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Visual Arts Center of Richmond

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Visual Arts Center of Richmond

The Visual Arts Center of Richmond celebrates and supports the creative life of all people through art-making, exhibitions, and community programs.
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Art for everyone. Creativity for life.

09/01/2026

It's Back to (ᴬʳᵗ ᴬᶠᵗᵉʳ) School Season! 🖍️✏️🖌️

Art After School is for kids ages 6–14 wanting to explore new mediums, or hone their skills in familiar ones.

Art League is for high school students who want to grow their personal portfolios to prepare for art school or expand their artistic practice.

Sessions are filling up fast, but a few have spots still available! Register now at https://www.visarts.org/events/chili-throwdown/?utm_source=visarts_social&utm_medium=facebook

08/31/2026

🔳🔲 "If the camera has a lens that points outwards, how do I capture something that is internal? ...I actually bypass the camera itself and channel into the much more fundamental aspect of the photography, which is light and shadow."

Opening this Friday: "Everything Time Touches," a multimedia exhibition of work by interdisciplinary artist, Kei Ito.

📅 Opening Reception: Fri, Sept 4, 5:30–7:30pm
📍 True F. Luck Gallery at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond
🎟️ Free + open to the public

This exhibition brings together recent works by Ito that further his ongoing investigation into inherited trauma, bodily memory, and the material traces of history. His photographic practice unfolds as a durational and environmental process, shaped as much by time and contingency as by intention. Ito approaches his work as a performance, prioritizing the process over the completed image.

"Kei Ito: Everything Time Touches" will be on view Sept 4 – Oct 18. https://www.visarts.org/exhibition/everything-time-touches/?utm_source=visarts_social&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=exhibitions

08/28/2026

We are thrilled to announce this year's panel of judges for the VisArts Chili Throwdown presented by TowneBank!

🌶️ Delaney Hall is an award-winning news anchor for ABC 8News - WRIC in Richmond. The Henrico native joined the 8News team in August 2019, is a Deep Run Wildcat and a graduate of Virginia Tech. Go Hokies! Delaney has covered a wide variety of stories across Central Virginia, including the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond, presidential and local elections, and highlighting community efforts through Soul of RVA. Delaney is the host of Great8 Events, a weekly podcast on WRIC+ that highlights local events, and of Kids These Days RVA. She also emcees several events throughout the year for various community organizations and nonprofits.

🌶️ Justin Lo, dining critic for the Richmond Times-Dispatch since 2019, grew up in Hawaii on Zippy's famous chili. He is a James Beard finalist in the “Jonathan Gold Local Voice" category and GLAAD Media Award nominee. His work has also been recognized by the Virginia Press Association and NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists, and featured in “The Best American Food and Travel Writing” anthology.

🌶️ Nora, The Food Explora is an East Coast food explorer and content creator serving up delicious discoveries across RVA, 757, DMV and beyond. From neighborhood hidden gems to local favorites and international spots, she loves sharing the dishes, people and stories that make each community special.

We're so excited to have these local superstars participating as our judges this year!

Chili Throwdown takes place on Fri, Oct 2. Learn more about our judges, and what to expect at the event, at visarts.org/chili.

08/27/2026

📸 "Sometimes... we try to numb [our] senses. Right now, I'm not trying to escape or run from those. I'm communicating the breakthrough that happens when we choose to be honest about them."

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 reflect both personal connection and a broader social perspective.

Learn more about Maurice + his work in our latest blog post. https://www.visarts.org/blog/blog/2026/maurice-ivory-wilson/?utm_source=visarts_social&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=residencies

08/26/2026

We're just 6 weeks out from the annual VisArts Chili Throwdown, presented by TowneBank, on Oct 2! 📆 Mark your calendars now: tickets go on sale Sept 2, and we sell out every year!

We are so excited to reveal this year's poster design by Raan M. Brown 🔥🔥🔥

Local potters donate their time and talents to throw and hand build bowls, and restaurants from Tuckahoe to Manchester generously contribute their best chili to go head-to-head in a blind taste-test.

Chili champs are decided by both a panel of judges and you!

We're invite our community to pick a handmade bowl, sample some chili, enjoy local brews, and listen to live music in VisArts’ backyard. The best part? All proceeds benefit VisArts’ operations and programs.

