Reviews of Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (Museum)

Candace Phillips

Such a very beautiful establishment. The history, art , and culture is magnificent!

Patrick McGrath

Love this place

Kyle Kempster

What a wonderful place!

Tres Ninos

Loved the art exhibit, kid friendly, and nice seating area or photo ops.

Xano Lowe

My wife and I always enjoy art museums! And this one was small, but fun!

lizette hunt

Awesome museum! Great exhibits! Fun hands on area.

bennie estrada

Wow just wow, everything in this place was perfect!

Terry L Ellis

Beautiful scenery, awesome venue!!!!

Michelle Maggiore

This has become a world class place to see modern art installations. I always come away inspired and so impressed with how great a place this is, nestled in a beautiful natural haven.

Donna Drozda

A jewel of a museum very close to the oceanfront...you can walk from the beach, take in the beauty and then stop at a cool restaurant getting a great VA Beach vibe in the arts district.

Julez Winfield

Very nice staff. Wonderful exhibit pieces. On site instruction for art courses. Community contribution is a focus of the museum. Many local artists often have opportunities to show their work.

Melinda Coley

Virginia Beach is lucky to have the MOCA. The art exhibits are unique and interesting. The docent tours are fun and insightful. My school takes a field trip every year to the museum. As an art educator, it's always the highlight of the year for my students and myself. We even get to create an art project based on one of the exhibiting artists. Thank you from PPS! And of course, the amazing, permanent piece by Dale Chihuly is a favorite!!! The MOCA is a beautiful place to visit or have as a venue for a special occasion.

Addy Alago

Nice small museum. They had a high fructose exhibit up with a good variety of paintings,sculptures and mixed media exhibits. Lots crammed into a small venue. Good way to spend some time if you're in the area and like art

Pops Kinzey

Sweeeeet place

Egypt Fletcher

It was alsome a bit smaller but worth it

Susan McCarty

Interesting neat little place. Had some fun with the interactive station. Check out pamphlets before you go sometimes there are buy one get one coupons.

Donna Grethen

Neat and clean place, fun activities for the kids, although some of the supplies to participate in the activities weren't in stock. Was also nice that we could use the VA Zoo passes to enter at the time of our visit.

Stephanie S Scott

Always delightful and ever changing.

Alexis Tevlin

It cost about $15 for two adults (non student and non military). I wished to have seen a bit more artwork. They have activities for kids as well. Wasn't too busy when we went. Overall, nice experience and decent price!

P F

modernized almost a decade ago, they host fun events for the community and help with all the local talent, shows, and festivals. great group of volunteers, staff, and community. excellent variety of shows from bizarre to educational.

Steve

Really nice venue, we went to a party there it was a great time.

John Wheby

Very nice collection of contemporary art and an excellent way to spend a few hours while at VA Beach. The museum is not very big, so you can tour the entire collection in about 2-3 hrs. Plenty of free parking, but the museum charges a small admission fee. BTW - They have a Chihuly chandelier with it's own special room that is really amazing and worth the admission and time to see alone.

Kim-Chris Davis

Great place to see our community artists at their best

A. Anderson

Very nice, clean and knowledgeable staff. Loved seeing my daughter's art work.

Kim Jones

Great place to expose young children to art!

Maddison Lozier

Always great art. We went when they were having a free entry day for the kids. We got to do crafts such as making buttons and weaving as well as making animal faces on paper plates. After we finished our crafts we went and looked at some of the installations. The glass piece is one of my favorites.

Sara Perez Sanders

Staff is amazing. Love the atmosphere and family friendly too

Cleveland Spruill

Small and almost not worth the money.

Dewayne Graham

It's was a great place to eat and alot of room for everyone

wkdwtch72

Very nice place. Attended a wedding here.

Mary McCall

Love this museum

Jeremy Miller

Always a pleasure to visit! Staff is super friendly and knowledgeable!

Sherry Casey

Super place to take your impressive artist in your family....fun place to be!

Ashley Rose Vasquez

This place is clean, organized, and not too expensive. Its amazing going there at different times of the year and seeing many interesting pieces of art. I like to come here and relax and take my time looking at different types of art.

Stever Fitzgerald

Very nice art. A cheap thing to do.

Ron Hardy

Kids had fun. Just remind them not to touch the paintings.

