North Carolina Museum of Art – Winston-Salem (formerly SECCA)

⚠️ Important Visitor Notice — 2026 Closure: The NC Museum of Art – Winston-Salem’s primary campus on Marguerite Drive is closed throughout 2026 for major construction improvements. During the closure, the museum operates a new downtown space at 400 West 4th Street, Suite #130, in Winston-Salem — open Wednesday through Sunday with exhibitions, programs, and community events including the inaugural downtown exhibition “Unboxed: Art beyond the Museum” (through August 30, 2026). Check the NCMA Winston-Salem website for current downtown hours, admission, and program schedule. The photos and video below capture our SA visit to the Marguerite Drive campus and Hanes House prior to the 2026 closure.

The NC Museum of Art – Winston-Salem (formerly SECCA) is one of North Carolina’s flagship contemporary art institutions — a Winston-Salem museum with roots reaching back to 1956, when it was founded as the Winston-Salem Gallery of Fine Arts in Old Salem. Following a 1972 estate bequest by Winston-Salem industrialist James G. Hanes, the museum relocated to the 1929 Norman Revival Hanes House on a 32-acre estate along Reynolda Road, where it became known as SECCA (Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art) across nearly five decades of programming.

In 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly officially renamed SECCA as the North Carolina Museum of Art – Winston-Salem — completing a transition process that had begun in 2007, when the museum became an operating entity of the NC Museum of Art under the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Today, NCMA Winston-Salem operates under the tagline “The Art of Now Since 1956” and serves as one of two locations of the NC Museum of Art (alongside the flagship Raleigh campus).

Be sure to check out the YouTube video and pictures below to get a feel for the historic Marguerite Drive campus and Hanes House before you visit the downtown space — or to relive the visit after.

The 1956 Founding and 2023 Renaming — From Winston-Salem Gallery of Fine Arts to NC Museum of Art

NCMA Winston-Salem is one of the more interesting stories of institutional evolution in NC museum history. The museum opened in 1956 as the Winston-Salem Gallery of Fine Arts in Old Salem — a non-profit visual arts organization created in response to a community and regional need for exhibition space devoted to work by area artists. That founding mission — serious exhibition infrastructure for NC contemporary artists — has remained central to the museum’s identity through every subsequent transition.

The museum’s scope expanded to encompass all 11 Southeastern states by 1972, which coincided with the James G. Hanes estate bequest that would eventually give the museum its longtime SECCA name. Following the Hanes bequest, the museum was renamed the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) — reflecting both the regional scope of its programming and its new home in the historic Hanes mansion.

SECCA earned notable institutional recognition across its decades of operation. In 1979, SECCA earned American Alliance of Museums (AAM) accreditation — placing it among only about 300 museums in the United States with that distinction. By 1990, SECCA had expanded its facility with a 24,500-square-foot addition, including the 300-seat McChesney Scott Dunn Auditorium — a major infrastructure upgrade for expanded programming.

In 2007, SECCA became an operating entity of the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) under the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, beginning a 16-year integration with the state museum system. That process culminated in 2023, when the North Carolina General Assembly officially renamed SECCA as the North Carolina Museum of Art – Winston-Salem — with the SECCA Foundation dissolved and its assets transferred to the NCMA Foundation. The renaming gave the museum both an official identity as the Winston-Salem campus of the state’s flagship art museum and a continuity of name with its 1956 origins as the Winston-Salem Gallery of Fine Arts.

Today, NCMA Winston-Salem operates as one of two locations of the North Carolina Museum of Art, alongside the flagship Raleigh campus — creating a “one museum, two locations” identity across the state’s contemporary art programming. Executive Director Bill Carpenter — a former English professor — leads NCMA Winston-Salem’s programming and community engagement.

The 1972 James G. Hanes Estate Bequest and the 1929 Hanes Mansion

The museum’s longtime home on Marguerite Drive is inseparable from James Gordon Hanes Sr. (1886-1972) — Winston-Salem industrialist, civic leader, and one of the most influential figures in Winston-Salem’s 20th-century development. Hanes was born in Winston in 1886, graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1909, and joined his father’s hosiery business — becoming president of Hanes Hosiery in 1917 at age 31. By the mid-1950s, Hanes Hosiery was the largest manufacturer of seamless hosiery in the world.

