Cameron Art Museum located in Wilmington, North Carolina occupies a 42,000 square foot facility designed in 2002 by the renowned architectural firm of Gwathmey Siegel & Associates (NYC). The museum is sited on 9.3 acre Pyramid Park, features long-leaf pine woodlands, outdoor sculptures, nature trails, an historic Civil War site and Clay Studio housed in the Pancoe Art Education Center. The main museum building includes two exhibition areas, the Weyerhaeuser lecture and reception hall, a full service museum café known as CAM Cafe, museum gift shop and free parking.
Cameron Art Museum was formerly named St. John’s Museum of Art, operating 1962-2001 in a cluster of historic buildings located in downtown Wilmington. In the mid-1990’s, St. John’s Museum was in need of better environmental conditions and expanded space.
In 1997, the Museum trustees launched a capital campaign and began a search for the new building site. After exhausting efforts to secure appropriate property in the downtown area, the newly-named Cameron Art Museum opened at the intersection of south 17th and Independence Streets, conveniently located between the downtown and beach communities.
Cameron Art Museum is a cultural gathering place committed to arts education. The museum presents exhibitions and public programs of both historical and contemporary significance, with 6-8 changing exhibitions annually, in addition to outdoor, site-specific projects on its park property.
The museum also presents lively, ongoing family and childrens programs each month; Alzheimers “Connections” tours for patients and their caretakers; ongoing interdisciplinary public programs (lectures, music, films, literature, dance); adult and youth art education and healthy living classes at The Museum School and workshops, classes and demonstrations in ceramic arts at the Clay Studio, overseen by resident master artist Hiroshi Sueyoshi.
The Museums permanent collection of fine arts, crafts and design includes work by artists of national and international significance, including works by North Carolina artists. Selected works from the permanent collection are exhibited periodically in thematic exhibitions. The Museum’s collection includes many vulnerable works on paper, and is therefore not kept on view permanently given conservation concerns of sustained damage from prolonged exposure to light.