by Chris Hairston-White Welcome to Craft + Design Online, Presented by the Visual Arts Center of Richmond! As chair of the Craft + Design Committee this year, it’s my pleasure to share a how-to guide for navigating and enjoying this year’s virtual event. With over 120 artists (including over 40 new artists) to shop and learn from, you’ll need to prep and plan your approach. Feel […]
read more
From dressing your dinner table to arranging an artful collection, here’s how you can incorporate handmade wares into your home. By Marissa Hermanson Whether it be wood furnishings, metalwork or woven fibers, contemporary craft blends age-old artistry with modern aesthetics to create pieces that are functional and beautiful for you to use at home. Handcrafted […]
read more
A great, handmade gift doesn’t have to cost a lot this holiday season. No matter who’s on your list, you’re sure to find a unique gift for under $100 at Craft + Design Online. This fall, VisArts is taking the show virtual to give over 120 artists from across the country the opportunity to exhibit […]
read more
The Visual Arts Center of Richmond is giving aspiring novelists the perfect opportunity to kick-start their writing careers in 2020. VisArts’ yearlong novel writing class kicks off again this January. In this special class, writers will have the chance to spend an entire year workshopping their writing with Richmond-based author, Lana Krumwiede. Krumwiede is the […]
read more
Richmond-based artists Lily Cox-Richard and Michael Jevon Demps forged a connection during walks along the James River and those experiences inspired the artists to create walking with, an exhibition of work that opens in the True F. Luck Gallery at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond on Friday, Nov. 15. Both artists are professors at […]
read more
The Visual Arts Center of Richmond will host its sixth annual VisArts Chili Throwdown on Friday, October 4. Adult admission to the event includes chili from over 25 local restaurants and a handmade ceramic bowl—made in VisArts’ clay studios. In the months leading up to this fall fundraiser, Chili Throwdown Resident Artist, Jess Hardin, has […]
read more
Philadelphia-based jeweler Hilary Hertzler started her career in interior architecture and now she’s a full-time jeweler, selling her work all over the U.S. The Visual Arts Center of Richmond has chosen Hertzler as the featured artist for its 55th Annual Craft + Design Show, making her work the focal point of the event’s promotional materials. […]
read more
At the Visual Arts Center of Richmond’s ArtVenture Summer Camp, kids get the chance to make art alongside professional artists in a variety of art media. This summer, VisArts is offering a slew of new classes in the fiber studio, many of which are being taught by graduates of Virginia Commonwealth University’s art education masters […]
read more
The Visual Arts Center of Richmond’s summer class registration opens on Wednesday, April 17 and VisArts recently released a special catalog, illustrated by North Carolina-based artist Kristen Solecki, the center’s current Illustrator-in-Residence. Solecki said the concept for VisArts’ catalog came from an idea about her own studio space. “The inspiration for the summer catalog is pretty much my dream studio,” she […]
read more
An exhibition of work by Susan Iverson titled “The Color of No” opens at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond on Friday, April 12. “The Color of No” showcases over 40 colorful tapestries produced by Iverson over the last five years, each emblazoned with the word “no.” An established, Richmond-based artist and master weaver, Iverson taught in Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Craft […]
read more
Local attorney Brian Jackson will join the ranks of the Visual Arts Center of Richmond’s past Distinguished Service Award winners on March 16 when he is honored for his contributions to the community arts center at its 33rd annual Collectors’ Night art auction. During the seven years he served on VisArts’ board, Jackson led the way on […]
read more
At the Visual Arts Center of Richmond’s ArtVenture Summer Camp, kids make art with the help of professional, working artists. Each summer, VisArts brings in painters, woodworkers, potters, photographers, graphic designers, filmmakers and other creative educators who design classes specifically for kids. These artists often have decades of experience in their medium or a bachelor […]
read more
Richmond-based Illustrator Jamie Douglas is the artist behind the cover design of the Visual Arts Center of Richmond’s spring 2019 class catalog. As part of VisArts’ Illustrator-in-Residence program, Douglas created a design that celebrates the idea that people of all ages can learn and grow as artists. “I wanted to make a picture about growing up […]
read more
Finding the courage to write a novel isn’t easy, but the Visual Arts Center of Richmond is giving local writers the perfect chance to put pen to paper. VisArts’ yearlong novel writing class kicks off again this January, giving students the chance to spend an entire year learning from and workshopping their writing with award-winning […]
read more
The Visual Arts Center of Richmond will host an opening reception for “I><YOU><WE,” an exhibition of work by Emmy Bright, Jessica Heikes and Leigh Suggs, on Friday, December 7 at 5:30 p.m. This group show is the culmination of three artists’ years-long process of collaborative dialogue, art-making and friendship. Guest curated by St. Louis-based curator […]
read more
With less than one month until the Visual Arts Center of Richmond’s 54th Annual Craft + Design Show, Detroit-based ceramicists Kaitlyn and Ryan Lawless are busy creating an array of porcelain table wares to fill their booth at the show. VisArts chose the couple as the featured artists for the event and made their work […]
read more
A group of Virginia Commonwealth University students will see an event that they only dreamt about come to life at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond on Friday, October 19. The new event, called 48-to-Create, is a weekend-long make-a thon that gives Richmond’s artists and writers uninterrupted time and space to finish old projects and […]
read more
Vivian Keasler has taken classes in nearly all of the Visual Arts Center of Richmond’s studios and soon there will be a brand-new studio named after her. Thanks to a generous gift from Keasler, a vacated section of VisArts’ staff offices will be transformed into the new Vivian Keasler Letterpress + Book Arts Studio. The […]
read more
During the weeks of July 16 and July 30, ArtVenture campers can explore the world of fashion design with Sarah Brown, a graduate of VCUarts’ fashion design program and a lifelong sewing enthusiast. Brown is teaching a new class called Patternmaking for Fashion Design for students ages 13 to 14. Campers will explore patternmaking, the […]
read more
Grace Glanden spent the summer of 2017 doing one of her favorite things: making art. Grace loved her time at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond’s ArtVenture summer camp. “Grace was always, always making something,” said her mother, Melissa Glanden. In August 2017, 8-year-old Grace passed away unexpectedly from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a genetic heart condition […]
read more
The Visual Arts Center of Richmond will open its annual “[Work]” exhibition on Friday, June 15. The show features over 60 pieces of art created by VisArts faculty, staff and board members. This year, there are over 15 new participants. “One of the most exciting things about this year’s [Work] show is how many new […]
read more
Each summer, the Visual Arts Center of Richmond offers ArtVenture, a summer camp program for kids between the ages of 5 and 14. In 2017, Justin Lau was a superstar volunteer, and this summer, he’s back to teach a brand-new class called Think Like a Designer. Lau is back in his hometown of Richmond after […]
read more
Ingrid Bernhardt started beading and weaving as a young girl. Her mother handed her a Family Circle Magazine and she began making beaded flowers using the patterns she discovered inside. This summer, she’s looking forward to returning to the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, where she’ll continue to share her lifelong love of the craft […]
read more
About one third of the ceramic artists on the RVA Clay Tour have a connection to the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. VisArts’ clay studio is among 21 ceramic studios and workshops in Richmond that will open to the public on June 2 and 3 to showcase the work of nearly 100 artists as part […]
read more
The Visual Arts Center of Richmond will host its annual spring open house, Play Day, on Saturday, May 19. This year’s theme is printmaking and book arts, so the center is inviting guests to help decorate a collection of handmade Little Free Libraries. The libraries will serve as neighborhood book exchanges where people can take […]
read more