The Hanes family’s economic legacy in Winston-Salem predates the hosiery business. James G. Hanes Sr.’s father, John Wesley Hanes, and his uncle Pleasant Henderson Hanes Sr. had started the P.H. Hanes Tobacco Company in 1872 — one of the earliest tobacco operations in Winston. In 1900, the Hanes brothers sold their tobacco company to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company — a landmark transaction that helped RJR consolidate its position as Winston-Salem’s dominant tobacco manufacturer. Following that sale, the Hanes brothers pivoted to textiles — starting P.H. Hanes Knitwear and Shamrock Hosiery Mills (which later became Hanes Hosiery Mills). That tobacco-into-textile succession captures a rich thread of Winston-Salem’s industrial history.

Beyond business, James G. Hanes Sr. served extensively in Winston-Salem civic leadership — city alderman (1917-1921), Mayor of Winston-Salem (1921-1925), and Chairman of the Forsyth County Commissioners for 22 years. His son James G. “Gordon” Hanes Jr. carried on the family’s civic engagement — overseeing the 1965 merger of Hanes Hosiery Mills and P.H. Hanes Knitting Company into the Hanes Corporation (now HanesBrands Inc.), and introducing the state legislation that created the UNC School of the Arts in Winston-Salem.

Upon his death in 1972, James G. Hanes Sr. bequeathed to the museum his 32-acre estate and 1929 Norman Revival mansion — with the stipulation that the property be used for “the appreciation of art in a home-like surrounding.” The renovation of the Hanes mansion plus construction of the initial 8,896-square-foot gallery addition was completed in 1976, and the Hanes House officially opened to visitors in 1977.

In 2023, the Hanes House was reimagined with a renewed vision and fresh design — weaving new narratives through diverse perspectives and intimate, communal experiences in the visual, musical, and culinary arts. The historic wood-paneled rooms of the mansion continue to host warm conversations, dinner parties, and late-night gatherings as part of NCMA Winston-Salem’s programming approach.

The Museum Today — Downtown Space, Park Hangs at Bailey Park, and Contemporary Programming

While the primary Marguerite Drive campus is closed throughout 2026 for major construction, NCMA Winston-Salem has considerably expanded its downtown presence. The museum’s new downtown space at 400 West 4th Street opened in the summer of 2026 with the inaugural exhibition “Unboxed: Art beyond the Museum,” bringing together artists who have contributed to the museum’s Portable Gallery program. The downtown space operates Wednesday through Sunday and hosts ongoing programming, including the museum’s monthly Open Studio adults-only art meetup and the newly relocated Vinyl Lounge community record listening series.

Beyond the downtown space, NCMA Winston-Salem’s programming reaches across Winston-Salem’s arts ecosystem. The museum’s Park Hangs outdoor concert series — presented in partnership with Innovation Quarter and featuring drinks from Incendiary Brewing Company at the Bailey Power Plant — brings NC-based musicians to Bailey Park throughout the year, creating a lively cross-institutional partnership across Winston-Salem’s Innovation Quarter cultural corridor.

Additional NCMA Winston-Salem programming includes the popular 2nd Saturday monthly hands-on art activity series, the teen-focused ART/LIT club (in partnership with Forsyth County Public Library), the monthly Field Trip community art excursions to local arts organizations, regular Artist Talks connecting exhibiting artists with the community, and the museum’s Book Club led by Executive Director Bill Carpenter. That programming breadth — combining visual arts exhibitions with music, literature, community education, and cross-institutional partnerships — captures the museum’s community-first identity.

