VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Scott Duncan’s passion is with the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).
“Contemporary art enables you to get at issues that nothing else can,” Duncan said.
But after three decades of reaching people visually near the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, Duncan and others are looking ahead to the museum moving to the Virginia Beach campus of Virginia Wesleyan University (VWU).
“It tugs at your heart to leave the home that you’ve been in for so long,” Duncan told News 3. “We’re incredibly excited for this next step.”
News 3 asked Duncan about the reason behind the move.
“To have a new state-of-the-art facility, and again a more central ??? to our region, still in the City of Virginia Beach,” Duncan said.
Dr. Scott Miller, President of Virginia Wesleyan University, said both institutions have a longstanding relationship, and talks between the university and museum started roughly a year ago, before culminating into Tuesday’s announcement.
“They were exploring options for the future for MOCA,” Dr. Miller said. “Their facility was getting older. It had some tremendous needs.”
Dr. Miller believes moving the museum to his university’s campus is a win-win for Hampton Roads and VWU students and staff.
“The access from Interstate 64 [and] the population that’s within 20 miles of the new facility,” he said. “There are students who come here with a specific interest in a number of disciplines that would be an ideal match for work opportunities for those students, educational opportunities, and internships. They’ll have a living laboratory right here on this campus.”
Dr. Miller told News 3 the new Virginia MOCA is expected to be built next to the Susan Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center, and be housed in a 30,000-35,000 sq. foot facility.
While it’s unclear exactly what the museum will look like, and what the future is for the city-owned building housing Virginia MOCA now, nearby resident Arda Ozseven is all for the move.
“It’s going to be more visible for people because it’s between trees and stuff. It’s not too central,” Ozseven said of the current museum site.
Meanwhile, Larry Pleasants, a regular visitor who lives down the street from the current Virginia MOCA, is bittersweet about the move.
“We feel that it’s part of us, locally,” Pleasants said. “It’s popular here. To everyone around here, we know it. We love it. We just want something here.”
But, similar to the colors hung and displayed on these walls, both Duncan and Dr. Miller said the future is bright.
“It’s going to be an amazing facility that’s going to draw people in as a great gathering place,” Duncan said.
According to Dr. Miller, the new Virginia MOCA on VWU’s campus is expected to open anytime between the spring and summer of 2025.
Gary Ryan, the CEO of MOCA, says the purpose of the move had to do with the need for a change of scenery. She says there are many people who refer to the museum as a hidden gem. By partnering with Virginia Wesleyan College. Ryan says it will create more opportunities for the museum in terms of expansion and exposure.
"One of the things we looked at was how to uncover this hidden gem. With Virginia Wesleyan being located just off of 264 close to the airport still in Virginia Beach really allowed us to spotlight this museum and provide a platform for the expansion of impact," says Ryan.
Currently, the city of Virginia Beach owns the building where the museum is. And at this time there is no definite plan for what the former museum will be once it moves.
