LIFELINE: 10 COOL THINGS TO DO IN TWO WEEKS

‘SUZANNE HOSCHEDÉ-MONET SEWING’ Artwork by John Leslie Breck

12/15

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‘MARS 1001’

There’s less than a month to check out Discovery Place’s out of this world exhibit When We Went to the Moon. If you haven’t visited yet, this 30-minute science ction lm tie-in is that extra something that should get you through the door. The plot sounds like an update on serious 1950s sci- icks like Destination Moon that tried to spotlight scienti c discoveries: “Space reporter Miles O’Brien guides you through the rst human mission to Mars — a daring 1,000-day mission to y an international crew to the red planet and return them safely to Earth.” More: $15 and up; ongoing, Saturdays & Sundays, times vary; Discovery Place Science, 301 N. Tryon St.; science.discoveryplace.org

VINCENT VAN GOGH SELF PORTRAIT Artwork by Vincent Van Gogh

12/16

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JOHN LESLIE BRECK CURATOR-LED TOUR

As part of the Mint’s Free Wednesday Evenings, Jonathan Stuhlman, PhD, senior curator of American art at The Mint Museum, leads tours of the museum’s current running exhibit, John Leslie Breck: American Impressionist. Born at sea o Hong Kong’s coast in 1860, the son of a naval o cer, Breck studied in Munich and Paris, then traveled to Giverny, France where he befriended impressionist master Claude Monet. Learning and adopting the style and techniques of his new friend, Breck introduced impressionism to the U.S. with a show in Boston in 1890. More: Free; Dec. 15, members tour 2 p.m., public tour 6:30 p.m.; Mint Museum Uptown, 500 S. Tryon St.; mintmuseum.org

ART BREAK

This December iteration of the Gantt Center’s monthly guided 30-minute tour series is titled Landscapes: Places and Spaces. The subject is explored in relation to the Gantt Center’s current exhibition, Visual Vanguard: An Exhibition of Contemporary Black Carolina Artists. The exhibit, in turn, examines 25 artists who create in a variety of vibrant and versatile media, which survey the struggles, strengths and celebrations of Black creativity in the Carolinas through visual art, performance, video and poetry. By examining the ambiguity within each variation, each artist ampli es the ideals of racial pride, social power and identity. More: Free; Dec. 16, Noon; Gantt Center, 551 S. Tryon St.; ganttcenter.org

RAP VAN GOGH

Rap and Vincent Van Gogh may seem strange bedfellows, but consider that the proli c postimpressionist — who created most of his masterworks in the last two years of his life — has already been the subject this year of Detroit rapper ZelooperZ’s stylistically slippery Van Gogh’s Left Ear, which draws on the tortured Dutch master’s chaotic energy. Rap Van Gogh’s unique hip-hop experience doesn’t include ZelooperZ, but instead blends art, bars and music into an engaging event inside the Immersive Van Gogh Charlotte space, where the audience gets to choose the winner of a battle-like lyrical contest. More: $15; Dec. 16, 8 p.m.; Ford Building, Camp North End, 300 Camp Road; blumenthalarts.org

VAPA CENTER HOLIDAY SOCIAL EXTRAVAGANZA

This open house is hosted by a cooperative of diverse artists including BLKMRKTCLT, Jazz Arts Charlotte, McColl Center and more working with Mecklenburg County to transform an underutilized county building, the former Hal Marshall Center, into the Visual and Performing Arts Center. Their plans are that the VAPA Center will eventually be a mecca for arts and live entertainment in downtown Charlotte, featuring galleries, multiple theaters, rehearsal space, practice space, and art studios for individual artists. More than 120 artists are already in residence at VAPA. More: Free; Dec. 17, 6 p.m.; VAPA Center, 700 N. Tryon St.; vapacenter.com