Good to Know

• ⚠️ 2026 Closure notice: The primary museum campus at 750 Marguerite Drive is CLOSED throughout 2026 for major construction improvements. Visitors should not visit the Marguerite Drive campus during the closure.
• Downtown location (currently operating): 400 West 4th Street, Suite #130, Winston-Salem, NC 27101
• Downtown phone: (336) 331-1711
• Primary campus (closed 2026): 750 Marguerite Drive, Winston-Salem, NC 27106; primary phone (336) 725-1904 (for post-reopening reference)
• Museum tagline: “The Art of Now Since 1956”
• Founded: 1956 (as the Winston-Salem Gallery of Fine Arts, in Old Salem)
• Historical name evolution:
• 1956-1972: Winston-Salem Gallery of Fine Arts
• 1972-2023: Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA)
• 2023-present: NC Museum of Art – Winston-Salem (renamed by the North Carolina General Assembly)
• Institutional structure: One of two locations of the North Carolina Museum of Art (alongside the flagship Raleigh location); operating entity of the NC Museum of Art under the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources since 2007
• Executive Director: Bill Carpenter (former English professor)
• American Alliance of Museums accreditation: Held since 1979 (one of about 300 museums nationwide with the distinction)
• Marguerite Drive campus:
• 1929 Hanes House (Norman Revival architecture; bequeathed to the museum by James G. Hanes in 1972)
• 32-acre estate on the Reynolda Road corridor
• 8,896 sq ft original gallery addition (1976)
• 24,500 sq ft expansion (1990), including the 300-seat McChesney Scott Dunn Auditorium
• Hanes House reimagined 2023 with renewed vision and fresh design
• James G. Hanes (1886-1972) biographical: Winston-Salem industrialist and civic leader; president of Hanes Hosiery Mills from 1917; family P.H. Hanes Tobacco Company (1872) sold to RJR in 1900; Winston-Salem Mayor (1921-1925); Forsyth County Commissioners Chairman (22 years); son Gordon Hanes introduced state legislation creating the UNC School of the Arts
• Signature current programming:
• Park Hangs (outdoor concert series at Bailey Park in partnership with Innovation Quarter; drinks from Incendiary Brewing Company at Bailey Power Plant)
• Open Studio (monthly adults-only art meetup)
• 2nd Saturday (monthly hands-on art activity)
• ART/LIT (teen art club with Forsyth County Public Library)
• Vinyl Lounge (community record listening series)
• Field Trip (community art excursions to local arts organizations)
• Artist Talks + Book Club
• Current inaugural downtown exhibition: “Unboxed: Art beyond the Museum” (through August 30, 2026)
• Admission: Free at downtown space (check the NCMA Winston-Salem website for current details); check for future admission structure when the Marguerite Drive campus reopens
• Best for: Contemporary art enthusiasts, NC-specific art community engagement, Hanes House historical architecture enthusiasts (once campus reopens), outdoor concert fans (Park Hangs at Bailey Park), and downtown Winston-Salem cultural programming participants
• Pair with: The full Winston-Salem attractions cluster; a downtown Winston-Salem walking pattern combining the downtown NCMA space with Artivity on the Green, Bailey Park (site of NCMA Park Hangs concerts), the Bailey Power Plant, Mast General Store, and Kaleideum; or the Reynolda Road corridor combining the NCMA Marguerite Drive campus (post-reopening) with the Reynolda House Museum of American Art and Reynolda Gardens

A Winston-Salem Highlight

Few Winston-Salem attractions layer as many historical threads as NCMA Winston-Salem. The museum’s own evolution — from 1956 Winston-Salem Gallery of Fine Arts to SECCA to the 2023-renamed NC Museum of Art – Winston-Salem — captures seven decades of institutional growth. Add in the 1979 American Alliance of Museums accreditation (one of only about 300 US museums with that distinction) and the museum’s role as one of two locations of the flagship NC Museum of Art system, and the institutional story alone justifies the visit.

The James G. Hanes family legacy considerably deepens the appeal. The 1929 Norman Revival Hanes House at the Marguerite Drive campus was the country home of a Winston-Salem industrialist whose family sold P.H. Hanes Tobacco Company to R.J. Reynolds in 1900, then built Hanes Hosiery Mills into the world’s largest seamless hosiery manufacturer by the mid-1950s. Add Gordon Hanes’s state legislation creating the UNC School of the Arts and three generations of Winston-Salem mayoral and county leadership, and the Hanes family occupies a wonderful place in the city’s 20th-century industrial and civic history.

For 2026, the downtown space at 400 West 4th Street carries the museum’s programming forward during the Marguerite Drive construction closure. The inaugural “Unboxed: Art beyond the Museum” exhibition (through August 30, 2026), the monthly Open Studio adults-only art meetup, the newly relocated Vinyl Lounge record listening series, and the Park Hangs outdoor concert series at Bailey Park (in partnership with Innovation Quarter, featuring drinks from Incendiary Brewing Company at Bailey Power Plant) all keep NCMA Winston-Salem lively across the Forsyth County arts calendar throughout the closure period.

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Resources

NCMA – Winston-Salem Website

NCMA – Winston-Salem Facebook

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Social Media

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