The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art will move to Virginia Wesleyan University.
The museum is currently located in an older building at 2200 Parks Ave on a wooded patch of Virginia Beach-owned land that makes it difficult for travelers to spot from the interstate.
It will be housed in a 30- to 35,000-square foot facility off Smith Drive and will be built over the next couple of years. Construction costs are estimated at $25 million, according to Virginia Wesleyan President Scott D. Miller.
Gary Ryan, director and CEO of Virginia MOCA, said in a news release: “While Virginia MOCA remains an independent museum, our collaboration with VWU will allow us to do even more of what we do best: create groundbreaking exhibitions and engage the community in thought-provoking artistic experiences … we are now bolstered by our partnership with VWU and its amazing educational resources.”
Miller is hopeful that designs for the complex will be ready by September, after which construction will begin and is expected to take 14 to 18 months.
Courtesy of Virginia Wesleyan University
The planned site location for a new facility on the Virginia Wesleyan University campus to house the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art.
Deferred maintenance of the museum’s current facility “had become a major issue,” according to Miller, who added that Wesleyan Drive, where the school is located, is “one of the gateways to the city.”
Museum leadership and university officials started discussing a partnership last summer and began engaging donors for support. The $25 million was donated by three local philanthropists: Jane Batten, Joan Brock, and Susan and David Goode.
Colin Warren-Hicks, 919-818-8139, [email protected]
