arts & entertainment
At the conclusion of a dynamic and informative 2026–2027 season, rich with lectures, performances, art classes, and first-of-its-kind exhibitions, the Vero Beach Museum of Art (VBMA), in mid-February 2027, will be saying goodbye to its current facility to forward the development of a new VBMA campus in Riverside Park, opening in 2028. The Museum will vacate the entire facility, except the Collections Wing, to make way for indoor and outdoor community gathering spaces, galleries, gardens, terraces, and courtyards that will comprise a new, comprehensive arts center for the Vero Beach community and beyond.
To ensure uninterrupted delivery of its educational mission, the Museum has leased a 6,000-square-foot building at 1716 Highway A1A in Vero Beach. The VBMA “Hub” will open to the public in March 2027, offering Spring Term art classes and workshops, Museum Studios family programming, a mini-Art Zone for kids, and community access programs such as Classes for Veterans, A+ART, and Summer Art Camp. The space will also house staff offices.
An anonymous leadership gift from a VBMA Board Trustee will fund 50 percent of the two-year lease. In providing the funds, the donor emphasized the importance of supporting the Museum and its critical educational programming during this interim period. Two additional gifts from Trustees who wish to remain anonymous are helping the Museum outfit the location.
“Our generous and visionary board leaders are committed to advancing VBMA’s mission,” shares VBMA Executive Director Brady Roberts. “They’ve demonstrated that with 100 percent board participation in the Museum in the Garden capital campaign and through funding assistance for an interim satellite space, which will allow us to provide diverse and innovative classes, workshops, and programs in art education while the new facility is constructed.”
In addition to programming at the “Hub,” VBMA will continue to offer offsite community access programs presented in partnership with Senior Resource Association, Center for Memory and Movement, and others. VBMA’s Museum Explorations on the Go program, which has grown by 30 percent year over year, will continue to serve PreK through Grade 12 students and teachers directly in Indian River County classrooms.
The Museum will present its 2028 International Lecture Series at Saint Edward’s School to accommodate hundreds of subscribers who attend that signature program. Signature fundraising programs such as Art in Bloom and GALA 2028 will also be held offsite.
“We look forward to welcoming the community to the incredible and robust final season we have planned for our current facility and will hope to see them often at the Hub and other locations while our new Museum building and transformed campus are under construction,” adds Roberts.
The site of the future VBMA building is taking shape rapidly. Passersby will see exterior walls rising over the next several months. The project’s capital campaign—Museum in the Garden: Campaign for VBMA—is also advancing. More than $119 million has been raised toward its $126 million goal. To learn more, visit future.vbmuseum.org.
