemporary art."
The residents viewed the exhibits "People and Places," a selection of photographs from the collection of Allen Thomas Jr., and "Line Dance," pottery by Mark Hewitt and contemporary quilts by Jan Campos. The group participated in the tour as part of Heritage Woods' "100 Ways to Wellness" program. Activities director Diane Hawkins organized the tour and accompanied the residents. Angie Debman of the SECCA staff gave the tours.
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