(Updated at 1:50 p.m. on 4/6/2023) There are no “Do not touch” signs associated with the latest artworks installed at Tysons Corner Center.

The five metal sculptures in “Static Dynamism” — an exhibit by Fairfax County-based metal artist, engineer and sculptor J.P. Muller — are designed to be interactive, according to the mall.

Now displayed on the second floor of the Bloomingdale’s wing, Muller’s work is the second installation resulting from Tysons Corner Center’s partnership with ArtsFairfax, the county’s nonprofit arts agency.

The first installation featured paintings that were rescued from Afghanistan or created by artists who were evacuated after the Taliban took control of the country in August 2021. Curated by the street art collective ArtLords, the works were on display throughout January and February.

Announced on Monday (April 3), “Static Dynamism” will get a grand opening from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, April 20. Expected attendees include Muller, ArtsFairfax CEO Linda Sullivan, and Tysons Corner Center Director of Property Management Jesse Benites.

“As the name of the installation suggests, the pieces on display are static but were designed to be interactive and dynamic,” the mall and ArtsFairfax said in a press release. “Each piece changes with the participant’s vantage point as well as ambient conditions of the environment.”

The exhibit will remain on display through May 31.

ArtsFairfax is still accepting applications for future exhibits at Tysons Corner Center, a collaboration that will continue through the end of 2023.

“The goals for this art collaboration between Tysons Corner Center at ArtsFairfax is to create unique and interactive art environments, echo Tysons Corner Center as a contemporary and creative destination, and most importantly, to showcase the talents of local artists and arts organizations,” the press release said.

Descriptions of the individual pieces in “Static Dynamism” from Muller are below. Read More

In the year 2030, travelers on The One — the dedicated bus service planned for the Richmond Highway (Route 1) corridor — will be able to wait for their next ride while taking in artwork designed by local students.

Proposed artwork for seven of the nine future Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit stations is now online, and county residents can share their preferences by filling out a survey that is open through April 3.

There will also be a drop-in open house on Wednesday (March 29) from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Mount Vernon High School.

Each work is based around themes selected with community input, according to the Fairfax County Department of Transportation. For example, the themes for the Hybla Valley station are retail hub, diversity and multiculturalism.

There are two artworks listed for that station. One features bright colors and “is meant to represent the past making way for the bright diverse future,” according to the included student narrative.

The other is sketched in black and white.

“Students focused on the passage of time, evolution of communication, and how the community has changed and evolved and become more diverse,” the student narrative reads, in part.

Student artwork for the Huntington, Kings Crossing and Beacon Hill stations comes from photography students at Hayfield Secondary School.

“These students created imagery responding to the theme PAST/PRESENT/FUTURE,” the booklet says. “It was their intention to educate citizens and visitors of the Route 1 corridor about the rich history of the land we stand on, while also preserving the present and looking towards the future of our changing community.”

The Woodlawn station got five art submissions — the most of any station. Designs for the Gum Springs and Hyland Center stations have not been completed yet.

Including artwork that reflects “the history, identity, and character of the neighborhoods surrounding each station area” is the goal of the “Community Charm” initiative, according to the Richmond Highway BRT page on the county’s website. The selected windscreen designs will be semi-permanent.

“Student artwork will inspire the first windscreen design, which may evolve or change over time,” the survey says.

Gathering feedback on the artwork is the fourth step in FCDOT’s work to finalize designs for the windscreen area at each station. Next, an executive committee will take a final vote and provide feedback to FCDOT and a consultant design team, which will then make any necessary adaptations to the works.

Local organizations are exploring the possibility of creating a new icon for Reston.

The icon would serve as a local, visible symbol that would be memorialized in sculptures across the community. The symbol would be available for local businesses, corporations and residents to display as a fundraising effort that will provide money for public art.

Friends of Reston, Reston Association, Public Art Reston and other community partners are collaborating on the project.

At a March 23 meeting of the Reston Association Board of Directors, chairwoman Sarah Selvaraj-D’Souza presented the project, following up on a previous presentation to the board in July. RA is the funding beneficiary of the project, while Friends of Reston is leading the fundraising efforts.

The icon will be selected from a list of four choices: a blue heron, woodpecker, a fox, or a write-in animal.

“The infrastructure is us, which is our underpasses and our spillway,” D’Souza said. She hopes that the project will be unveiled at RA’s annual membership meeting on April 11.

Jennifer Jushchuk said she was confused about RA’s role in the project.

“Is there money that’s involved? Is there staff time that is involved?” Jushchuk inquired.

Board member Travis Johnson said he was confused about the scope of the project and the placement of the icon.

“I see the word ‘icon’ and it just concerns me a little,” Johnson said.

