New York-based artist Summer Wheat’s Foragers is a monumental piece of public artwork spanning four stories and 3,720 square feet at Mint Museum. Established in 1936 as North Carolina’s first art museum, The Mint Museum is a leading, innovative cultural institution and museum of international art and design.

A myriad of vibrant panels giving the illusion of stained glass fill the atrium’s 96 windows and weave a story of the people and workforce that have made Charlotte a thriving metropolis. The magnitude and brilliance of Foragers turns the typical museum experience on its head and creates a transcendent space of contemplation and beauty at a time when a weary public craves an escape—and a spacious, social-distancing-friendly one at that. Summer Wheat’s installation was commissioned by The Mint Museum. The installation and purchase of Foragers was funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation Women Artists Fund, which aims to address and rebalance gender representation in museum collections. “Foragers presents a tradition in which women were the original hunters, technologists, and artists,” says Wheat. “This array of women connected by geometric patterns echoes the psychological space of women supporting each other. They are marching together connecting to creatures from land and water, demonstrating their inherent link to natural elements and to the intricate depths of the unconscious.”

Foragers will be on view when The Mint Museum re-opens to the public Sept. 25 and will remain on view through Sept. 6, 2022.

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