ThumderStorm Gaming

Such a wonderful museum! I took my 10yo granddaughter and she loved the entire museum. While It's not a "children's museum", it's great for families. They have an "activity room" for families with a place for parents to chill or draw while the kids get creative.

SarahBeth Davis

Good museum. The collections were well done and well placed. Got in free with military discount (only that way for a small time, maybe this month, but was very nice). Good museum, wish I was doing more than just visiting once so I could see new exhibit. The permanent Chihuly piece is fantastic, but I have a soft spot for Chihuly anyways.

Design' s the Limit

The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art is a beautiful facility which offers visitors the opportunity to experience a wide range of art with new exhibitions all the time. They also offer events including the event which we attended to support the Virginia Glass Guild. We had a great time meeting everyone who attended and love being able to Support the Arts in our community. We recommend visiting and encourage aspiring artists to get involved in the local art scene.

Victor Cannestro

Very reasonably priced with the student/military discount and well worth the 2.5 hours I spent there. The works of Todd Schorr and Julie Heffernan (shown in many of the pictures) are thought provoking and detailed. The prompts provided by the museum were especially helpful since I was visiting alone, and the ARTlab was charming, good fun. I look forward to visiting again in future seasons.

S M

Totally loved it, great exhibits!!!

Christina Vreeland

Great museum but smaller than the Chrysler Museum. And you have to pay to get in. Been there a few times for school but would prefer the Chrysler over it.

Shawn Hardy

Great art and nice staff

Pamela Jacobson

Wonderful pre-school art class followed by story time and a tour of the Museum.

Trevon Snead

Really interesting art on display, as well as a few interactive areas.

Matthew Bielinski

Great venue.

Richard Strickland

There's about 4 rooms of art. Was done in 20 minutes or less, very unexpectedly below average for a museum. Had to give it 1 star because there's no way people can really think it's a 5 star

Derrick Palmer

Art was very thoughtful. Well curated

Liz Wilson

Lovely contemporary museum. Perfect on such a hot day and we enjoyed the art.

Clayton Summers

Great exhibits, and friendly staff

Taylor Ballard

Loved the Pre-K art class. The teacher was so great with the changing actions of the kids

Delray Shaffer

Though I am not a fan of contemporary/ modern art, this was an enjoyable visit. I especially liked the technical interactive exhibits.

Leo J F

Check it out!

Mariana Prado

Friendly staff great artwork and stories behind them and the artists.

Bryn Heil

The MOCA in Virginia Beach provides a place of contemplation. Contemplation of self, and the world around you. The art evokes a feeling of existentialism, matched with a level of awe when viewing the multitudes of exhibits. I've been here once before, and once again I have came back to see the art.

Elizabeth Russell

While looking at activities to do in VA Beach this was one I found. I knew I had to go because I love museums and the arts! I was not disappointed. It was not expensive at all to tour the museum. I had such a relaxing time going around and reading about the art and artists. If I’m ever in VA Beach in the future I definitely plan to stop here again. I love that the exhibits change and there is always something new to see! I definitely recommend stopping and checking this place out!

BRENDA YOUNG

I was there for a church service. I didn't pay attention to any art.

Good Doggos Only

Had a friend come out to me as nb here one time

Aubre Cottman

This is unlike any museum I have been to and I loved it so much creativity in such a little area

Michael Costa

I went in not expecting too much but came out in awe! Great pictures, interactive displays, tech-art... and movies at the end. For $8, definitely worth the investment

Junius Gregory

Perfect date night component! And perfect for art lovers! This is a small and intimate museum. They also have special events and activities here. Check their website for themes, dates, and times.

Sarah Mason

This place is great. Beautiful space, super cool exhibits, and encouraging kids to learn about art. Just way cool!

Kathleen Smith

Very nice. Military Family day. Art workshop then on to the gallery. Grandkids old enough to appreciate. Gallery small enough to hold that interest. They don't ask yet make a donation when able so more can enjoy.

Patricia T. Snyder

The art exhibits are unique and interesting. The docent tours are fun and insightful.The collections were well done and well placed.variety of exhibitions and programs at MOCA!

