Could Winston support a downtown museum/art gallery?

One thing I enjoyed living in the many cities I have had in my life is the ability to go to a museum to satisfy my intellectual curiosity. Whether it is the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto ON or the Frankfurt Art Gallery, or the Cummer Art Gallery in Jacksonville FL, I appreciate going to the museum or art gallery and lose myself amongst the exhibits for hours on end.

Winston is not without its own museums and galleries like the SECCA on Reynolda Rd, the Horton Museum and the Children’s Museum in Old Salem but I wonder if Winston can support a grander museum dedicated to some special theme like Natural History or Science or a speciality Art Gallery. I remember going to Reynolda House and in conversation with the curator was told that much of the American Art collection that is part of the Reynolds collection is in storage or on loan to various other galleries or museums because the Reynolda House had no room to display it all.

A museum does not have to be high brow as witness by the success of the Winston Cup museum dedicated to NASCAR racing on Martin Luther King Drive. There are far too many museums in various cities that are merely mausoleums in their downtown areas because of a poor understanding of what brings people to them.

But Winston needs to draw people downtown and one sure way of doing it is providing entertainment attractions and that is what a museum or an art gallery essentially does. Along with the traditional role of conveying culture and knowledge, it is also a way for us to entertain ourselves.

So what would work downtown and what scale? In my opinion, an art gallery located in the Arts District in a revitalised building on Liberty or Trade dedicated to early American Art with contributions from the Reynolds collection will be a good start. Another is the SciWorks currently located on University and relocated downtown as the core of an Interactive Science Museum that collaborates with the school district in providing knowledge to school age children.

It does not have to be an elaborate setting or housed in a building that seeks out international recognition. It should not massive endowments or a world -renown curator to run it. But it should be known to everyone locally and be a source of pride for the community for Winston-Salem.