The winning selection will be fabricated into a cast sulphur to be painted and auctioned off for future public art projects in Reston.

Selvaraj-D’Souza noted that other communities have similar projects. Norfolk has a mermaid, while D.C. has donkeys and elephants — the animals representing the country’s two major political parties — as well as pandas. She hopes the funds will be used to pay for public art projects on RA’s underpasses.

Board member John Farrell noted that the Walker Nature Center — which is operated by RA — already uses a pileated woodpecker, suggesting that additional animal-centric icons could create confusion.

But board member Margaret Perry, who expressed support for the program, noted that the center also uses a squirrel and turtle in some of its programming.

“We’ve already shot ourselves in the foot there,” Perry said.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors got a first look last week at a new plan that it hopes can help turn the county into a hub for the arts.

At an economic initiatives committee meeting on March 14, Fairfax County Arts Committee Chair Leila Gordon said the new Master Arts Plan shows that some of the county’s revitalization zones — like the one in the works for downtown McLean — need to do more to prioritize the arts and add more supporting facilities.

“Beyond what are traditionally characterized as ‘major arts venues,’ the County needs multiple other support facilities and spaces to complement existing arts venues,” a presentation on the plan said.

Those arts-supporting uses include creating residential zoning for live/work studios, more small-scale venues, and better temporary use of vacant facilities.

Supervisors at the meeting shared positive feedback on the plan, but many had individual areas they wanted to see more fully explored.

“We’re not doing public art well in this county at all, regardless of how many times we’ve tried to do it,” said Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross. “On Richmond Highway they’ve had some success with some murals, but trying to get permits for murals and trying to explain to the planning and development department that this is not a sign…that’s a wonderful way to grab people really quickly.”

Gross said as the process goes on, she’d like to see more public art worked into the plan.

Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik expressed hope to see more descriptions of how art uses should be managed and governed.

“We can build the spaces, we can permit the spaces, we can transform the spaces, but I think the question is…place-based governance,” Palchik said. “We are a large county. We have a lot of initiatives as well as priorities. We can build all the spaces we want, but they have to be run, they have to be activated, they have to be managed.”

Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay said the arts across Fairfax County are currently plagued by waste and unequal distribution, two topics he hopes to see the plan tackle.

“There’s also a lot of waste in the arts,” McKay said. “When props are done, they’re trashed. When costumes are done, they don’t get stored. I know there are a lot of private arts organizations — dance schools are familiar with this — that spend a lot of money on props, a lot of money on costumes, and when the show is over, they go in the trash.”

McKay said the Master Arts Plan is a chance to organize the local arts community and get organizations on the same page when it comes to sharing resources. McKay said he hoped to see a “huge inventory” of items that can be recycled across multiple shows. From the county leadership side, that may involve financing storage space.

“One thing we should be looking at in terms of facilities [is] if the county can provide a centralized warehouse of arts materials,” McKay said. “There is quite a bit of waste in the arts and it doesn’t need to be that way. A lot of high school theater groups do the same rotating shows but a lot of times, they’re starting from scratch for props, and finding out they’re discarded from another school that did the same show. That can be very costly.”

McKay also said part of the plan should focus on distributing arts venues around Fairfax County, noting that many arts spaces are being built where there is already an abundance of facilities.

According to a draft plan, there are several potential venues in the works, including proposed arts centers at Reston Town Center and in downtown Herndon, but a lack of funding is cited as an obstacle in multiple cases.

“Unfortunately where [there’s] the greatest art advocacy is where there are already facilities,” McKay said. “There are parts of the county that just don’t have the same access. Looking at that through gap analysis is going to be really important.”

The plan also notes that cost and availability limitations lead many organizations in Fairfax County to use venues not intended for arts programming, like schools or churches, or to go outside the county.

The Master Arts Plan for cultural facilities is under review and will be fully released sometime this spring. A broader Public Art Master Plan is scheduled for completion in early 2024.

A new exhibit opening this week at Reston’s Tephra Institute for Contemporary Art (Tephra ICA) celebrates the richness and complexity of the immigrant experience.

Partly powered by a partnership with the Mexican Cultural Institute of Mexico’s embassy in the U.S., the exhibit “Hacia la Vida/Toward Life” features work from artists of Mexican descent: Baltimore-based Hoesy Corono and the California duo Cognate Collective.

The exhibit, which opens on Saturday (March 11), aims to create a new framework to understand the position of immigrants. Registration for the free event is open online.

“There is a fearlessness in this exhibition that I find so compelling,” Tephra ICA Associate Curator & Festival Director Hannah Barco said. “Just as these artists do not shy away from the daunting political issues of immigration and climate change, they are not afraid to be bold, colorful, and vibrant; and to work with the quotidian, the simple objects, and materials around them. They are not afraid to follow their joy.”