Scott Schneider

On my visit the exhibits they had were interesting, but I was slightly disappointed in that from the size of the building it felt like there should have been a lot more to see. Despite taking time to examine and analyze much of the displays, in under an hour I felt like I had seen everything there was to see. I walked around thinking I must have missed something but it turns out much of the building is taken up by office space and they don't actually have all that much art on display.

Brian Marsh

Good rotation of exhibits, they should bring back MOCA nights as the food truck rodeo was fun and getting to go in for free was amazing.

Kaitlin Dingess

Beautiful, clean, interesting facility. The place was smaller than expected but I would be willing to go again when they get new exhibits.

Gabriella

I love the art, but I didn't like it when the people who worked there said I couldn't lean on table thing to write on, since I was on a field trip. Also, one of the workers didn't give me anything hard to write on after I said I needed one. I think you should stop worrying about who leans on something and tell the workers to be a little more respectful. Not trying to be rude, this is just how I feel.

Bob Matson

A wild and ugly place but the movie was good if you can get the teachers to not talk during the narration.

SHELIA FORD

Attended a Wedding, the food and decorations were wonderful.

Kathleen Rimbey

Great event and the employees are fantastic.

Seraphina Lowe

Cute small art museum. And the cost is only $7.70 to get in!!

Trevor Beales

This museum has a variety of paintings.

Miss T Humphrey

I went during Museum Day. There weren't many exhibits, but it was a nice establishment. They could definitely stand to expand.

Kim Elish

Went to a wedding there and it wad beautiful

Tim Coultas

Awesome spot.... wedding venue

Charlene Turner

Can't wait to go back. A small jewel in VA Beach.

James Eagan

My partner and I visit this museum every year while at VA Beach. We come for Memorial Day weekend. We really like the museum very much, and will continue to visit. We are both artists and we prefer a silent atmosphere while viewing the art. The young African American woman who was working there today was very friendly and nice. But... She was rather intrusive and persistent in her desire to ask me questions about what I thought about the art there. She also felt that it was necessary to tell me all about her thoughts about it. Three times she approached me while I was trying to enjoy my experience. Is the staff instructed to be so "chatty"? She was also talking pretty loudly to another employee while standing in the exhibition area. Is this really supposed to be happening? I left feeling annoyed.

Mary Mertl

I love this place and come here every year! The people that work there are so friendly and knowledgeable. They were showing 3 artists this year.

Lorraine Johnson

Love this museum.

Dania Gocheva

Fantastic museum!!!

Spencer Pearson

There is always something new to see here. It's a very nice space to view art and learn something new. There is a wide variety of art that can be viewed here. It's definitely an artistic center of Virginia Beach. Ilove coming here!

Dianne Hepler

Very nice

Jeanette Humphries

Lovely museum, not to be missed when visiting Hampton Roads

Cosette Livas

Always great place.

Lynne

I was really hoping for more. While I enjoyed the Andy Warhol exhibit I don't think it was worthy of our $10 per person entrance fee. Also, I don't understand why they don't offer military discounts to retirees as well as active duty. Retirees were AD at one time and they served their country 20+ years to get that status. Are they not worthy? Would you deny a Wounded Warrior a discount too? Also, someone needs to do some editing on the Jerry Hall placard. It identifies her as Jerry Has under her picture in the exhibit. And while I enjoyed being able to make my own art it would have been cool if I had also been able to make my own soup can but alas, there were no cans available. Would I recommend it? Not at $10 a person. Chrysler Hall Museum of Art is free and has at least 4 times the amount of exhibits.

Brittany Maine

The museum itself is good. Nice exhibits. We went to an event advertised for children of all ages. Did a craft which was lots of fun and then a scavenger hunt through the museum. Now, while I do understand this is an art museum and you're meant to look and not touch, when you send dozens of kids into a museum on a scavenger hunt you have to expect the little kids are not going to understand they can't touch everything...one particular employee seemed less than happy that kids were exploring art and told a mom if her child touched anything they'd be asked to leave immediately. Again...I get it's an art museum but if you're going to host kid friendly events maybe don't send them hunting for displays that they aren't allowed to touch. Definitely more fun without kids or with older kids who understand the don't touch rule.

Ted Swinson

Great place for a wedding or a function !!!

Nate Smith

Some really great pieces here. Definitely worth checking out. Seems a bit smaller than I expected, but worth the small price.

