(Urbanna, VA) – Bay Transit, the public transportation division of Bay Aging, and the RAL Art Center have announced the dates for the Fifth Annual Art in Transit judged competition. Artists throughout the Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula, and Richmond area will be invited to participate in the fifth edition of the regional Art in Transit contest when the call for entries is announced in January. The deadline for entries and art submissions to the RAL Art Center in Kilmarnock has been expanded to multiple dates next April to encourage participation. Artists will be able to submit their artwork beginning on Saturday, April 26th, 2025, as well as Sunday, April 27th, or Monday, April 28th, from 10 AM and 12 PM. “Every year, we are receiving more entries from across the region and want to make it easy for people to travel to Kilmarnock to drop them off,” said RAL Art Center Executive Director Stephanie Brown.
Once again, in 2025 the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) has committed to be a Gold Level sponsor and help to judge the Art in Transit entries. This year, Jeffrey Allison, VMFA’s Director of Statewide Programs and Exhibitions and Paul Mellon Collection Educator, served as one of the judges of the art competition. “We are thrilled to support Art in Transit again next year,” Mr. Allison said. “Being able to support public transportation in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula along with improved access to the arts in the region is exactly the kind of initiative that VMFA loves to get involved with. My colleague, Celeste Fetta, VMFA’s Joan P. Brock Director of Education and Assistant Deputy Director for Art and Education, will be taking over the judging duties next year,” Allison added. “I know what an honor and challenge it was for me this year and I’m confident Celeste will find it to be so in 2025.”
Jenni Kirby, a Mosaicist and the owner of Crossroads Art Center in Richmond, will serve as the second judge in 2025. In 2002, Jenni and fellow artist James Bassfield (8 years Retired) opened the Crossroads Art Center in Richmond, VA. Over the years, the art center has grown to 25,000 square feet and over 225 artists.
Next year’s award winners will be recognized at the 2025 Art in Transit reception and awards ceremony at the RAL Art Center in Kilmarnock on Friday night, May 30th, 2025, from 5 until 7 PM. “Again in 2025, the first prize will be $1,000, with the second-place winner receiving a check for $750, and the third-place winner receiving $500,” noted Bay Transit Director Ken Pollock. “Over the last four years, Art in Transit has grown into one of the premier art competitions in the region. I’m thankful to VMFA for their continued support with the judging. There are always so many incredible entries, it’s nice to have professionals judging the artwork,” Pollock added. The culmination of the awards ceremony will once again occur when a copy of the first-place entry is unveiled on the side of a Bay Transit bus.
For more information about Bay Transit, please visit www.BayTransit.org. For more information about the RAL Art Center, please visit www.RalArtCenter.com.
