Made in VA: Inaugural Biennial

Since 1994, the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (Virginia MOCA) has celebrated the extraordinary talent of Virginia artists through its annual juried exhibition. Nearly 30 years later, this favorite tradition continues to thrive and evolve together with the immense creative talent found across the commonwealth. Starting in fall 2024, Made in VA will transition to a biennial event featuring artwork created by Virginia artists in the preceding two years.

Every other year, Virginia MOCA will dedicate an expanded gallery space to the juried exhibition, enabling the Museum to showcase a wider range of artistic voices and visions. This expansion will also mean more prizes and professional opportunities for participating artists. Now as in 1994, Made in VA reflects the Museum’s commitment to enriching and supporting the artistic communities in our region.

This momentous occasion marks a new chapter in the Museum’s long history of fostering creativity and innovation. As the exhibition soars to new heights, we invite all eligible artists in Virginia to share their unique talents.

Jurors:

A panel of three jurors representing regional and national perspectives will review submitted materials and select artists for the exhibition.

Lauren Leving is a curator and writer based in Chicago and Cleveland. Her work explores how creative practice can expand institutionally rooted understandings of access. Currently, she is curator-at-large at the Museum of Contemporary Art (moCa) Cleveland; associate curator for the Orange County Museum of Art’s 2024 California Biennial; and co-curator of Everlasting Plastics, originally presented in the U.S. Pavilion during the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale. Since joining moCa in 2019, Leving has organized projects including the Getting to Know You residency, which supported the production of Messages to Authorities (Go Away!), a largescale textile commission by Aram Han Sifuentes and Don’t mind if I do, a group exhibition stewarded by Finnegan Shannon.

Previously, she was a curatorial fellow at Hyde Park Art Center and exhibitions manager for Wrightwood 659, and she has curated exhibitions at spaces including ACRE Projects, Material Exhibitions, Co-Prosperity Sphere, and the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art. Leving holds an MA in Museum & Exhibition Studies from the University of Illinois–Chicago and a BA from Tulane University.

Maya Brooks is the assistant curator of Contemporary Art at the North Carolina Museum of Art and Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, an intermediary position that forges her passion for technology with art history through exhibition curation and interpretation. Brooks' professional mission is to provide equitable museum experiences for diverse populations. Overall, she strives to restore access, inclusion, and agency in the museum field for historically marginalized communities.

Heather Hakimzadeh is the juror and site curator for the exhibition and the senior curator and special projects manager at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (Virginia MOCA).  Since her tenure at Virginia MOCA, she has organized over 50 exhibitions ranging from local to internationally recognized artists. Hakimzadeh’s recent exhibitions include She Says: Women, Words, and Power, Inka Essenhigh: A Fine Line, and Wayne White: Monitorium. She wrote essays for both Inka Essenhigh's monograph and the catalogue that accompanied the seminal group exhibition, Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose. She earned a BS from Carnegie Mellon University, a BA in Art History from Old Dominion University, and an MA in Art History from the George Washington University.

Made in VA: Inaugural Biennial will be on view July 11, 2024–January 5, 2025

Prizes

Juror-Awarded Prizes

The Goode Prize - Best in Show: $10,000 

The Goode Prize Winner will have an individual virtual studio visit with each juror.

The Goode Prize Winner will have a solo exhibition that will run concurrently with the 2026 Biennial.

2nd:  $3,000

3rd:  $1,500

Honorable Mentions: $750 (3 awarded)

Special Prizes:

Director’s Prize: $1,000

People’s Choice: $750

Every Selected Artist

Opportunity to participate in a virtual group studio visit with a renowned artist selected by Virginia MOCA

Virginia MOCA Individual membership

Calendar:

Submissions Open: January 15, 2024

Entry Deadline: March 4, 2024

Acceptance Notification: April 15, 2024

Artwork Delivery: June 3–14, 2024 (M–F, 9:00 AM–5:00 PM)

Exhibition Members’ Preview : July 11, 2024

Exhibition Opens to the Public: July 12, 2024

Exhibition Closes: January 5, 2025

Application Requirements

Eligible Artwork: All artistic mediums made between the years of 2022-2024 are accepted for review. Art exhibited in previous Made in VA exhibitions is not eligible for review.

• 2-D work must be ready for installation including hanging devices on the artwork. Each work will not exceed 84 inches in any dimension, including frame and must not exceed 75 lbs. in weight. (Please note: Sawtooth hangers are unsafe for installation and cannot be used.)
• 3-D work will be no larger than 84 inches including base and must not exceed 75lbs.
• Installations: MOCA will accept previously created installations. Images of installations can be submitted to callforentry.org. Submissions should be flexible to fit any location within the gallery. (Outdoor installations cannot be accepted.)
• Video and sound works can be submitted. There is a limit of 3 video/sound entries per application. Artists should list details of installation and presentation preferences in the comments section of the application.
• Artists are responsible for delivery and/or shipment to and from MOCA. Accepted artworks may be hand-delivered or shipped by the artist. All artworks must be packed properly for return shipping. Pre-paid return and/or pick-up is the responsibility of the artist. Return prepaid shipping label from UPS or FedEx should be enclosed.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility: All artists over 18 currently residing in Virginia are eligible.

Work in all mediums created within the past two years (2022-2024) will be considered. 

Works submitted for the Biennial must be available for the duration of the exhibition.