Raleigh Now Spotlight: Gregg Museum

N.C. STATE OF THE ART
Gregg Museum opens August 26

by Liza Roberts
photograph courtesy Gregg Museum

When Roger Manley cuts the ribbon on the new Gregg Museum of Art and Design at N.C. State Aug. 26, the museum’s director will mark the opening not only of a beautiful new $10 million home for the university’s encyclopedic collection of visual art including textiles, ceramics, folk art, paintings, photography, and outsider art, he’ll also usher in a new era for the visual arts for the university and in the local community.

The Gregg, which hasn’t had a home for several years, will now anchor a prominent corner of Hillsborough Street at Pullen Park, bringing new attention to the visual arts at the university and providing a gateway to an emerging “arts plaza” including Theatre in the Park and the Pullen Arts Center, which is readying its own renovation and expansion.

“There’s a lot of really wonderful potential here,” says Manley while touring the site on a recent morning. He points out the highlights of the museum’s new building, a LEED-
certified, 15,000 square-foot gallery, event, and storage venue designed by leading architects Perkins +Will. With a modest profile from the street, the venue surprises visitors with a spacious, airy interior. This state-of-the-art structure is attached to the newly renovated former university chancellor’s residence, a stately 1927 Georgian home designed by prominent architect Hobart Upjohn, which offers nearly 8,000 square feet of exhibition, event, and office space.

The Gregg’s first big show will comprise an overview of its permanent collection. “The museum has been closed for several years, and a lot of people have forgotten what we have,” Manley says. An exhibit of the works of Raleigh artist Herb Jackson will be mounted simultaneously in a smaller gallery in the new building, while a show of Native American art from the permanent collection will fill the main floor of the residence.

For hours and more details about the opening: gregg.arts.ncsu.edu