WEDNESDAY
Parallel Visions
Free Range Brewing Company, 2320 North Davidson Street
7:30 p.m.
$10-$15
THURSDAY
Screening of Fully Awake: Black Mountain College
Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, 420 South Tryon Street
6 p.m.
$10 for the public, $8 for museum members, $5 for Students with ID. Tickets.

Carlos Estevez
Reception for Carlos Estevez: Soulcatcher
LACA Projects, 1429 Bryant Street
6-9 p.m.
FREE
Carlos Estévez begins his residency at the McColl Center today and will work until May to “to create a metaphor between the earth and the sky, and matter and the spirit.” His exhibition at LACA projects opens simultaneously, and they will show work that “explores the complex relationship man and universe, and reflects his lifelong passion for creating art with a philosophical profile.”
Bonus: Just last week it was announces that Carlos Estévez won the prestigious Joan Mitchell Foundation grant in Painting and Sculpture.
Openings Receptions for Russ Warren and Clint Sleeper
Davidson College Art Galleries, 315 North Main Street, Davidson
6-8 p.m.
FREE
Davidson College Art Galleries will present two solo exhibitions simultaneously in their facilities. Russ Warren: Works 1971-2015 will take place in the Van Every Gallery, showcasing more than 40 years of paintings by the former Davidson faculty member and curated by Les Yeux du Monde Gallery in Charlottesville, VA. The Smith Gallery will feature Clint Sleeper: any percentage of a premonition or nearer the end. From Davidson: “Sleeper is a media artist, performer, and maker, whose work humorously ponders an end to capitalism and seriously considers alternative possibilities for picking up the pieces and moving forward.”
Charlotte Art Social with Culture Initiative
Haylo Healing Arts Lounge, 1111 Central Avenue
6:30 – 9:30
This creative gathering has no agenda, just like minded artists enjoying great conversation. See you next month, y’all #charlotte #cltart #cltbeer
Skyline Visiting Artist Showcase – Tyler Baum
Goodyear Building, 100 East Stonewall Street
8-11 p.m.
FREE
Tyler Baum has ties to Charlotte through music; he is a former member of Sea of Cortez, Great Architect, and Pyramid. At this showcase, a selection of films, music and animation he has created since 1991 will be on view. Tyler promises to “tell fascinating anecdotes about stuff, play a few songs, and answer your questions about whatever you want to ask.”
FRIDAY

Still from Peter Hutton’s New York Portraits: Chapter I (1979)
Screening of Peter Hutton films
Storrs Gallery, UNC CHarlotte University Campus
5:30 – 7:30
FREE
For the opening reception of his exhibition, acclaimed experimental filmmaker Peter Hutton will speak on the three films that will remain on view through April 20 in the gallery: New York Portraits: Chapter I (1979), Chapter II (1981) and Chapter III (1990). This 180 degree film installation explores the same city in three different times. Hutton is known primarily for his cinematic portraits of cities and in 2008 was awarded a full retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Peter Hutton will be present for a second screening of a selection of four different films at the UNC Charlotte Center City Campus on Saturday, January 16 from 6-8 p.m.
HOME COMINGS AND GOINGS – Opening Reception and Performance
C3 Lab, 2525 Distribution Street
7-11 p.m.
FREE
Minneapolis-based artist Preston Drum returns to his native Charlotte to create a site specific installation that will serve as a backdrop to an evening of varied music and physical performance. Schedule is as follows:
7:30 – 7:50 – Zodiac Lovers (Casey Malone and Co.)
8:05 – 8:25 – Del Rio – the band (hard pop-rock)
8:40 – 9:00 -Suit City (harder pop-rock)
9:15 – 9:35 – Robert Childers and guests (hardcore country)
9:50 – 10:10 – Bo White (Bo White is composing original music for this set, a CD of this music will be available the night of the opening)
10:25 – 10:45 – Brent Bagwell and guests (variations on Jazz standards)
Bechtler By Night
Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, 420 South Tryon Street
5-9 p.m.
FREE
The Bechtler Museum begins its Bechtler By Night program this weekend. Sponsored by Bank of America, this monthly event allows visitors to enjoy the galleries for free from 5-9 p.m. on the third Friday of the month. Visitors will enjoy complimentary tours of Sam Francis: Rapid, Fluid, Indivisible Vision, on view through March 7.
Note: on December 23, 2015, we wrote about why we think the Bechtler should not have an independent “free night” and should instead partner with the Mint Museum’s already established program, which happens from 5-9 every Wednesday. Read what we said below, and join us in supporting a future Wednesday Art Night at the Levine Center for the Arts!
Our wish is for “Wednesday Art Night.” A few months ago, we were pleased to hear about Levine Center for the Arts’ new collaborations planned between the Mint Museum, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art and Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture. We’d love to see one simple move: The Bechtler and Gantt offering free “evening hours” Wednesdays, coinciding with the Mint’s. (Currently, the Bechtler plans to start #BechtlerByNight Jan.15, with free admission every third Friday evening, while the Gantt has no free evening hours.) If all three of our major art museums uptown were open on the same night, with no special programming, we believe there’d be widespread benefits. We’re willing to bet the New Gallery of Modern Art would jump on board, and maybe some restaurants and bars would offer specials to those who present museum tickets. Get the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority on board and all of a sudden you have yourself a little event – and we can only imagine how it could grow when Childress Klein’s museum apartments (2016) and Crescent Communities’ Tryon Place development (2017) are open!