Our Mission
The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art is a non-profit institution which exists to foster awareness, exploration, and understanding of the significant art of our time. Through excellence and diversity in our changing exhibitions and educational programming, MOCA stimulates critical thinking and dialogue throughout the Hampton Roads community.
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Museum Programming
Regularly changing exhibitions feature painting, sculpture, photography, glass, video and other visual media from internationally acclaimed artists as well as artists of national and regional renown. By balancing its four primary activities—gallery exhibitions, studio art classes, educational outreach programs and outdoor art shows—MOCA seeks to involve a diverse regional public in the rich and active language of contemporary visual art. By operating at a national standard, MOCA received accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums in 2010.
Award-winning Facility
MOCA is one the region’s best examples of a private-public partnership. The building is owned and maintained by The City of Virginia Beach and MOCA operates within it as a private, non-profit. After maintaining a small oceanfront property for several years, local supporters in the late 1980’s planned to construct a new physical space for the Museum. In 1989, after nearly a decade of planning, fundraising and construction, MOCA opened in its present location at 2200 Parks Avenue. The current structure, designed by Boston architect E. Verner Johnson and Associates, is approximately 38,500 square feet and features 6,300 square feet of exhibition space.
Supported By
The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art is funded in part by the citizens of Virginia Beach through a grant from the City of Virginia Beach Arts & Humanities Commission. Additional support is provided by Virginia Commission for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Business Consortium for Arts Support and The Hampton Roads Community Foundation. MOCA is also supported locally by our Partners in the Arts.
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Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art.
MOCA. Courtesy of Bill Murray, ONON Photography.
MOCA features rotating exhibitions year-round.
MOCA features rotating exhibitions year-round.
MOCA’s education programs reach approximately 30,000 children a year.
MOCA’s education programs reach approximately 30,000 children a year.
