Art Happenings: Upper School Artists Visit VMOCA

A community art share from Ms. Beatty

This fall, Upper School art students explored contemporary art right next door at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (VMOCA), on the Batten University campus. They visited the Made in VA Biennial, which features contemporary artists from across Virginia, and Vivian Chiu’s From Here exhibition. Students explored how today’s artists use creative problem-solving to respond to the world and connected what they’ve learned in class to the work of living artists in our community.

One highlight was meeting Andy Harris, a VMOCA artist-in-residence and former CBA art teacher. Andy shared the story behind his painted-paper collage process, which he first developed at CBA while looking for ways to save leftover paint. It was a wonderful full-circle moment: an idea that started in our classroom has grown into his artistic practice.

Visit This Weekend 

• Family Fest is Saturday, November 14. The day includes hands-on artmaking, live entertainment, an outdoor artist market, food trucks, and a sensory-inclusive atmosphere.

With VMOCA so close, CBA families have plenty of chances to enjoy contemporary art together this year.

Dinner Table Talk

1. Which artwork at VMOCA stuck with you most, and why?
2. Mr. Harris turned leftover paint into a new art form. What’s something we usually throw away that could become art?
3. If you made a piece for an exhibition about Virginia, what would you want it to show about where we live?