The exhibit is the first of three planned to mark the 50th anniversary of Tephra, which launched in 1974 as the Greater Reston Arts Center.

This is Tephra’s first time partnering with the Mexican Cultural Institute. It will host workshops with the artist team during the exhibit.

“The Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington, DC is committed to enriching the relationship between Mexico and the United States and we are very excited to partner for the first time with Tephra ICA for this program celebrating life, art, and its 50th anniversary,” said Min. Ix-Nic Iruegas Peón, executive director of the Mexican Cultural Institute.

Corona will headline a performance at this year’s Tephra ICA Arts Festival — formerly known as the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival — on May 20 and 21.

The festival, which is presented by Reston Community Center (RCC), will feature an artistic performance that explores migration and displacement caused by climate change.

“RCC is delighted to present a riveting and spectacular performing arts experience in combination with this exceptional Festival,” RCC Board Chair Beverly Cosham. “We look forward to immersing ourselves in beauty and thought-provoking creativity at Reston Town Center.”

Cognate Collective primarily develops research projects, public interventions and experimental teaching programs with communities across the U.S. and Mexico border.

A workshop with the collective is slated for March 11 from 11-12:30 p.m. at the Mexican Cultural Institute in D.C. A date for the workshop with Corona has not yet been announced.

An artist talk and opening reception is slated for March 11 from 5-7 p.m. at Tephra ICA (12001 Market Street, Suite 103). Visitors will active the installation by lighting a candle and reciting an incantation to express solidarity with migrants. Cognate Collective will lead the interactive performance.

Cerebral, a public art piece created by South Lakes High School’s STEAM club on the Lake Thoreau spillway, is officially no more.

There are no plans to install the sculpture after high winds loosed its joints and its pieces fell into the lake and beyond last weekend, according to SLHS art teacher Marco Rando.

The sculpture is the first to fail because of the elements and the seventh installation overall placed by the club on the spillway.

Rando said that, although the sculpture is designed and engineered for extreme elements using hurricane ties, the winds damaged some of the joints.

“The tie down cables worked to keep the elements secured to the concrete base even when half sculpture fell into the lake,” Rando said. “Fortunately the wood members of the sculpture allowed the work to float, this helped in towing the work to shore where it was disassembled in smaller pieces for transport back to the school.”

Because of the significant damage to the sculpture, the team decided not to focus on reassembling.

But it won’t be long before another sculpture will take its place. Students are currently working on a new concept — “Rise” — that will face “more engineering scrutiny” to buttress the sculpture to weather more natural elements.

“The team is very confident this year’s concept will be aesthetically beautiful with added structural details to withstand the erratic weather conditions that seem to be common of the current climate change. The students of STEAM Team take great pride in serving the community,” Rando said.

He says setbacks like the structural failure of an artwork are a learning experience for all.

“Such setbacks will only strengthen the students experience, this real world problem, which occurs on professional levels as well, affords the Team opportunity to examine and resolve issues before they are unsettled,” Rando said.

The high winds on Friday (Feb. 17) proved too much for public artwork installed by South Lakes High School’s STEAM club on Lake Thoreau’s spillway.

After high winds blew off several pieces of the artwork “Cerebral,” the exhibit was removed from the platform. Composed of aircraft cable, barrel swivels, wire, paint, solar panels and wood, the artwork was installed in June.

“RA’s CSF team safely recovered all the artwork pieces that ended up in the lake and removed the remaining pieces from the spillway on Saturday morning,” RA spokesperson Mike Leone said.

The pieces were returned to the school. As of now, it’s unclear if reinstallation is planned. Another artwork is planned for the same area this summer.

The county was under a wind advisory throughout Friday evening. Winds were reportedly traveling at 20 to 35 mph with gusts up to 50 mph, according to the National Weather Service. 

Developed under the guidance of SLHS art teacher Marco Rando, the sculpture aims to conceptualize the complexity of the brain. The brain and body is depicted as a cohesive force, challenging the idea of humans being left brained or right brained, according to nonprofit organization Public Art Reston.

The artwork is the eighth installed by the STEAM club. Students present designs to Public Art Reston and Reston Association’s Design Review Board for approval. According to Public Art Reston, the design is tested for durability, constructed by students, disassembled and then reinstalled on the spillway.

A community art exchange confined to a box is now open at the Cathy Hudgins Community Center at Southgate (12125 Pinecrest Road) in Reston.

The project, called a Free Little Art Gallery (FLAG), operates like the more typical Free Little Library model.

Residents can deposit and take art that is displayed on miniature cabinets. The FLAG was installed in December, but Public Art Reston and Reston Association held an official unveiling at the community center on Tuesday (Feb. 14).

