Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) announces the 2019 Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival, which brings more than 200 fine artists from across the nation presenting original works in 16 categories of fine art and fine craft to the unique outdoor environment of Reston Town Center.
Thanks to the continuing support of Reston Town Center, the Festival will include Festival Friday, May 17, allowing GRACE to bring this world-class experience to the community’s workforce population; many Town Center merchants will offer Festival Friday deals for that day only. The Festival Party, generously sponsored by the M Group Architects and catered in-kind by Not Your Average Joe’s with wine provided by Balducci’s Food Lover’s Market, will take place on Saturday, May 18, 7–10pm, and will serve as a platform to announce the 2019 artist Awards of Excellence. In addition, thanks to those critical sponsorships, the party will again be free this year to GRACE’s sponsors, supporters, and all Festival artists. The Festival is also bringing thought-provoking performance art to the Reston Town Center. ON DISPLAY/RESTON, a movement installation by Heidi Latsky, will celebrate the beauty of differences. This immersive artwork is generously sponsored by GRACE’s community partner, Reston Community Center, also a Festival Signature Community Sponsor with the Reston Town Center Association. The performance will take place during the Festival Party on May 18, 7pm, and at Reston Town Square Park on May 19, 11am and 2pm.
Acceptance into the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival is a major accomplishment for the artists. The selection process begins in December under the direction of an independent panel of professional jurors with assistance from GRACE curatorial staff. The three highly qualified jurors for the 2019 Festival are Nehemiah Dixon III, a widely exhibited native Washingtonian artist; Lauren Hilyard, a Washington-based art advisor with 20 years of experience working for the Guggenheim Museum and Christie’s Auction House among others; and Laura Roulet, an independent curator and writer and frequent contributor to Sculpture Magazine. These three jurors will also judge each artist booth on Friday and Saturday to select the ten Awards of Excellence. Each winner will receive a $500 cash prize, a blue ribbon for booth display, and automatic acceptance into the 2020 Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival.
“We’d also like to encourage individuals to consider our Adopt-an-Artist program,” said Lily Siegel, executive director and curator at GRACE. “For $100 an individual can directly support our nationally renowned artist hospitality package. At the same time, you’re creating a very personal connection to the artist you adopt and to the Festival experience.”
All opportunities for volunteering (500 volunteers are needed), sponsoring, and other ways to get involved can be found on the GRACE website, www.restonarts.org.
Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE):
GRACE is the largest 501(c)3 non-profit in Reston solely dedicated to enhancing community life through excellence and involvement in the visual arts. It serves 80,000 people annually, providing Virginia, Maryland, and DC’s diverse communities with abundant opportunities to experience and explore contemporary art through exhibitions, education programming, and the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival. The GRACE gallery showcases local and regional artists alongside artists of national and international reputations. Recent exhibitions have created opportunities for partnerships with Reston Community Center, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, George Mason University, the National Gallery of Art, and the National Portrait Gallery. Exhibition programming includes Creative Responses for which a expert in their field is invited to respond to the work on view and engage visitors in conversation. Emerging Visions and Summer Art Camp deliver art enrichment experiences to thousands of students each year. The Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival, GRACE’s largest fundraising effort, is among the top such events in the country. The Greater Reston Arts Center strives to increase understanding of different cultures through art, brings diverse audiences together around a common interest, and ensures access and opportunity for engagement in the arts to all residents, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, or income. Recently, GRACE was honored by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the state arts agency, to receive one of its prestigious “50 for 50 Arts Inspiration Awards” in the category of Bedrock Institutions. Learn more about the 50 for 50 Arts Inspiration Award. Admission to the GRACE gallery is always FREE, as are most programs. For more information please visit restonarts.org.
Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival
Friday, May 17 through Sunday, May 19, 2019
10am–5pm each day
Reston Town Center
11900 Market Street
Reston, VA
restonarts.org – click on “Festival”
Email: info@restonarts.org
703-471-9242
Directions:
GPS – Reston Town Center, 11900 Market Street, Reston, VA 20190.
Drive:
Just off Dulles Toll Road/Route 267 (exit 12), 20 minutes west of Washington, DC; 10 minutes east of Dulles Airport.
Parking is free of charge in 6 (six) multi-level garages through all three days of the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival.
Metrorail:
From the Wiehle-Reston East station, take an 8-minute bus ride that runs every 20 minutes on weekends.
Full event information:
http://restonarts.org/fineartsfestival/
Adopt-an-Artist details:
http://restonarts.org/fineartsfestival/product/adopt-an-artist/
Pictured at top: Ezra Siegel, Song of Love, 2018, plaster, graphite powder, and acrylic washes on canvas, 48 x 60 inches
