The artwork appearing on this year's gala promotional material is by 2010 featured artist and VAE member and supporter Jason Craighead. This gorgeous painting will be up for auction at the gala.

A professional artist for over a decade, Jason Craighead is a recognized leader in the North Carolina art scene. His work has been included in many solo and group exhibitions throughout the Southeastern United States. He has received numerous awards and served as a juror for various art shows. He has been selected as Signature Artist for charitable art auctions, and his work has been featured in a number of publications, including Artists & Art Galleries of the Southeast.

He has also been an active participant in the Raleigh arts community for many years. He has donated numerous paintings to charitable art auctions, including the Triangle AIDS Alliance's annual Works of Heart auction and a Habitat for Humanity fundraiser. He has also served as a juror and signature artist for Works of Heart, and as a juror for the Visual Art Exchange in Raleigh and the Greensboro Center for Visual Arts Members' Show. In 2000, Raleigh's annual spring festival, Artsplosure, commissioned him as Signature Artist to create a painting that would become the image of its marketing campaign. More recently, he has become a member of the City of Raleigh Arts Commission's (RAC) 30th Anniversary Committee.

Jason enjoys a strong patron base of private collectors and corporations including former US Senator John Edwards, Zaytoun & Miller PLLC, J. Davis Architects, Capitol Broadcasting Company and Hunter Industries.

A resident of downtown Raleigh, he grew up in Florida where he studied art at Gulf Coast Community College and Florida State University. Jason is currently represented by Somerhill Gallery in Chapel Hill, NC, Broadhurst Gallery in Pinehurst, NC, Anne Irwin Fine Art in Atlanta, GA, and Bucks Gallery of Fine Art in Newtown, PA.