The concept was created by artist Stacy Milrany, who installed the first FLAG in December 2020 in Seattle, Washington. Since then, the concept has popped up across the country.

All kinds of art — including books — can be deposited in the box.

Christine Hodgson, director of the community center, said the FLAG will help the center provide a welcoming and inclusive environment where everyone feels a sense of belonging.

“We believe in empowering our community and our hope is that this FLAG will provide an opportunity for our community members to connect and engage with their inner artist, the center, and the community.” Hodgson wrote in a statement.

The first FLAG in Reston was installed in the Waterview Cluster by resident Sue Johnston in December 2021. The model was borrowed by Public Art Reston at activity tables in community events.

The FLAG at the center is the first in Reston that is installed on public property. It’s supported by funding from a civic organization called Random Acts.

Public Art Reston board member Amanda Scarangella helped push the project forward, building the box with her partner, John Dean.

“Having designed the FLAG, it’s been my honor to work toward fostering a place for future artistic expression,” Scarangella remarked. “The FLAG will serve as a beacon of public art inspiring artists of all ages and skill levels to engage with their fellow community members in a positive manner. The FLAG will create a safe, accessible, and equitable space for all to enjoy the benefits — educational, social, developmental, community-building, and more — of public art.”

The Fairway Drive underpass in Reston is slated for a facelift.

Public Art Reston is seeking artists to submit ideas for an art project at the underpass, which connects residential areas with a pool, community center and the Lake Anne Village Center.

The project is the third permanent public artwork commissioned by Public Art Reston. The organization partners with Reston Association.

Reston’s master plan for public art contemplates using the pedestrian tunnels for public art projects in an effort to “foster community engagement, enhance public safety and instill pride of place,” according to Public Art Reston.

The organization expects to involve the community in the project. The selected artist or artist team will work with Lake Anne Elementary School students and other neighborhood groups to create the work.

A similar workflow was adopted to add Ben Volta’s “Thoreau’s Ensemble” on the Colts Neck Road underpass in 2019 and Valeria Theberge’s “Emerge” at the Glade Drive underpass in 2010.

Here’s more from Public Art Reston on the importance of artwork in Reston’s history:

Public art is an important part of Reston’s history. Commissioned, site-specific play sculptures were integrated into the built environment of its first development at Lake Anne Village Center. Offering residents daily encounters with art was a unique feature for a 1960s suburban development, and one that distinguishes Reston for its visionary role in current placemaking initiatives. Among these commissions are Uruguayan modernist Gonzalo Fonseca’s whimsical sculptural environment for North Shore Drive Underpass (1965) and Baltimore-based potter, Olin Rossum’s abstract ceramic mosaic for Moorings Drive Underpass (1967).

The application deadline is Feb. 24. Materials are available online.

Before enduring the indignities of modern airport security, people flying out of Dulles can now calm their nerves by taking in the artistic talents of Fairfax County’s students.

A youth art exhibition from the McLean Project for the Arts (MPA) is now on display in the check-in area of Dulles International Airport, the nonprofit announced last week.

All of the featured work was created by local students at public and private schools. The pieces were going to be included in the Children’s Art Walk that’s typically displayed during the organization’s annual MPAartfest, but the festival got rained out last year.

“We are thrilled to have the artwork of some of our community’s talented young artists on display at Dulles Airport,” MPA Executive Director Lori Carbonneau said. “This is a wonderful example of the community building at the heart of our programming at McLean Project for the Arts.”

The idea of a youth art exhibit at Dulles took root last summer, before the remnants of Hurricane Ian washed out MPAartfest.

As a supporter of MPA’s community arts programming, Del. Kathleen Murphy (D-34) invited its leaders to talk to Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority (MWAA) staff, according to the nonprofit. The delegate sits on the group’s advisory board, and her husband William Sudow also happens to chair the MWAA Board of Directors.

“There was a preliminary call late in the summer about [Murphy and Sudow’s] idea to feature youth art from county school students at Dulles,” MPA said, noting that Reagan National Airport is hosting a similar exhibit featuring student artists from D.C.

MPA suggested using art intended for the Children’s Art Walk, which is sponsored by the New Dominion Women’s Club of McLean and compiles work shared by local art teachers.

The final exhibit was assembled by MWAA staff.

“The support of our advisory board member Delegate Kathleen Murphy and her husband, Bill Sudow…led to this opportunity to share art and information about MPA with travelers to and from the D.C. area,” Carbonneau said.

The display can be found by the Transportation Security Administration’s west precheck security checkpoint on the airport’s departures level. For now, the artwork will remain for an indefinite period of time.

“They don’t have a date for when it would be switched out,” MPA spokesperson Deborah Bissen said.