Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington

Call Directions Website Contact the museum

Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington presents exhibitions, offers classes, and supports artists!
(270)

Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington is dedicated to presenting and supporting new work by regional artists in the mid-Atlantic States. Through exhibitions, educational programs, and subsidized studio spaces, MoCA Arlington serves as a bridge between artists and the public. The goal is to increase awareness and appreciation of, and involvement in, the visual arts in Arlington County VA and the region. MoCA Arlington was established in 1974 and is located in an historic school in Virginia Square. Our facility includes nine exhibition galleries, working studios for thirteen artists, and two classrooms. At 17,000 square feet, we are one of the largest non-federal venues for contemporary art in the Washington metropolitan area.

Go to events linked in our bio to RSVP for tomorrow’s workshop with resident artist Julia Kwon.
10/14/2026

Go to events linked in our bio to RSVP for tomorrow’s workshop with resident artist Julia Kwon.

LAST CALL!!! Join flower.potluck.dmv at MoCA this Sunday! Register before it’s too late. What is a Flower Potluck?Parti...
10/13/2026

LAST CALL!!! Join flower.potluck.dmv at MoCA this Sunday! Register before it’s too late.

What is a Flower Potluck?
Participants will bring flowers (foraged or store-bought, a mix or all the same) + a vessel (something you want to arrange your flowers in). We’ll start by choosing flowers from our collective potluck, so make sure to arrive on time to pick from the full selection and dive into the creative process with us!
Check out flower.potluck.dmv for their portfolio and to see more about their previous programs.
Masks are not required but very much encouraged! We will have masks at the door if you would like to grab one as you enter.
Tickets are required for this workshop. Learn more and register with the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington on Eventbrite.

Join us for an evening picnic on the lawn of MoCA Arlington. Family-friendly activities, vendors, food trucks, performan...
10/13/2026

Join us for an evening picnic on the lawn of MoCA Arlington. Family-friendly activities, vendors, food trucks, performance, and games. This event celebrates Día de los Mu***os, its traditions, and heritage.

Be part of the Catrina Parade — and get your costume ready on Friday, October 16 at a Crafting Social at our Innovation Studio (check out the events page on our website).

Artist, David Amoroso, will build a large-scale altar on the front portico of the building. Bring photos of loved ones who have passed to include on the ofrenda.

The museum will be open late to explore the Fall exhibitions.

DÍA DE LOS MU***OS — AN EVENING PICNIC ✨
Sunday, November 1, 5PM - 8PM
Gratis! Free! 🌻

💃 Come, be part, and celebrate!

MoCA resident artist Emily Fussner’s solo show “Some Shining Coil of Wind” takes its title from a line in a poem by belo...
10/09/2026

MoCA resident artist Emily Fussner’s solo show “Some Shining Coil of Wind” takes its title from a line in a poem by beloved American poet Mary Oliver, and situates viewers in the midst of a shimmering environment of ambient light and sound. ✨🪾🍃

See “Some Shining Coil of Wind” in the Wyatt Resident Gallery at Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington from now - January 24, 2027, Wed - Sun from noon - 5 pm.


Image: Emily Fussner, “Some Shining Coil of Wind,” installation view. 📸 by Emily Fussner

10/07/2026

Run, recline, and celebrate Liberty! 🗽

Come celebrate America's 250th alongside Zaq Landsberg's Reclining Liberty on Saturday, October 24.

🏃‍♀️8:30AM: 5K fun run/walk
🧘 9:30AM: outdoor yoga with a live DJ
🎨 All Morning, 8AM -12PM: coffee, vendors, and free make-and-take art making!

Register in advance for a tee designed by Zaq Landsberg . Follow the links in bio (registration is on Zippy Reg)

Join us this Thursday, October 8 at 6:30pm at the Innovation Studio for an artist talk with current Artist in Residence ...
10/06/2026

Join us this Thursday, October 8 at 6:30pm at the Innovation Studio for an artist talk with current Artist in Residence Julia Kwon!

Julia will be in conversation with Blair Murphy, MoCA Arlington Senior Curator, about her practice and her interests in Korean textile traditions, modernist abstraction, and questions of authenticity and cultural hybridity.

Don’t miss your chance to own a work by Foon Sham! “Covid 19 II” (2020, wood and acrylic, 19 x 19.5 x 7 in.) is up for b...
10/06/2026

Don’t miss your chance to own a work by Foon Sham!

“Covid 19 II” (2020, wood and acrylic, 19 x 19.5 x 7 in.) is up for bid now in our Second Chance Silent Auction.

This internationally renowned local sculptor was just featured on WETA Arts, so this is a great time to get to own his work. Watch the feature and place your bid through the link in our bio. Bidding closes Saturday, October 10!

10/04/2026

Don’t forget! Tonight at midnight is the deadline Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington’s short-term residency.

When we welcome you into MoCA’s residency program, we’re welcoming you into a dynamic group of fellow artists~ not just studios, but a community.

Tap the link in our bio for info about how to apply, and good luck!

LAST CALL! you have until Monday to register for MoCA Arlington’s fall classes. Spaces are available in several sections...
10/03/2026

LAST CALL! you have until Monday to register for MoCA Arlington’s fall classes. Spaces are available in several sections!

Opening October 3 as part of Assembly 2026, to eat out their substance brings together artists who intersect with munici...
10/02/2026

Opening October 3 as part of Assembly 2026, to eat out their substance brings together artists who intersect with municipal, civic, and technological infrastructures as the basis of their practice. The exhibition title borrows from the charged rhetoric of the Declaration of Independence, which articulates civic grievances through vivid references to extraction and depletion.

Reframed by curator Jesse Bandler Firestone, the phrase links the nation’s founding rhetoric to contemporary systems of administrative power, positioning artists as interventionists who reclaim agency through acts of access, misuse, and refusal.

Julia Weist infiltrates restricted surveillance systems through her work as a licensed private investigator; Maia Chao and Fred Schmidt-Arenales reveal municipal waste as a site of labor, care, and the democratic exchange of hopes and shattered dreams; and Kamari Carter uses megaphones to relay police radio transmissions from the capital district in DC, revealing communication networks in an act of disobedience and surveillance.

Rather than treating infrastructure as neutral, to eat out their substance reveals it as lived, uneven, and performative. The exhibition asks what becomes visible when artists enter the very systems that govern participation in public life.

Join us at Art After Hours and celebrate the opening of Assembly 2026 and our other new exhibitions!

Images:
1. Maia Chao and Fred Schmidt-Arenales, Waste Scenes, 2024, Two-channel video (40 min. 39 sec.) and custom screen, Dimensions variable. Courtesy the artists.

2. Kamari Carter, Patriot Act, 2024. Oil-based enamel on megaphones, three-channel live audio broadcasts, Dimensions variable. Courtesy the artist and Microscope Gallery, New York.

3. Julia Weist, Curators Agree (Department of Cultural Affairs), 2025, Archival pigment print, 24 x 32 in. Courtesy the artist and Moskowitz Bayse, Los Angeles.

4. Maia Chao and Fred Schmidt-Arenales, Waste Scenes, 2024, Two-channel video (40 min. 39 sec.) and custom screen, Dimensions variable. Courtesy the artists.

Address

3550 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA
22201

Opening Hours

Wednesday 12pm - 5pm
Thursday 12pm - 5pm
Friday 12pm - 5pm
Saturday 12pm - 5pm
Sunday 12pm - 5pm

Telephone

+17032486800

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Museum

Send a message to Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington:

Shortcuts

Share

Category