$50 pays for supplies for a workshop for older adults from St. Francis Home

$100 covers the award prize for one award-winning young artist in our annual Scholastic Art + Writing Awards

$250 pays for one arts workshop for the 16 girls and 16 women in our Make Space mentoring program

$500 pays for one full-week scholarship to our ArtVenture summer camp for a community partner

$1,000 funds seven RPS middle school students to attend an 8-week Art After School class

$2,500 pays for a year of multimedia workshops for Veterans at the Richmond VA Medical Center

$5,000 covers one year of weekly classes for adults with disabilities through our partnership with Sheltering Arms Rehabilitation Center.

All Angel Gifts are 100% tax deductible.

After making your donation, please click "Pay" and select "Click Here to Pay" to finalize your payment! You will receive a confirmation email once the payment is processed.

Since 1987, the Board of Directors annually honors an individual who has demonstrated a sustained and extraordinary commitment to the organization.

Joel Ray is a long-time friend of VisArts, formerly sitting on its Board of Directors, serving as the Treasurer and Finance Chair, attending and supporting events like Craft + Design, and taking drawing and painting classes as a student. Joel has spent many years working at Davenport & Co. where he has held various roles, presently serving as a Senior Research Analyst.

Joel was an invaluable resource during his tenure on the board, helping to guide the organization as it weathered the COVID-19 pandemic and the financial hardship that it brought. He was known for being a positive and pragmatic force on this committee, balancing the importance of VisArts' mission with sound financial decision-making.

"Joel has always been an incredible advocate for VisArts," shared Executive Director, Jordan Brown. "He truly believes in the mission of this organization and understands the positive impacts of the arts in this community. He not only enjoys taking our classes and showing up to events with a smile, but he is also somebody I know I can rely on when I'm weighing a tough decision or trying to make plans for the future. He's the perfect example of what you hope for in a board member."

While he's no longer serving on the board, Joel continues to be a resource to the staff, offering his insight and expertise as well as volunteering his time to directly support fundraising.

Consider making a donation to the Visual Arts Center of Richmond in honor of this year's Distinguished Service Award recipient, Joel Ray. The Distinguished Service Award recognizes a longtime friend of VisArts who has demonstrated a sustained and extraordinary commitment to the organization. All donations are 100% tax deductible.

After making your donation, please click "Pay" and select "Click Here to Pay" to finalize your payment. You will receive a confirmation email once the payment is processed.

Since 2001, VisArts' staff annually selects one member of its faculty to receive the Shelly Shepherd Master Teacher Award. This award goes to an instructor each year who exemplifies the organization's mission through their excellence, creativity, and dedication to their students. To be considered for this award, the teacher must also meet various criteria, including a minimum of four seasons of teaching at VisArts.

The VisArts community submitted 150 nominations for this year's Shelly Shepherd Master Teacher Award winner, with more than 60 teachers nominated. After her more than 35 years of teaching screenprinting classes, VisArts' staff has selected JC Gilmore-Bryan as this year's Master Teacher.

JC Gilmore-Bryan is a professional artist. In addition to teaching at VisArts, she also teaches at Virginia State University and has taught at VCU. She is a member of the Professional Printmaking group ONE/OFF. In 2011 she received a Fulbright Scholar award to teach mural painting and do her own work in screenprinting for a solo exhibition at the National Academy of Art in Sofia, Bulgaria. She has done residencies in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and in Paris at the Cite' Internationale des Arts. She has a MFA from Columbia University, MA from Vanderbilt University and a BS From MTSU. Her work is in collections around the world.

"She is generous in so many ways," shared one community member who nominated JC for this recognition. "She is there for student endeavors even outside of the classroom time. She's patient in helping students to understand process and sets expectations that help students to stretch their thinking and challenge their vision, organized in steps that build on experience and knowledge."

This spring, JC is teaching Screenprinting Immersion for adults, and will be teaching Fun With Printmaking for VisArts' ArtVenture youth campers this summer.

Consider making a donation to the Visual Arts Center of Richmond in honor of this year's Shelly Shepherd Master Teacher Award recipient, JC Gilmore-Bryan. Each year, the Shelly Shepherd Master Teacher Award goes to an instructor who exemplifies the organization's mission through their excellence, creativity and dedication to their students. All donations are 100% tax deductible.

After making your donation, please click "Pay" and select "Click Here to Pay" to finalize your payment. You will receive a confirmation email once the payment is processed.