Vickie Postma

Interesting..but not for small children

Baxter Bristow

Very beautiful art and thoughtful exhibit selections! We went during a transition of exhibits so we only got to see a limited selection and it as still a fun time. They were setting up for an event and it looked like a great place to host an event as well.

Justin Jones

Awesome place. Always lots of changing stuff to look at. Staff is always super nice and helpful

D. M.

Loved the art very quiet and family friendly. The photo booth is awesome also

Henry Whelchel

There's almost always something new and interesting at MoCA. It's easy to find (right at the ocean end of I-264) and is worth a visit.

Adriana Valverde

Always having amazing events for Military Families ❤❤ Thank you so much for your amazing childrens programs.

Kevin Schoettlin

A good friend of mine got married and had her reception at this place. It was really nice as a venue. The food and service was great. As for the museum itself, it is really nice. If you're a fan of modern art, this place is definitely worth checking out.

Hailey Urick

The new exhibits are always amazing and beautiful. This is a small museum so the trip may be shorter for some. It's a great location for kids since there is always an activity room related to the exhibit.

Charles Hogge

Awesome exhibits but a small museum.

Henry Lanouette

Very interesting small museum... Has a AAA Discount too!

david young

The museum is really cool! I went to see a performance there and couldn't explore, but I will definitely be going back to see all there is to see there. Great looking place and friendly staff.

Kitty Bryant

Beautiful. So serene.

Coco Ames

Great art museum but very small.

Willie V Ward Jr.

My son had his wedding there and the place is awesome

Kate H.

We do not recommend MOCA as a wedding venue. Several issues we brought up in advance were not taken care of, and more issues arose the night of our wedding. We were members of the museum and frequented it often, but each time we’d go, the bathrooms would be dirty, and would have little to no soap/paper towels. We brought this up to the event manager and she said she had noticed the same, and would ensure those would not be problems during our wedding. On the big day, bathrooms were dirty, we ran out of paper towels after 1.5 hours, and there was no soap. Let me reiterate. No soap. All of our guests, and our catering staff, were left rinsing hands in just water and then drying them on their clothes or shaking them to air dry. Hard to believe a venue that regularly hosts events and weddings would not supply soap and paper towels, which are very basic necessities. There are also sinks/toilets in the getting ready rooms, but no paper towels or soap were supplied in those rooms. In the women’s getting ready room, the toilet began to leak. After just 3 uses from the bridal party, the room was flooding, and with no onsite manager present, we were cleaning it ourselves. It is hard to believe no one knew about the toilet in advance considering how much it leaked. Now for the grossest part: throughout the evening, there were several HUGE cockroaches running around. One ran into the getting ready room area and the rest were all out where we were eating, dancing, and trying to enjoy ourselves. Some were stomped on, others were chased back into the trees (the venue has lovely trees inside…which apparently house bugs). The most frustrating and disheartening part of this is that we brought up all of these issues to the event manager after the fact, and she never responded. Not even to offer a simple, “I’m sorry.” So again, we do not recommend this venue. There are other gorgeous options to choose from in the Virginia Beach area that will care more about their client’s experience/well-being.

Arrenvy Bilinski

Small but mighty contemporary art gallery. Currently have the Hi-Fructose art magazine exhibit. Well laid out and plenty of space to spend quality time with each piece.

Rhonda Herren

I absolutely love MOCA

Valerie Litwinko

Great works but the museum was so much smaller than I expected, but it is great to have such quality exhibitions in the area.

Chip Eggleston

Always make time for MOCA

G Matt

Very nice venue with a superb staff. Good location. Good parking. Very nice facilities. I assume that at times this location gets overlooked. But this is a great place to host certain events as well as being a great museum.

June Moon

Went on a Sunday around 11 and it was wonderful! The exhibits were beautiful and one of the artists was there to explain his work. Will definitely return!

angela brown

Love the talent

Chloe Ledesma

The museum is clean and organized first thing that you will noticed, plus the price is fair and the staff were nice enough to entertain questions from my kids.

Nick Beach

Local and budding artists are displayed here. There were a couple of interesting pieces. I do feel that the vetting process could be a bit more stringent for the quality and validity of the works. Overall, good visit.

Henri Barre

Outstanding exhibition currenty.

Chrystal Warman

Small but very educational.

