For over three decades, the Tephra ICA Arts Festival has engaged the Fairfax County and Northern Virginia community through arts and performances. The festival will celebrate its 35th anniversary with a two-day event on May 16-17 at Reston Town Center for the public.
It will have 200 artists nationwide and from the D.C. region, dance performances, original paintings and a concert.
Also, there will be two new things for this year’s festival: a People’s Choice Award in remembrance of festival founder Judith Forst and activities acknowledging America’s craft traditions in honor of the country’s 250th birthday.
“It’s a really great way to think about, how do we honor the founder? And then also, how do we kind of engage people in this kind of experience and recognition of artists?” Jonell Logan, executive director and curator at the Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art (Tephra ICA), said of the People’s Choice Award, which will be voted on by attendees.
At least 40,000 people attended the festival in 2025 — a record number, according to Tephra ICA.
Logan said the Tephra ICA Arts Festival started off in one portion of Reston Town Center, but eventually took up the whole town center. The expansion allowed the institute to increase the number of artists it works with, helping them find an audience to share and sell their work.
The Tephra ICA Arts Festival has had a strong history of performances, which are sponsored by the Reston Community Center. Those who have performed at the festival include the Trisha Brown Dance Company, Claire Helen Ashley, Danielle Hatch and Hosey Corona.
Logan said Forst created the festival not just to raise funds for Tephra ICA, but to “engage people in contemporary art outside of the gallery space.”
“The founding of Reston and the importance of art in community is building healthy communities and strong creative communities,” she said. “So, the festival kind of filled that role, and after her founding, we have continued it since its onset.”
Established in 1974 as the Greater Reston Arts Center, Tephra ICA is a nonprofit with two galleries in Reston Town Center — one at 12001 Market Street, Suite 103, and another in the Signature apartments (11850 Freedom Drive). The organization rebranded in 2021 to reflect its increasingly regional scope.
The annual arts festival likewise underwent a name change in 2022. Launched in 1991, it was previously known as the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution on April 14 to commemorate the festival’s 35th anniversary. Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn told FFXnow that he is happy to recognize the arts festival for their milestone.
“It really has become a focal point regionally for artists of all types to show their works,” Alcorn said. “And it’s really one of the seminal events annually at Reston Town Center.”
The resolution will be formally presented to Tephra ICA officials at the board’s meeting on May 16.
As it approaches its 35th anniversary, the Tephra ICA Arts Festival continues to demonstrate Fairfax County’s and Northern Virginia’s investment in arts, Logan says.
“I see that as a testament to the importance of the arts, but then also this real deep investment in community and community engagement around creativity in the arts,” Logan said. “It’s also just like a fun opportunity with no pressure to like be together with people that you don’t know, exploring amazing artwork, seeing performances, being together with no pressure.”
She believes that people should attend the festival in commemoration of its 35th anniversary because they will have a good time.
In addition to approximately 200 artist booths, the festivities will include live glass-blowing demonstrations led by the Workhouse Arts Center, a free art project at Reston Town Square Park hosted by South Lakes High School’s STEAM Team, and performances by PearsonWidrig DanceTheater.
The festival will last from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on May 16 and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 17.
“This is like a build-your-own-adventure-in-the-arts experience, and the people have a really good time and I think that that is a great thing,” Logan said.
