Chink, queen, ape, yankee, trash, banana, redneck, oreo — not words you typically see posted in a museum in Uptown Charlotte. But these and other nouns and adjectives are part of the Levine Museum’s Changing Places: From Black and White to Technicolor®, a year-long exhibit that explores cultural traditions and stereotypes.

At Changing Places, you are challenged to imagine changing places with someone different from you.  Written questions posed throughout the exhibit force you to consider how you see others and how others might see you: “Who judges you without knowing you?” “Who do you judge?”  “When does us and them begin?”

The exhibit is educational and interactive. Visitor's are invited to watch videos, record your own story, try on a saree and smell spices in an Indian makeshift kitchen, among other things.  What I like most about the exhibit is that is forces introspection. As an immigrant, I found myself emotional and nostalgic as I wandered through.

The Hindu altar with a colorful Ganesh Krishna, Parvati, prayer vessels and incense on display reminded me of the lavish altars my grandmother builds. I keep an altar in my home, although the deities are Catholic: La Virgen de San Juan de Los Lagos and La Virgen de Guadalupe.

Walking through the Mexican grocery store — another feature of the exhibit — with festive papel picado hanging from the ceiling, Norteño music blaring from speakers and a quinceañera cake displayed in the case really took me home. I’m from the northern part of Mexico and growing up, my siblings and I heard some Mexican pop and ballads but lots of Norteño. The cake reminded me of my oldest sister’s quinceañera , a celebration of a girl turning fifteen. Parents consider it an honor to be able to throw such a celebration.

And as I listened to an Indian girl in a video discuss her struggle with fitting in here in America , wondering if she’s  Indian or American, I also felt a connection.

I’m a Texan. I’m a Mexican. And I’m an American. But I’ve traveled a lot and each place I’ve visited has also shaped me. Interestingly, Mexicans often tell me I’m not Mexican because I grew up in the United States.  “You’re not really Mexican” or “You’re not Mexican anymore.”  At what point did I stop being Mexican?

We all judge. We all separate ourselves from others. Changing Places forces you to ask yourself just how often you do so.

Note: Changing Places will be on exhibit at the Levine Museum of the New South through Feb. 28, 2010.

Read the press release below for information on the Charlotte Symphony's next music director, Christopher Warren-Green.

The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO) announced today the appointment of Christopher Warren-Green as its next Music Director. Mr. Warren-Green begins his tenure in September 2010 and succeeds Christof Perick, who has served as Music Director since 2001.

Over the course of the past two seasons, the Charlotte Symphony evaluated eight Music Director candidates. A search committee, led by CSO Board member Andrew Adair, began deliberations in February following the final candidate’s visit.

“The Charlotte Symphony is thrilled that our two-year search has culminated in the appointment of Christopher Warren-Green as our next Music Director,” says Executive Director Jonathan Martin. “Christopher's extraordinary musicianship, combined with his grace and charm, has already inspired the Charlotte Symphony family and our city. We look forward to a close partnership with him as we work together to build a stronger, more resilient orchestra for a growing Charlotte.”

A native of Gloucestershire, UK, Christopher Warren-Green has held the position of Music Director of the London Chamber Orchestra since 1988. In 2004 he succeeded Sir Neville Marriner as Principal Conductor of the Camerata Resident Orchestra of the Megaron Athens. From 1998 to 2005 he was Chief Conductor of the Nordic Chamber Orchestra, and from 1998 to 2001 was Chief Conductor of the Joenkoeping Sinfonietta. He has conducted orchestras in the United Kingdom, the United States, Europe, Central America, Asia, and Australia.

As the final weeks for Mint Museum of Arts' Masterworks from the New Orleans Museum of Art approach, be sure you make your way to check out the exhibition, which features works by giants in the art world like Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Jackson Pollock and more. The Young Affiliates of the Mint will also host a New Orleans-themed party on the exhibition's closing weekend. See the press release below for more details.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 28, 2009) – Experience works by some of the world’s greatest artists in Masterworks from the New Orleans Museum of Art, now in its final weeks at the Mint Museum of Art. The national traveling exhibition, featuring European and American masterpieces from the late 17th through the mid-20th centuries, closes June 21, 2009.

When the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the New Orleans Museum of Art building and adjacent sculpture garden sustained more than $6 million in damage. The museum organized Masterworks from the New Orleans Museum of Art to benefit its Katrina Recovery Fund. Particularly rich in French and American art, the exhibition includes paintings and sculptures by some of the world’s greatest artists, including Cezanne, Degas, Miro, Monet, O’Keeffe, Picasso, Pollock, Renoir and Rodin.

To coincide with the exhibition’s closing weekend, the Young Affiliates of the Mint will host Big Easy on the Lawn, an outdoor party on the Mint’s front lawn featuring live entertainment, New Orleans-inspired fare, exhibition tours and souvenirs for sale. The event will take place Friday, June 19 from 6:00-9:00 p.m. at the Mint Museum of Art. Tickets are available in advance at www.youngaffiliates.org or at the door for $20/member or $30/non-member.