Rob Tortes

Good for the people that have interest in ary

Elizabeth Davis

Todd Schorr exhibit was fantastic. Staff is enthusiastic and helpful.

Carol Leventhal

Nice exhibit. Would be great to be a member if I were a local.

Charlotte Stokes

Great place for receptions and parties

Jeremy

Awesome place for art lovers! Highly recommended!!

King Ajizal

Amazing local exhibitor of modern art. I love that they don't collect art, they exhibit it so the art is constantly changing. I highly reccomend them

Coffee In The Morning Dinner at night

Quiet and relaxing with great pieces of art. Wish it was bigger though.

Shanna Fife

I enjoyed this Museum recently ahead of Hurricane Florence. The attendant was very friendly and definitely helpful. Here's a great, affordable activity if you want to get away from the oceanfront for an hour or so.

Ivan Matic

Very reasonably priced with the student/military discount and well worth the 2.5 hours I spent there. The works of Todd Schorr and Julie Heffernan (shown in many of the pictures) are thought provoking and detailed. The prompts provided by the museum were especially helpful since I was visiting alone, and the ARTlab was charming, good fun

Johanne Colon

Nice for children

Ellen Waranch

Art displays were very thought provoking. Well worth a visit.

Jacob Beach

Nice museum! Took small children (ages 6-8) and they still had fun and things for them to participate in. Fabulous Military Discount!

Jessica Bakas

Stellar little modern art museum with rotating exhibits featuring local artists.

Hope JOURNEY

great place for kids.

Charlene Mara

MOCA is great for all ages. They do wonderful activities often. Getting to take my nieces here is always a fun time. Make sure you see the hanging glass sculpture.

Tripp Little

Blues and brews was awesome and sponsored by Atlantic Shores retirement community.

Dannehl Strautz

Beautiful location for a wedding reception. Staff stayed in the background. Cordial but not friendly. Perhaps told to act that way? Food was Ok.

Chris Webb

During my visit the majority of the exhibits weren't available, but I was able to spend time admiring the Dale Chihuly chandelier, and a recently added mural along with some Student Teacher art. Some lovely spaces.

Kimberly Douyon

Absolutely Gorgeous

Jermaine McGill

They have a few outstanding pieces from local artists. The gallery is small but all the art is very good and detailed.

alicia smith

Absolutely wonderful place my sister had a wedding there and it was phenomenal

Bekah Kelly

My daughter had her dance recital here with Amys School of Dance. It is a perfect location for a dance recital. It’s big enough to feel like it’s a “real” recital, or show however it’s still Intimate enough to feel not overwhelming. It’s such a hidden gem!!!

Amy Alderson

Very unique and interesting art. I loved the Wayne White exhibit and the disposable film series. Very small museum so it is easy to get through if you have children with short attention spans!

Julie Gore

Wonderful, interactive experience!

jeff weimer

Beat art museum in virginia beach. I have seen alot of art museums and this is the best one.we did clay art during my class back in 1995. My daughter just went there this year and she had just as much fun as i did years ago. This is the only art museum that i know of in virginia beach and it is the best one ive been too.

Andrea Tembreull

Wonderful Fluid Acrylic class at MOCA with Shaylen Amanda Broughton! Great instruction and what fun!

Skyler Brady

Gorgeous wedding venue!

Craig Williams

Nice small museum and every year there is different and interesting exhibitions.

DANNY CRUMPTON

Simple, small but some really great artwork!!

Maddie Priest

Beautiful gallery. Came in never having been before, truly felt immersed in the artwork. Staff was very friendly and welcoming. Definitely would go back!

Jewanda Sams

Thought there would be more art than there was.

Crysta Bradley

The art itself was very nice. Not really worth the money for the amount of art and exhibits here. Also, was told twice not to touch to my party, where we had not touched the art at all. Seemed like the person did not want to be there watching and making sure people didn't touch. Kind of expensive for almost all of the artwork to be by the same person. I was expecting way more of a contemporary feel, which I did not get by visiting.

Beth

We have gone here several times to see many different exhibits and have thoroughly enjoyed all of them. I don’t know if anything will beat The Hi-fructose exhibit, but everything we saw today was amazing as well! Very inexpensive, never too crowded, great to have such an awesome place in Virginia Beach!