Made in VA Biennial 2026¬

September 11, 2026-March 21, 2027

Since 1994, Virginia MOCA has celebrated the extraordinary talent of artists living and working across the Commonwealth through this juried exhibition. What began as an annual tradition has grown into one of the Museum’s most anticipated and defining programs.

Now presented in Virginia MOCA’s new purpose-built home, the Made in VA Biennial enters its next chapter. As a biennial exhibition, it features work created within the past two years and reflects the breadth, rigor, and vitality of contemporary art in Virginia today.

Every other year, the Museum dedicates significant gallery space to this exhibition, offering artists an opportunity to present their work within a dynamic institutional context. The biennial format allows for expanded visibility, meaningful professional recognition and opportunities, and a platform that connects artists to broader audiences.

Made in VA remains grounded in its original purpose: to support and elevate artists across the Commonwealth. In this new building and at this pivotal moment in the Museum’s history, the exhibition continues to reflect our commitment to fostering creativity, dialogue, and community through contemporary art.

All eligible Virginia artists were invited to submit work and be part of this ongoing story.

This year, Made in VA received an unprecedented number of applications and reached out submission capacity for the first time in the exhibition’s history. The jury process was incredibly competitive, and these are the artists whose work stood out among an exceptionally strong group of submissions from artists across the Commonwealth.

ACCEPTED ARTISTS:

kelli rae adams, Danville
Megan Angolia, Chesterfield
Elissa Armstrong, North Chesterfield
Abol Bahadori, Annandale
Seth Bauserman, Richmond
Raydel Blanco, Alexandria
Ethan Brown, King William
Mindy Brown, Alexandria
Alexandra Chiou, Arlington
Carla Cioffi, Alexandria
Roderick Coles, Charlottesville
Kaitlyn Compton, Norfolk
Angelica Credle, Aldie
Federico Cuatlacuatl, Charlottesville
Jacob Daroca-Kincheloe, Richmond
Catherine Day, McLean
Alezendria Decking, Richmond
Diabou, Richmond
Hannah Diomataris, Richmond
James Dylan, Gloucester
Rowena Federico Finn, Virginia Beach
Lorraine Fink, Norfolk
Eva Foldy, Richmond
Christopher Garcia, Virginia Beach
Jayne Gaskins, Reston
Lakshmikant Gupta, Herndon
Marcia Haffmans, Richmond
Samantha H.E. Hand, Chesapeake
Devin Harclerode, Richmond
Andy Harris, Virginia Beach
Jennifer Hayes, Oakton
Mary Anne Hensley, Richmond
A.D. Herzel, Blue Ridge
Melissa Hill, Virginia Beach
Kevin Hopkins, Richmond
Nathan Hosmer Nevarez, Richmond
Trang Huynh, Richmond
Roberto Jamora, Richmond
Ray Johnson, Norfolk
Jill Kerttula, Charlottesville
Julia Kwon, Woodbridge
Jake Lahah, Richmond
Dominick Marcigliano, Virginia Beach
Jordan Marty, Richmond
Feixue Mei, Harrisonburg
Harrison Moenich, Richmond
Casey Murano, Roanoke
Lydia Mutone, Richmond
Andrew Norris, Richmond
Kareem Obey, Richmond
Nicole O’Connor, Staunton
Sung Eun Park, Radford
Braden Perryman, Blacksburg
Amelia Rafle, Richmond
Michael Royce, Richmond
Nicole Santiago, Williamsburg
Sharon Shapiro, Charlottesville
Zara Fina Stasi, Richmond
aaron (Thompson), Midlothian
Kat Thompson, Centreville
Gene VanWyk, Harrisonburg
Luis Vasquez, Richmond
Justin White, Chesapeake
Priscilla Whitlock, Charlottesville
Tracey Wilder, Norfolk
Maurice Ivory Wilson, Richmond

JURORS:

A panel of three jurors representing regional and national perspectives reviewed the submitted materials and selected artists for the exhibition.

Tyler Blackwell is curator of contemporary art at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. His work centers queer and historically underrepresented artists, with an emphasis on post-1960s abstraction and postcolonial strategies in video and photography. At the Speed, he founded Current Speed, a series highlighting emerging and mid-career artists, and is organizing the first major museum survey of Marie Watt (Seneca Nation of Indians). Previously, he served as Associate Curator at the Blaffer Art Museum and has held positions at the Smart Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2026, he was named a “Curator to Watch” by Observer.

Michelle May-Curry, Ph.D. is a writer, professor, and curator based in Washington, DC. She serves as curator at DC’s Commission on the Arts and Humanities, where she manages the Eye Street Gallery, multiple grant programs, and the Art Bank Program, the District’s municipal collection of contemporary art. She is also faculty in Georgetown University’s master’s program in Engaged and Public Humanities. Her scholarly and curatorial work has appeared in The New York Times, American Quarterly, and exhibitions at institutions including Harvard Art Museums and the 2019 Havana Biennial. She co-edited The Routledge Companion to Public Humanities Scholarship (2024).

Heather Hakimzadeh is the juror and site curator for the exhibition and the senior curator and special projects manager at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (Virginia MOCA). Since her tenure at Virginia MOCA, she has organized over 50 exhibitions ranging from local to internationally recognized artists. Hakimzadeh’s recent exhibitions include She Says: Women, Words, and Power, Inka Essenhigh: A Fine Line, and Wayne White: Monitorium. She wrote essays for both Inka Essenhigh’s monograph and the catalogue that accompanied the seminal group exhibition, Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose.

JUROR-AWARDED PRIZES:

The Goode Prize – Best in Show: $10,000

The Goode Prize Winner will have a solo exhibition that will run concurrently with the 2028 Made in VA Biennial.

2nd: $3,000

3rd: $1,500

Honorable Mentions: $750 (3 awarded)

SPECIAL PRIZES:

Director’s Prize: $1,000

People’s Choice: $750

Every selected artist receives the opportunity to participate in a virtual group Q&A session with the juror panel