Later this week, we'll reveal the local celebs that make up this year's judges panel. Drop your best guesses below 👀👇

08/24/2026

Coming soon to the True F. Luck Gallery at VisArts:

"Everything Time Touches:" a solo exhibition by Kei Ito

This exhibition, curated by Fabiola R. Delgado, brings together recent works by Ito that further his ongoing investigation into inherited trauma, bodily memory, and the material traces of history.

Ito's photographic—yet camera-less—practice employs the conceptual framework of photography to visualize the invisible, approaching his work as a performance that prioritizes the process over the completed image. For Everything Time Touches, Ito creates large-scale installations that excavate hidden histories.

As a third-generation atomic bomb survivor living in the United States, Ito draws on his generational history as a series of case studies, addressing nuclear history, intergenerational memory, and environmental trauma.

📅 Opening Reception: Fri, Sept 4, 5:30 – 7:30pm
📍 True F. Luck Gallery at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond
🎟️ Free + open to the public

More info: https://www.visarts.org/exhibition/everything-time-touches/?utm_source=visarts_social&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=exhibitions

08/15/2026

🌻💖💫 Applications are open this month for our Make Space mentorship program!

Make Space pairs 18 sixth-grade girls—all of whom attend Anna Julia Cooper School—with 18 women for 12 weeks of mentorship and art-making.

Make Space participants create art together throughout VisArts’ studios, like hand-sewn pillows, wheel-thrown clay vessels, lanterns, glass light catchers and self-portrait paintings.

These workshops also provide girls an opportunity to practice topics explored in our “Girl Talk” life skills sessions, such as self-esteem, communication, teamwork, self-efficacy, and perseverance.

Mentors also get their own training sessions once a month throughout the year, designed to expand the mentorship skills of each woman.

Learn more about Make Space + apply to be a mentor: https://www.visarts.org/partnerships/school-partnerships/make-space/?utm_source=visarts_social&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=make_space

08/14/2026

In the blink of an eye, we've reached the end of another amazing year of ArtVenture Summer Camps 🧡

This week, our campers outdid themselves. Needle Felting Animals Camp evolved into a performance art installation, holding a funeral for flies + broken felting needles which was attended by the campers and their felted creations.

Campers this week also painted public art, filled Drawing North with unicorns and rainbows, built an owl-pple (get it?) out of clay, + explored natural fabric dyes.

A HUGE thank you to all the teachers, interns, staff, parents, and CAMPERS who made this summer of ArtVenture run so smoothly + become so memorable!

❗ As a reminder, VisArts will be closed Aug 17–23. We'll see you after the break for the start of Fall classes!

08/13/2026

We are pleased to introduce VisArts' 2026-2027 Annual Artists in Residence:

🔶 Nathan Hosmer Nevarez
🔶 Raven Larcom
🔶 Justin Ricardo Cockrell
🔶 Ellis Sawyer

Starting Sept 1, these four talented artists will embark on an 11-month residency, bringing their unique creative perspectives to VisArts and the local art community. We’re so excited to see what they'll create in their studios here over the next couple of months.

If you run into these artists around VisArts, be sure to say hello and help us welcome them into their new residency!

Find bios + work from each artist at https://www.visarts.org/artist-residencies/annual-residency/current-residents/?utm_source=visarts_social&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=residencies

08/12/2026

Save the date for the VisArts Chili Throwdown presented by TowneBank on Fri, Oct 2.

The perfect kick-off to fall, the annual VisArts Chili Throwdown presented by TowneBank brings together Richmond’s art- and food-lovers to celebrate clay, community, and (of course) chili. Local potters donate their time and talents to throw and hand build bowls, and restaurants from Tuckahoe to Manchester generously contribute their best chili to go head-to-head in a blind taste-test. Chili champs are decided by both a panel of judges and you!

COMING SOON:
🌶️ Reveal of local celeb judges
🌶️ Participating restaurant list
🌶️ Event poster design by RVA artist Raan Brown

Tickets go on sale Wed, Sept 2. This event always sells out!

Find full details, including opportunities to get involved through volunteering or clay bowl donations, at https://www.visarts.org/events/chili-throwdown/?utm_source=visarts_social&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=2026_chili

Address

1812 W Main Street
Richmond, VA
23220

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 9pm
Tuesday	9am - 9pm
Wednesday	9am - 9pm
Thursday	9am - 9pm
Friday	9am - 9pm
Saturday	9am - 9pm
Sunday	9am - 9pm

Website

https://www.visarts.org/

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