EXHIBITIONS
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS¬
Hugo McCloud, Take a Seat, 2020. Single use plastic mounted on panel. © Hugo McCloud. Photo by Jason Wyche, New York. Courtesy of Sean Kelly. Collection of Meredith and Brother Rutter.
Collector's Edition
Collector's Edition offers a multidimensional look at the art of collecting, featuring works from locally, nationally, and globally celebrated artists. Visit today to explore over 70 artworks—including paintings, sculptures, prints, video, and mixed media—drawn from the private collections of some of the region's most passionate art collectors.
JULY 7–DECEMBER 31, 2023
Brittany Johnson, Tickle Me Link, 2023. Scratchboard. Courtesy of the artist
Open (C)all 2023 Curious Collections
COMMUNITY GALLERY
CALL FOR ARTWORK SUBMISSIONS
People collect all kinds of things for many reasons. Some people collect to fulfill practical needs or as a hobby, while others collect to satisfy an emotional desire or to create a sense of identity.
Virginia MOCA invites Hampton Roads artists of all ages to participate in our upcoming exhibition Open (C)all 2023: Curious Collections. The exhibition will be displayed in conjunction with Virginia MOCA’s main gallery exhibition Collector’s Edition.
What do you collect? Accepted submissions will be displayed in our Community Gallery.
JULY 7–DECEMBER 31, 2023
Tiny Treasures, ARTlab Photo Booth Mural by Tessa Hall Duquette
ARTlab Summer & Fall 2023
ARTlab is our interactive space for all ages located off of our main galleries. Explore the main themes and ideas found in our exhibition Collector's Edition through making, sharing, and personal connections.
JULY 7–DECEMBER 31, 2023
Dale Chihuly, Mille Colori, 2003. Blown glass. Photo by Echard Wheeler.
Mille Colori by Dale Chihuly
RODRIGUEZ PAVILION
Translating to “1,000 Colors,” Mille Colori certainly lives up to its name. This breathtaking 14-foot glass sculpture by renowned artist, Dale Chihuly, is made up of 520 separate blown-glass pieces and hangs as a permanent fixture in our sunlit Rodriguez Pavilion, which was built specifically to showcase the modern masterwork. As our only permanent work of art on view, Mille Colori can be experienced year-round and has been seen by thousands of visitors throughout the years.
Carlton S. Abbott, Boardwalk Art Show Poster 2012.
On Paper: A Boardwalk Art Show Poster Retrospective
SATELLITE GALLERY (OFF-SITE)
Virginia MOCA is proud to celebrate the history of the Boardwalk Art Show with a special poster show. Featuring a selection of posters from the show's early years along with original artwork and photographs, the display demonstrates the show’s evolving style and the special place it holds in the cultural community of Virginia Beach. Together, the images are a slice of local history that reflects and celebrates the place we call home.
AUGUST 21–NOVEMBER 11, 2023
Photo by Fresh Look Photography.
Prisms Art Camp Exhibition 2023
FLEMING GALLERY
Every summer, Virginia MOCA hosts camps for children and teens ages 2–17. Art campers exercise their imaginations through classes designed to challenge and inspire. At the end of each camp week, students are asked to select an artwork to include in the Prisms: Art Camp Exhibition that demonstrates their creative achievements. On view in the Fleming Gallery, this exhibition is a celebration of a fun-filled, imaginative, and educational summer in the studios.
AUGUST 26–NOVEMBER 12, 2023
UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS¬
Alexis Rockman, Departure, 2018. Oil on Dibond aluminum composite sheet. 44 x 56 in. Barbara and Jonathan Lee, Courtesy the artist and American Federation of Arts. Photo by Adam Reich
Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature's Underworld
MAIN GALLERY
Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature’s Underworld unites over 30 sculptures and paintings by two renowned artists who have explored humanity’s strained relationship with the environment for over 30 years.
FEBRUARY 9–JUNE 9, 2024
Spencer Tinkham, detail of Garrulus Glandarius (Eurasian Jay), 2023. Basswood and oils. Courtesy of the Artist
Spencer TInkham: Witness
COMMUNITY GALLERY
Artist Spencer Tinkham creates sculptures of birds that are inspired by his love of nature and art. He has traveled across the country to research specimens found in natural history museums, piecing together the stories of these tiny witnesses to the big things happening on our planet.
FEBRUARY 9–JUNE 9, 2024
PAST EXHIBITIONS¬
2023
- Kara Walker: Cut to the Quick From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation
- LaToya M. Hobbs: Flourish
- Atrium Artists in Residence: Amber Pierce, Poetry Jackson, Nadd Harvin
- ARTlab Spring 2023
- Youth Art Month 2023
- Hampton Roads Student Gallery Honorees 2023
- In the Abstract
- Visual & Performing Arts Academy Juried Art Show 2023
- Teaching Artist Exhibition 2023
- Studio Work Studio Programs Teaching Artists 2023
2022
- Hampton Roads Student Gallery Honorees
- Youth Art Month
- Maya Lin: A STUDY OF WATER
- Open (C)all 2022: What is Missing?
- Visual and Performing Arts Academy Juried Art Show
- Teaching Artists Exhibition 2022
- SITES UNSEEN: A Collaborative Environmental Sculpture Project
- Atrium Artists in Residence
- Made in VA 2022
- More Than Shelter
- ARTlab Fall & Winter 2022
- Brian Kreydatus: Homebodies
- The Art of the ViBe 3
- Prisms Art Camp Exhibition 2022
- Living Apart: Geography of Segregation in the 21st Century
2021
- Open (C)all 2021: Food & Memory
- American Appetite: Selections from the Chrysler Museum of Art
- Real Food Films
- Nourish
- Summer of Women
- SHE SAYS: Women, Words and Power
- Amplify
- Lauren Keim: Everyday Magic
- First Course
- Made in VA 2021
- Agnes Grochulska: Archetypes
- Shaping Memories: Expressions in Clay
- Emergence: Teen Juried Exhibition
- Selected Works from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2013
EXHIBITIONS¬
WE ARE WHAT WE CURATE
If you’re looking for inspiration from the artists of today, or just something fun to do in Virginia Beach, you’ve come to the right place. As a non-collecting contemporary art museum, our gallery spaces have ever-changing exhibitions. That means every few months, we introduce new, exceptional art for you to see, experience, and celebrate. Check out what is on view now, coming next, and what we’ve shown before.
Admission is free! Tickets can be reserved in advance at the link below.