Note: Authored by David Menconi, this piece has been produced in partnership with Raleigh Arts. Menconi's latest book, "Oh, Didn't They Ramble: Rounder Records and the Transformation of American Roots Music," was published by University of North Carolina Press. His podcast, Carolina Calling, explores the history of the Tar Heel State through music.

Go by the new Visual Art Exchange headquarters in Raleigh, and the first thing you notice will probably be some furniture out on the front porch of the house. Awaiting visitors there are three rocking chairs, all of them painted a bright shade of hot pink.

“We hope the rocking chairs convey a feeling of wanting people to come stay a while,” says VAE co-director Jean Gray Mohs. “We try to be hyper-welcoming, leading with an ethos of lifting all boats in connecting satellite communities. VAE is a place for artists and creatives seeking opportunity and community. We want to shine a light on our neighbors.”

^{The new front porch of VAE's Jobe House headquarters on the western edge of downtown Raleigh}

VAE has only been in the Jobe House at 909 W. Morgan St. (two doors north of the venerable Irregardless Café) since January of this year, and Mohs and Pete Sack didn’t become the organization’s co-directors until June 2025. But VAE has a long history in Raleigh and marks its 45-year anniversary in 2026.

The organization’s roots go back to the late 1970s, when local artist Margot Richter conducted a series of networking events and spearheaded the formation of an artist-led non-profit called the Wake Visual Arts Association. The initial mission was a simple one, providing a place for artists to show and sell their work.

VAE has been in a series of locations in Raleigh over the years, most recently the Mahler Building on Fayetteville Street just prior to moving to Jobe House. But that original mission has remained, along with a focus shift to broader community initiatives about a decade ago.

^{A scene from the Jobe House headquarters ribbon cutting event}

Nowadays VAE is bustling with events and exhibitions at Jobe House (which also has artist-in-residence space upstairs) along with other venues elsewhere in Raleigh.

Current shows include works by artists Anna Podris, Keith Norval and Tavyn Lovitt on display in Jobe House; pieces by needleprint artist Caitlin Cary and quilt-maker Ginny Robinson in the “Streetframe” space at the site of the former CVS pharmacy on Fayetteville Street; and “Becoming,” featuring works by student artists from Wake Technical Community College, showing at Boylan Heights’ Birdland Gallery, 706 Mountford St.

Also coming to Birdland in mid-May will be a multi-artist show called “Flight,” featuring various interpretations of the title. Another VAE partnership is with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts’ Snapdragon Fund, which selects and distributes grant money to artists for projects, research and development.

^{Exhibitions at VAE Raleigh's pop-up Birdland Gallery in downtown Raleigh}

The activity level is a positive sign, given VAE’s difficulties in recent years. Like most arts institutions, the organization had a tough stretch weathering the coronavirus pandemic shutdown.

“Since last June, we’ve devoted most of our time and energy to reviving the organization to make sure it will last another 45 years,” says co-director Sack. “We are stewards of the organization in its current form, trying to right the ship.”

Part of that took the form of a series of listening sessions Sack and Moh conducted last year, to assess the needs, desires and dreams of Raleigh’s community of artists. They’re both working professional artists who have long histories with VAE going back to well before their current leadership roles.

“VAE is where so many local artists met their community, did their first exhibition, experimented with ideas,” says Moh. “It’s always had a very specific niche with artists learning and developing at the center, and we’re trying to provide that again. We’re very community-centered.”

^{Selection of works by VAE artists, clockwise from top left: Frances Lightbound, "Lot Lines"; Peter Marin, "Agua Laberinto y Piramide"; Caitlin Cary, "Roomys: Natural Science"; Lee Nisbet, "Dusk"}

To that end, every Wednesday is “Community Night” at VAE’s Jobe House. Some weeks, it’s a structured event or discussion, while other weeks it’s just an informal get-together.

“It’s a way for artists to get out of the studio, get together and talk,” says Sack. “Something will be happening here every Wednesday evening, even if it’s as simple as, ‘Bring a sketchbook to do that while having a drink on the porch.”

In those pink rocking chairs. 

Visit vaeraleigh.org to keep up with current and upcoming events and exhibitions.

^{All photos provided by VAE Raleigh}