PRÆY: An exhibition by Sophia Rene and Alice Waller

Opening Reception: July 25th, 7:00 - 9:00

Runs through August 22nd

Birdland, 706 Mountford Ave. Raleigh, NC

The exhibition 'PRÆY' references the ideas of both 'prey' and 'prayer' in reference to our bodies, autonomy, and fetishization. The word and work combines the violence and reverence of our bodies as they exist in the world. The motif of birds of prey and altar pieces highlight the juxtaposition of bodies as sexualized versus embodied. It explores desire and control through nakedness and asks the audience, "where is the line between fetishization and awe?."

The paintings surrounding the artist's burial reflect differently abled bodies as sacred icons. The paintings of bodies with dwarfism reclaim the emotional landscape of disabled existence through intimacy, vulnerability, and reverence- PRAY -while the center of the gallery holds "the inevitable" of our bodies final form - PREY. The push and pull of concealment (like the bodies submerged in soil) and exposure (paintings of naked bodies being exalted) suggests sexuality and autonomy as something innate to us all as a part of nature.

Throughout PRÆY, the body is upheld as something to be desired and revered. It challenges who or what is granted autonomy over a body and how systems of power and shape the ways in which we present ourselves. Here, vulnerability and sanctity coexist. Hunted and holy. Earthbound and exalted.

The exhibition runs until August 22. We will be sharing hours for the sound parties, artists panel, and workshop throughout the shows run. Doors open at 7 pm on the 25th! Paintings, sculptures, and prints will be for sale throughout August!

Parking is available on the street for free. Carpooling or biking is always encouraged. There are no steps to enter Birdland but there is a (slightly sloped and bumpy in parts) parking lot. Please reach out with any accessibility needs. jeangray@vaeraleigh.org

My Cousin's House

My Cousin’s House opens June 3 at the Jobe House at VAE Raleigh.

Curated by Whitney Stanley, the exhibition brings together works by William Paul Thomas, Nori McDuffie, Alyssa Cuffie, Phillip Loken, Huiyin Zhou, and Whitney Stanley.

An exhibition exploring intimacy, relationships, memory, and the spaces that hold us, My Cousin’s House considers the emotional weight of familiarity, connection, vulnerability, nostalgia, and personal history through photography, mixed media, and interdisciplinary works.

Opening Reception: June 6, 2026 | 2–5 PM
On view June 3 – July 26, 2026

Anna Podris, Keith Norval, and Tavyn Lovitt (Copy)

The Jobe House, 909 W. Morgan St. Raleigh

On Exhibit: Anna Podris, Keith Norval, and their Plus One: Tavyn Lovitt

Sidewalk Opening
February 6th
5:00 - 7:00
Corner of Hargett and Fayetteville in Downtown Raleigh

Street Frame: Caitlin Cary and Ginny Robinson (Copy)

Street Frame: Corner of Fayetteville and Hargett, Downtown Raleigh

This month in Raleigh, QuiltCon, the largest modern quilting event in the world will be in Raleigh. It will be held at the Raleigh Convention Center from February 19–22, 2026.

The event brings together quilters, artists, designers, and thinkers from across the globe, highlighting how quilting continues to evolve as both a craft and a contemporary art form, rooted in tradition while pushing boundaries around color, pattern, story, and process.

With so much quilting energy in town, we thought it was the perfect moment to give a nod to quiltmakers right here in our region.

Please join us in welcoming Caitlin Cary and Ginny Robinson to Streetframe.

Sidewalk Opening
February 6th
5:00 - 7:00
Corner of Hargett and Fayetteville in Downtown Raleigh

Flight

Flight is many things. It is the mechanical wonder of wings cutting through air, the quiet migration of birds across a pale sky, the terrifying freedom of leaving the ground behind. It is escape and arrival. It is the way light lifts off water at dusk, or the feeling of a thought becoming something larger than itself. 

We are not looking for a single interpretation. We welcome the literal and the abstract, the grounded and the untethered. Whether your work depicts a sparrow mid-arc, an aerial landscape seen from above, or a purely formal exploration of weightlessness and momentum, if flight lives somewhere in it, we want to see it.

This exhibition is open to artists working in painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, printmaking, textile, mixed media, and beyond. We encourage submissions that challenge, expand, or quietly reimagine what it means to fly.

Artists

Marco Andro @marco_andro_carter
CJ Martin @cjmrtn
Erin Ives @s.erinives
Vincent Whitehurst @pedestrian_made
Julia Hoffman @michee.png
Anne Willson @annewillsonart
Victoria Mercado-Lues @victoriamercadolues
Kelly Hutzel @kellyhutzelwatercolors
Michee Zodulua @michee.png
Garrett Love @garrett.love.art
Benny Copel
Kristen Bitar @kristenbitar
Shelby Scattergood @shelbyscattergood
matthew wilson @bunnylever
Antonisha Gore @anrego
Trish Klenow @trishklenow
Meg Finn @megelizabethvintage
Gowri Savoor @gowrisavoor
Novi Lim @artbynovi
Dain Kim @dain_art
Mia Kaplan @miakaplanmakes
Ezra Izzet @Ezraisevilagain
Myles Brown @just_a_crazy_illustrator
Nida Zehra @dairah_e_zindagi
Joel Tesch @artbyjoeltesch
Angaea Cuna @gaeabound
Tessa Dahlmann @Tessadahlmann_art
Hailey Trasti @trasti_studios
Janet Danforth @janetdrawstheplanet
Calvin Ulrich @calvinulrich

Important Dates

Exhibition Dates: 05/17/26 - 06/30/26

Opening Reception 05/17/26 1:00 - 4:00pm

Open Hours: 1 - 4 Saturday and Sunday

Becoming

Street Frame: Corner of Fayetteville and Hargett, Downtown Raleigh

This month in Raleigh, QuiltCon, the largest modern quilting event in the world will be in Raleigh. It will be held at the Raleigh Convention Center from February 19–22, 2026.

The event brings together quilters, artists, designers, and thinkers from across the globe, highlighting how quilting continues to evolve as both a craft and a contemporary art form, rooted in tradition while pushing boundaries around color, pattern, story, and process.

With so much quilting energy in town, we thought it was the perfect moment to give a nod to quiltmakers right here in our region.

Please join us in welcoming Caitlin Cary and Ginny Robinson to Streetframe.

Sidewalk Opening
February 6th
5:00 - 7:00
Corner of Hargett and Fayetteville in Downtown Raleigh

Contours

Contours

Birdland, 706 Mountford Ave., Raleigh, NC

In residence: Johnny Chapman & Marco Andro Carter

January 20th - February 27th

Contours is both an experimental exploration and a love letter to artistry. This piece, conveyed in chapters, tells the story of two companions moving through the transactional mundanity of capitalist labor systems by activating rigor, reconnection, and rest.

Using dance, music, spoken word, vocals, and muralism, we transform a bare canvas into a kinesthetic experience that explores the impact of artistic lineage, liberating movement, and the capacity of voice for initiation, reflection, and transition.