VAE’S ORIGINS

Between 1978 and 1979, the Wake Artists Guild, Raleigh Artists Guild, and the Capital Art League held several potlucks to exchange feedback and ideas. There were discussions concerning the creation of a new arts organization, potentially as a partnership between the triad. An artist named Margot Richter subsequently held several meetings with representatives from these guilds, the North Carolina Arts Council, and the Raleigh Arts Commission. The idea for a new arts organization was agreed upon, and on June 9th, 1980, Paula Harless, Barbara Burnham, and Jane Paden sat around Margot Richter’s Kitchen table to finalize the bylaws and board structure. The Wake Visual Arts Association (WVAA) became incorporated on July 11th, 1980. WVAA held its first meeting at the Sertoma Arts Center of Raleigh, where an artist named Joe Cox presented his Color and Light show to approximately 100 people.

An old, hazy photo of a log cabin in the woods.

Margot Richter’s home

1978

126 South Salisbury St - 1985

A grey and black brick storefront with a mural installation in front of it.

325 Blake St, City Market - 1996

Transition from WVAA to VAE

410 Glenwood Ave (the Creamery) - 2021

1980 - 2 E South St (Memorial Auditorium, in lobby)

A large building with columns and two wings on either side.

1991 - 112 E Hargett St

2011 - 309 W Martin St

2022 - 288 Fayetteville St (the Mahler)

A warm-grey painted brick storefront on Raleigh's historic strip.

Present

A look into our archives

“Chair Affair” Event, 2000

A person wearing a bright red turtleneck leans against a messy desk in the old WVAA gallery on the phone. A boxy, beige computer and the color and grain of the photograph appear to place the setting around the 90s.

A letter addressed to Henry in two pieces, glued to a black sheet. — 1985

Aged flyer advertising a picnic. It is hand-drawn and hand-written, with doodles of a cow in a pasture and a butterfly.

VAE used to hold annual picnics and Pig Pickins’ for their members and staff.

Text advertises the annual picnic with logistical details. A hand-drawn map shows the directions on the right side. — 1993, newsletter

A large monster built out of traffic barrels in the street during SPARKCon. A person leans down with their head under the jaws as if being eaten by it. — 2009, newspaper

Two people stand in a room, with one pointing at the photographer and the other squinting at the camera. Many frames lean against the walls. — Former president Henry Vermillion (right), 1985

A watercolor workshop is set up in a large room with many people in attendance. Two people are in the foreground, with one standing and smiling, and the other intently focused on mixing paint. — 1981

A letter addressed to Henry dated August 28th, 1985. The letter is signed by Judith Collins of the Capital Art League. — 1985

A letter addressed to Henry dated June 13th, 1985. The cursive script makes it difficult to read. — 1985

A frowning cartoon person stands in front of their painting at the "Summer Art Show". Speech bubbles surround them with annoying questions from gallery visitors. — Comic by Liz Morley, 1986, newsletter

Newspaper clipping featuring a black and white photograph of a sculpture. The sculpture is vaguely dog-like, with large ears and abstracted eyes. Text: A Clyde Jones critter. — 1997, newsletter

A tapestry hanging on the wall. Text: Woven wall hanging made with newspaper clippings of positive reviews of the artist's previous exhibits. By Tyro Tryhard. — Comic by Liz Morley, 1986, newsletter

A beige and brown shopping guide of downtown Raleigh. A map shows the blocks of the city, with areas of interest numbered. A list with the corresponding numbers is shown at the bottom.. "Wake Visual Art Gallery" is highlighted with a yellow marker.

An unoccupied workspace in the corner of a room. A large, boxy computer takes up the majority of the desk. — 2000

Four people pose and smile in front of the WVAA gallery storefront.

A scan of a black and white photography contact sheet. The thumbnails feature people posing and conversing at what appears to be a formal event at the art gallery.

Weekly figure drawing sessions were a core part of VAE’s programming for at least 30 years.

A newspaper clipping featuring a photograph of a figure drawing workshop. Three artists draw a posing nude model in the gallery. Text: DOWN TO BUSINESS: Art model Julie Mullin strikes a pose for a class at Wake Visual Arts Center. — Julie Mullin modeling, N.D., newspaper

An old advertisement for a life drawing class at the gallery instructed by David Williams. — 2000, newspaper

A faded Polaroid of someone in an art gallery. They are looking directly at the camera and leaning against a piece of furniture. Thin, rectangular glasses, and the flip phone they are holding to their ear places the time period in the early 2000s.

A smiling person shows a car that has driven through the gallery. The storefront is shattered. Text explains the incident. Text: Drive-thru Art Gallery. — 1993, newsletter

Margot Richter sits in a chair with her signature toothy smile. Her abstract painting is behind her. Text: Mrs. Richter with her painting 'Old Dock'. — Founder Margot Richter, 1982, News and Observer

A plaque frames an image of the street painting festival. It is an arial shot of the City Market parking lot with many rectangular areas of chalk art. There are crowds of people looking at the artwork. — Raleigh Street Painting Festival, 1999

Did you know that VAE used to put on the Raleigh Street Painting Festival? The Raleigh Street Painting Festival was a beloved annual chalk art event that many Raleighites grew up attending.

Raleigh Street Painting Festival, 2000

A smiling person sits on the front steps of what appears to be Margot Richter’s log cabin. The photograph is old and faded. — Mickey Gault, 1983

The gallery ledger opened to a central page. The pages are filled with notes of old gallery sales. Things are scribbled out and written over. It is clear that many people have written in the book, judging by the diverse handwriting styles. — Gallery ledger

VAE’s present

VAE (formerly WVAA) was founded because artists needed a safe space to start their careers. As a result, the organization’s most significant contribution for the first two decades was providing space for artists to show and sell their work. In 2005, VAE pushed to increase program opportunities for artists to develop their professional careers.

In 2015, VAE shifted its focus from developing individual artists’ careers to the broader creative community’s health, using art to create positive social change. VAE began using an open-source artistic process to engage community members who had long lost trust in the contemporary art world as it marginalized them. The organization positioned itself as a community space to reverse the flow from presenting projects to the community to inviting the community to direct the projects we present. Additionally, VAE’s practiced flexibility and responsiveness enabled the organization to prioritize mutual aid and social programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, putting more than $400,000 into artists’ pockets during the first year of the pandemic and subsequent shutdown. VAE continues to work for and with the community, providing 40+ exhibitions, 40+ educational opportunities, 50+ public events, and more than $200,000 in funding for artists each year.

VAE’s current directors

Jean Gray Mohs | jeangray@vaeraleigh.org

Pete Sack | pete@vaeraleigh.org

From the archivist -

My name is Jade Phan and I worked on this archival project in honor of VAE’s 45th anniversary, funded through United Art’s IDEAL internship program. The archives exist as physical tote bins in the gallery, painstakingly carried from location to location, year to year. I spent close to one hundred hours looking through the bins. I spent my time reading thousands of words, trying to make sense of the gallery’s history, and putting together any sensical, easily-consumed version of it for the website. This project established a framework for VAE’s archive to be public and easily- accessible moving forward.

I would like to thank the late Margot Richter for her tireless work in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and her relentless commitment to documentation and organization. You put the pieces together for me. Thank you.