The North Carolina Pottery Center celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Mint Museum as an art institution with a special exhibition, "A Thriving Tradition: 75 Years of Collecting North Carolina Pottery."

In this exhibition, which opens Friday, Nov. 11, with a reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., the Mint acknowledges the vital role of collectors, past and present, in making its North Carolina pottery collection one of the largest and most important in the country. The exhibition includes both ceramics from the museum's permanent collection and exceptional loans from local collectors. The objects were carefully selected to represent all the major pottery centers of the state.

The Piedmont, Catawba Valley and the mountains are represented, as are most of the state's family dynasties of potters, such as the Coles, the Cravens, the Owens and the Reinhardts. More than 75 examples by some of the great potters of the past, including Burlon Craig and Oscar Bachelder, will be on view, as will be wares by some of the most exciting ceramic artists working in North Carolina today.

Exhibitions are made possible through the generosity of the membership, the Mary and Elliott Wood Foundation, the John Wesley and Anna Hodgin Hanes Foundation, and the Goodnight Educational Foundation. This project was supported by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The exhibit will continue through Jan. 28.

The mission of the North Carolina Pottery Center is to promote public awareness of and appreciation for the history, heritage and ongoing tradition of pottery making in North Carolina.

The center is located at 233 East Ave. in Seagrove. Hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information, call (336) 873-8430 or go to www.ncpotterycenter.org.