HMA Member Spotlight: Brian and Colleen Hargreaves
Written By: Kate Garvey
Stopping along the Blue Ridge Little Lost Cove trail to enjoy the view.
Brian and Colleen’s joint love of art spans decades and countries, starting in Canada in the city of Saskatoon, where they both grew up and met each other. They have always enjoyed visiting galleries and museums, beginning with Mendle Art Gallery, which housed a permanent collection with more than 7,500 works of art. Mendle Art Gallery closed in 2015 and its permanent collection was transferred to the Remai Modern, which opened its doors in 2017. Brian and Colleen shared this passion for art with their two girls, visiting many galleries and museums throughout Europe during their time living in Chester, England, and were particularly fond of the Lady Lever Gallery, which is about the same size as Hickory Museum of Art. In 2003 the Hargreaves family moved to Hickory, NC for Brian’s job as an engineer and have been settled in the area ever since. The family had always enjoyed the exhibits and became more involved with the Hickory Museum of Art community in 2017 when Brian joined the Board of Trustees. Their two daughters live with their families back in Canada, in Montreal and Grand Prairie, and Brian and Colleen enjoy taking road trips each summer to visit them and in particular, their young grandson, William.
Colleen captures nature in mixed media.
Colleen works in many different media and the leaf is a good example of her work. Clay and glazes, wood, wire, paint, and stone. The leaf is an imprint of an actual leaf.
In addition to their passion for travel and admiring other works of art, both Colleen and Brian are artists in their own rights. Brian is passionate about photography, using Colleen in many of his photographs as a muse and model, as well as an accomplished musician, singing and playing the guitar. Most recently he has been using his engineering skills to construct and outfit a “tiny home” in a van for their exciting cross-country travels. Colleen is a creative to the core, trying her hand at many different mediums and expressive outlets, including but not limited to, pottery, creative dance, tai chi, and re-evaluation counseling. They both love to hike and spend time outdoors and eat incredible food, mostly cooked at home by Brian. When they do venture out to in eat in Hickory, which has not been often due to COVID-19, they enjoy going to Tasteful Beans for their healthy menu, and nice atmosphere which includes their obvious support of the arts. Their travels have taken the family across the world, but their favorite places they have visited were Crete, Greece and the Alhambra in Grenada, Spain. They would still like to travel to the Fjord’s in Norway, where Colleen’s ancestors are from.
Brian and Colleen value their membership for several reasons, but especially because they have access to other museums and that by being a member they are able to support the museum and the community that it provides. Colleen also appreciates the discount for classes, and at the moment, this means Tai Chi every Wednesday! Brian spoke about the advantages of their membership and said, “you get information about what is happening at the museum, and you are much more aware of what is happening in the community by receiving the newsletter and calendar.” Along with this, they both mentioned that it is beneficial to have early access to programs and ticketed events. Their favorite workshop they have done together is last year’s “Perfect Pair.” This program was done around Valentine’s Day and allowed couples to paint separate paintings that fit together to create one painting at the end.
Colleen’s favorite exhibition to date has been our recent “The Improvisational Quilts of Susan Allen Hunter.” She explained that the reason this has been one of her favorites is mainly because of attending a tour our Executive Director, Jon Carfagno, gave and the extensive information she learned because of this tour. Brian and Colleen mentioned that the tour was even enjoyable and exciting for a bunch of engineers that they invited, who were very new to this show and did not know what to expect. They both enjoyed getting to bring their friends to the museum and connect over a reception following the tour. This exhibition is significant for Colleen because she has done quilting and she greatly respects Susan Allen Hunter’s resourcefulness and ingenuity when it comes to her quilts. Brian felt a connection and enjoyed photographer, Steve McCurry’s show at Hickory Museum of Art. It was especially influential for Brian to hear Steve McCurry talk about the show, his process, and his work.
Examining one of the many quilts on view in HMA’s 2021/22 exhibition, The Improvisational Quilts of Susana Allen Hunter.
Brian serves as a student field trip docent for HMA’s 2015 exhibition, Unexpected Beauty: Views from the Lens of Steve McCurry.
Brian gets creative with kitchen items.
“The "ring of fire" is an example of my photography. The ring of fire was created by stuffing steel wool into a kitchen whisk, attaching it to a dog leash, lighting it on fire and then spinning it with a long exposure on the camera while trying not to move under the shower of hot sparks”. -Brian
Colleen reflecting at Crater Lake near Aspen, Colorado
“We love to travel and I do photography along the way. I often enlist her help in adding perspective to the image. The glassy lake photo is of Crater Lake is near Aspen Colorado, Colleen is standing in the bottom right of the image. The Yellow Canola field (Below) is in Northern Canada and Colleen is standing on the road.” -Brian
Colleen checking a Canola field in Northern Canada.
Overall, Brian believes that Hickory Museum of Art is “a community treasure that brings outside experiences and opportunities to expand one’s views.” Colleen added that the museum provides “so much to learn and exposure to so many worldly ideas and programs.” They also mentioned Hickory Museum of Art’s ability to be an employer and connector in the community and that it is an asset beyond the art. We at HMA feel incredibly lucky to gain inspiration and have such involved and creative members such as Brian and Colleen!