The Visual Arts Center of Richmond is proud to recognize Rowell Concepcion of Binata Millinery as the Emerging Artist at this year’s Craft + Design. Starting in 2024 for the 60th anniversary of Craft + Design, the Visual Arts Center of Richmond has celebrated an emerging artist—a craft artist who has been in their current […]
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Meet Hali Armstrong, the ceramic artist and designer behind Hechizo and Craft + Design’s Featured Artist This November, Main Street Station will be overflowing with some of the country’s finest contemporary craft. An impressive 170 artists will be exhibiting at the show, but if there’s just one booth you stop by this year, we hope […]
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Ty Martin (she/they) is a multimedia artist specializing in ceramics, basketry, found materials, and fiber, and member of VisArts’ Spring/Summer 2026 cohort of Studio Access Residents. Ty’s work playfully layers interrupting patterns to create hypnotic rhythms. The imperfection of these layers is intended to be an unsolvable puzzle for the viewer. When a perfect pattern […]
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Kicking off the fall season, VisArts’ 12th Annual Chili Throwdown presented by TowneBank was a smash hit. On Fri, Oct 2, VisArts welcomed nearly 600 guests to taste-test local chili and celebrate our clay program. In case you missed it: Congratulations to Smashed RVA for being selected as the Critics’ Pick and En Su Boca […]
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The Visual Arts Center of Richmond (VisArts) is proud to celebrate Richmond-based ceramic artist Hali Armstrong of Hechizo as the Featured Artist at its 62nd annual contemporary craft show, Craft + Design. Additionally, VisArts names Queens-based milliner Rowell Concepcion of Binata Millinery as this year’s Emerging Artist at the show. Craft + Design will return […]
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The Visual Arts Center of Richmond offers a range of residency programs to support artists and makers at all stages of their careers. Residents have the opportunity to expand their practice, try new media, and create new work through free studio access, demos, and skillshares. VisArts’ Studio Access Residencies and Annual Residencies also culminate in […]
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M.O. Cherry (he/him) is a multimedia artist working primarily in clay and sculpture, and member of VisArts’ Spring/Summer 2026 cohort of Studio Access Residents. Born and raised in Richmond, VA, the key themes explored in his work are practices of removal and censorship, global sculptural and craft histories, and navigating (in)visibility. While he was working […]
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If you visit VisArts between now and October 18, 2026, you’ll be lucky enough to catch “Everything Time Touches,” a solo exhibition by Kei Ito, on view in the True F. Luck Gallery. Curated by Fabiola R. Delgado, the exhibition brings together recent works by Ito that further his ongoing investigation into inherited trauma, bodily […]
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Rayana Hill (she/her) is a Richmond-based artist, and member of VisArts’ Spring/Summer 2026 cohort of Studio Access Residents, whose work explores the threshold between painting and sculpture, engaging in themes of memory, obscurity, transformation, and unseen labor. Her tactile artworks are created from a combination of drawing, painting, printing, hand-cutting, and assemblage techniques. Her labor-intensive […]
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Maurice Ivory Wilson (he/him) is a Richmond-based photographer working primarily with film, and member of VisArts’ Spring/Summer 2026 cohort of Studio Access Residents. His work documents loved ones and communities he deeply values, exploring their lived experiences with care and curiosity. Rooted in the traditions of street photography and darkroom practice, he creates images that […]
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Pamela Guzman (she/her) is a Richmond-based visual artist, poet, and member of VisArts’ Spring/Summer 2026 cohort of Studio Access Residents. After leaving art school, Pamela needed to rediscover her relationship with art-making. Since then, she has had the opportunity to continue her arts education and reclaim her identity as an artist here at VisArts. Pamela’s […]
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On the average summer day, VisArts is buzzing like a beehive. ArtVenture campers and teachers are covered in glue and pipe cleaners, independent artists are swapping ideas across the workbench, visitors are exploring art in the gallery, and staff are keeping the whole operation running smoothly. In celebration of this particularly energetic season at VisArts, […]
