Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art facts for kids
The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) is a special art gallery in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It focuses on showing contemporary art, which means art made in our time. SECCA displays works by artists from its local area, across the country, and even from other parts of the world.
Unlike many museums, SECCA does not have a permanent collection of art that it owns. Instead, it always features new and changing exhibitions. This means there is always something new to see! Although SECCA started as a private place, it became part of the North Carolina Museum of Art in 2007. This happened under the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Good news for visitors: admission to SECCA is free!
SECCA has been recognized by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) since 1979. This is a big honor, as only about 300 museums in the United States have earned this special recognition. In 2023, the North Carolina government decided to rename SECCA. It is now known as the North Carolina Museum of Art Winston-Salem. The SECCA Foundation, which used to manage the gallery, was also changed. Its money and resources were moved to the NCMA Foundation.
History of SECCA
SECCA first opened its doors in 1956. Back then, it was called the Winston-Salem Gallery of Fine Arts. It was located in Old Salem. A man named James Gordon Hanes, from the well-known Hanes family, loved art and wanted to support the gallery. When he passed away in 1972, he left his beautiful home and its land to the gallery. His home was built in 1929 and looked like an old Romanesque castle.
In 1977, the gallery moved to this new location. It also changed its name to the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, or SECCA. The old home was made even better with new spaces built just for art exhibitions. In 1990, the art center grew even more, adding more room for art and visitors.
A Time of Discussion
In 1989, SECCA became part of a big national discussion. This happened because of an art prize given to a photographer. Some people, including U.S. Senators, questioned the artwork and the prize. They talked about it in the Senate, which is where laws are made. This event caused a lot of debate about art and what is shown in public galleries.
Later, around 2003, SECCA faced some money problems. Because of this, it gave its property and operations to the state of North Carolina. This helped ensure the gallery could continue to operate and share art with the public.
As of 2014, the person in charge of the art shows at SECCA was Cora Fisher. Since 2010, SECCA has shown art by many different artists. These include Tomory Dodge, Jennifer West, Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová, Alison Elizabeth Taylor, Clark Whittington, Mark Jenkins, and Lee Walton.
SECCA's Facilities
SECCA has three main rooms where art exhibitions are held. These rooms offer a large space for displaying many different kinds of art. In total, there are about 8,896 square feet (826 square meters) of exhibition space.
The center also has a large auditorium. This auditorium can seat 294 people. It is often used for talks, performances, and other events related to art. In 2010, the entire complex was reopened after a big renovation. This update was designed by Szostak Design, making the gallery even better for visitors and artists.
