Countdown to Nasher's debut

Just over one month remains before the much-heralded Nasher Museum of Art is scheduled to throw open its doors in a fanfare of events, including a live sculpting by Chapel Hill sculptor Patrick Dougherty.

The Oct. 2 opening ceremony will mark the end of almost three years of construction—$23 million spent in an attempt to replace what had become a limiting and outdated structure, the university’s Museum of Modern Art. The new campus complex—located at the corner of Anderson St. and Duke University Road—has over 65,000 square feet allotted for gallery space, a Mediterranean cafe perched over the sculpture garden, a museum specialty shop and a variety of education-related venues.

Important to museum coordinators and university leaders alike is the plurality of functions Nasher will serve. Not only intended to display both permanent and visiting exhibitions, Nasher will also house arts-related lectures, film series, musical events and other performances.

And though construction was completed in mid January, the museum is still putting the finishing touches both inside and out before its opening. While coordinators are looking to fill associate curator slots with trained professionals, other employment opportunities—from part-time gallery guards to docents to visitor desk personell—have been extended to undergraduates and graduate students alike.