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The votes are in: Readers picked the Visual Arts Center of Richmond as the Best Place to Take Art Classes for Style Weekly‘s Best of Richmond 2026 issue! VisArts loves Richmonders, and it’s wonderful to feel your love in return. VisArts was also ranked third for Best Community Art Space, alongside our friends at Studio […]
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At the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, we believe art is for everyone. Year-round, we proudly serve as a creative hub for a vibrant community of makers from a wide range of backgrounds, identities, and life experiences; and especially this month, VisArts is proud to celebrate and support Richmond’s LGBTQIA+ community. In honor of Pride […]
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Cameron Weston Nicholson (who goes by Weston, he/him) is part of the 2026 Fall/Winter cohort of VisArts’ Studio Access Residents. Weston has been an artist “since he knew what the word felt like.” He has explored multiple media over the years, but a few have stuck with him more than others. Classically trained in Media […]
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Alexandra McGowan (she/they) is a member of VisArts’ Fall/Winter 2025-2026 cohort of Studio Access Residents. She’s an abstract painter and multimedia artist living in Richmond, VA. Most of her work is abstract, taking inspiration from tender moments shared with her partner, and experiences with natural ephemera such as shifting shadows on pavement. When we met […]
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This past Saturday, VisArts hosted our biggest auction to date. For the 40th anniversary of Collectors’ Night, about 550 attendees joined us under the tent outside our new sister building in celebration of art and the creative life. Thank you to the 59 donating artists who brought their magic to this event, and to the […]
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Jake Lahah (he/him) is one of VisArts’ Studio Access Artists-in-Residence in the Fall/Winter 2025-2026 cohort. Born in Wildwood, NJ, living and working in Richmond, VA, Jake is an artist, researcher, and educator whose work examines topics on labor, queerness, and ecology. His work considers how visual culture and data are testimony of the human condition […]
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Aaron Uzzle (he/him) is one of the Visual Arts Center of Richmond’s Fall/Winter 2025–2026 Studio Access Residents. Aaron is a Virginia-born artist who’s conjured expressive, mysterious works for almost a decade. He understood art as a tool for communicating complex feelings and ideas from an early age. Uzzle’s dedication to the craft is unbounded in […]
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Every spring, the Visual Arts Center of Richmond recognizes a longtime friend of the organization who has demonstrated a sustained and extraordinary commitment to our mission. A beloved member of our community since 1988, VisArts is honored to present this year’s Distinguished Service Award to Frankie Slaughter. Frankie is a mixed-media artist who works with […]
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After receiving an outpouring of nominations from our community, the Visual Arts Center of Richmond is proud to name Brad Pearson as our 25th annual Shelly Shepherd Master Teacher. Brad Pearson has helped VisArts students play with fire since 2008, teaching flameworking classes for adults of all ages and skill levels. A VCU graduate with […]
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Leah Raintree (she/her) is one of the Visual Arts Center of Richmond’s Spring/Summer 2025 Studio Access Residents. Leah Raintree is an artist based in Richmond, VA and Brooklyn, NY. Her practice focuses on the human connection to earth, with an interest in how we frame and experience time, matter, scale, and phenomena. Her work is […]
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Richmond, VA — January 22, 2026 — The Visual Arts Center of Richmond (VisArts), a nonprofit arts center serving the local community since 1963, today announced the purchase of 1914 W. Main St. in Richmond’s Fan District. The property is the former location of Fan Tastic Thrift and is just a half a block away from […]
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From the Friday night cheers at the McKinnon and Harris Patrons’ Preview Party, to the hands-on family workshops in the Carole and Marcus Weinstein Education Wing, to two full days of shopping museum-quality craft from more than 170 exhibitors—we had a blast at our 61st annual Craft + Design, and we hope you did, too. […]
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Courtney Lebow (she/her) is one of the Visual Arts Center of Richmond’s Spring/Summer 2025 Studio Access Residents. Teaching and utilizing her love for the visual arts as a vehicle for human connection is her ultimate professional goal and passion. Courtney has been working in art education for the last decade. She received her Masters in […]
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