Around Town

A new art initiative is bringing light to Old Town Fairfax, just as winter and the darkest days of the year arrive.

Illuminate Fairfax officially launched last Friday (Dec. 15), but the last and biggest artwork was installed just yesterday (Wednesday), according to Fairfax City Economic Development (FCED).


Around Town

Next year, the Lake Thoreau spillway will feature a nature-inspired public artwork created by South Lakes High School’s STEAM team.

The 10-foot tall installation was designed to embrace Reston’s natural environment with a “modern twist,” according to Public Art Reston. Viewers will see a forest from one perspective and a single tree from the other. Students plan to illuminate flowers fastened to the tree’s branches.


Around Town

A solo exhibition by sculptor and microbiologist Kendall Buster will descend on Reston’s Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art on Dec. 9.

The exhibit, SEED, is presented in conjunction with Buster’s SOLSTICE, which will be on view at The Kreeger Museum in D.C. An opening reception and artist talk will be held at Tephra ICA (12001 Market Street, Suite 103) on Saturday, Dec. 9 from 6-8 p.m.


News

More changes may be on the horizon for Reston’s Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art, following a brand and name change in recent years.

The institute — which was founded in 1974 as the Greater Reston Arts Center by local artists and residents — is actively fundraising for a new home in Reston as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.


Around Town

The McLean Project for the Arts is going downtown, at least for a weekend, though it hopes to stay longer.

The nonprofit will launch an inaugural “MPA Inspires” celebration of art and jazz on Nov. 18-19 that will also serve as its introduction to a new space at The Signet (6910 Fleetwood Road), a seven-story condominium building with some ground-floor retail space.


Around Town

(Updated at 1:45 p.m. on 11/3/2023) The Blue Ridge mountains are the focus of the latest exhibit at the Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art in Reston.

The exhibit “Metopic Ridge” by Eleanor Mahin Thorp, an artist and educator, features paintings of the mountains that explore stability and change.


Around Town

An aerial dance studio based in Maryland will swoop across state lines this fall with an expansion into Merrifield.

Aerial Candy is transforming an industrial space at 2801 Merrilee Drive that was being used for storage into a studio where dancers can train with aerial silks, hoops and other specialized equipment.


Around Town

Take a seat, Ben Affleck. A new artistic statement about Nike’s trendy Air Jordans is coming to town.

Falls Church artist Andy Yoder’s well-traveled exhibit “Overboard” will take up residence at Tysons Corner Center starting this Friday (Oct. 13), the latest installation resulting from the mall’s ongoing collaboration with local arts agency ArtsFairfax.


Around Town

Art will take over McLean Central Park this weekend with the return of MPAartfest.

Now in its 17th year, the annual festival from the McLean Project for the Arts (MPA) will be back on Sunday (Oct. 1), promising dozens of artists, food trucks and live entertainment from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.


Countywide

Fairfax County is considering a pilot program to support more murals in its commercial revitalization areas.

The pilot program, called Paint It! Fairfax, was introduced at a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors economic initiatives committee meeting on Tuesday (Sept. 19).


View More Stories