McLean Project for the Arts

McLean Project for the Arts Our mission is to exhibit the work of emerging and established artists from the mid-Atlantic region; Emerson Gallery exhibitions are open 10am-4pm, Mon-Sat. .

Email [email protected] for more information. Atrium Gallery exhibitions are open during McLean Community Center open hours.

We always enjoy time with our ServiceSource friends — it was a pleasure to host your group!
09/01/2026

We always enjoy time with our ServiceSource friends — it was a pleasure to host your group!

McLean Project for the Arts presents (Not) Strictly Painting 15. Juried biennial exhibition opens Sept. 10, featuring th...
08/29/2026

McLean Project for the Arts presents (Not) Strictly Painting 15. Juried biennial exhibition opens Sept. 10, featuring the work of 39 Mid-Atlantic artists.

Now in its 15th iteration, (Not) Strictly Painting celebrates the depth and breadth of paintings, or works related in some way to paintings. This biennial exhibition features pieces from 39 artists throughout the Mid-Atlantic area. An Opening Exhibition Reception will be held on Thursday, September 10 from 7-9pm at MPA.

Juried by Michael O’Sullivan, an award-winning, Washington-based writer, editor, and curator, (Not) Strictly Painting is regarded as one of the region’s most important painting exhibitions.

“Now in it’s 15th incarnation, (Not) Strictly Painting will exhibit works by some of the most interesting and innovative artists currently active in the Mid-Atlantic region,” said Nancy Sausser, MPA Director of Exhibitions and Curator.

(Not) Strictly Painting featured artists include: Rama Alfarekh, Carol Barsha, Karin Birch, Stephanie Tao-Hsuan Chang, Travis Childers, Michèle Colburn, Pamela Crockett, Julianna Dail, Delna Dastur, Karen Deans, Elsabé Dixon, Margaret Dowell, Mike Dowley, Suzanna Fields, Kevin Hailey, Mira Hecht, Bill Hill, Tom Hill, Leslie Holt, Kris Iden, Jason Jaffery, Susan R. Johnson, Lori Katz, Hannah Keats, Keith Krueger, Chee Keong Kung, Leah Lewis, Laurel Lukaszewski, BK Noh, Betsy Packard, Lynn Putney, Sean Riley, Marc Robarge, Ann Rowland, Lisa Sheirer, Brian Slagle, Celia Slater, Koda Smith, Judy Southerland, Marisa Stratton, Pamela Thompson, Deborah Tomlin, Dan Treado, Tinam Valk, Jenny Walton, Cathy Wilkin, Alice Whealin, and Andrew Wodzianski.

In addition to the September 10 Opening Exhibition Reception, an Artist Talk will take place on Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 11am, and a Tea & Talk will take place on Wednesday, October 21 at 11am. Both events will be held at MPA at the McLean Community Center.

The MPA Emerson Gallery is open Monday through Saturday from 10am–4pm. The Atrium Gallery is available during McLean Community Center operating hours.

(Not) Strictly Painting 15 runs September 10- November 7, 2026. RSVP for the Sept. 10 opening reception here: https://www.mpaart.org/exhibition-details/not-strictly-painting

ArtsFairfax
East City Art
McLean Community Center
Virginia Commission for the Arts
Mclean Living Magazine
Dranesville District - Supervisor Jimmy Bierman
Mid Atlantic Arts

08/29/2026

The VCA invites our Region 4 ‘Northern Virginia’ community to two informal gatherings taking place on Thursday, September 24 and Friday, September 25, for refreshments and conversation.

Due to the geographic scope of the region, we will be hosting two Meet & Greets in separate counties. All Region 4 invitees are welcome to attend either Meet & Greet!

September 24 Meet & Greet
12:00 –1:30 p.m.
Barns of Rosehill ()
95 Chalmers Ct, Berryville, VA 22611

September 25 Meet & Greet
10:00 –11:30 a.m.
McLean Project for the Arts ()
6910 Fleetwood Rd, McLean, VA 22101

Kindly RSVP by September 17 using the link: https://form.jotform.com/262325610044143

Meet the Artists Behind Our Upcoming Fall Solo Exhibitions!Exhibits include works by Freya Grand, Ian Husting, and Sally...
08/26/2026

Meet the Artists Behind Our Upcoming Fall Solo Exhibitions!

Exhibits include works by Freya Grand, Ian Husting, and Sally Veach -- Opens September 17!

School is back in session, and a new season of creativity is underway at MPA! Join us on Thursday, September 17 from 7-9pm at the Berlage Center for Arts & Education as we open our 2026 Fall Solo Exhibitions.

Learn more about each of our featured artists--Freya Grand, Ian Husting, and Sally Veach--below.

FOREST, by Freya Grand

“The act of standing alone in the silence of a remote place—both as a human being and as a painter—is essential. It resets my senses as well as fueling my work,” said Freya Grand, in explaining the artistic process behind her exhibition, FOREST. As the holders of ancient mysteries—the dark forest, the haunted forest, the forest in the spring, the winter forest—forests evoke mystery, conjuring descriptions stemming from childhood tales and cultural myth. Grand’s exhibition explores the manner in which forests reveal both the signs of environmental degradation and also the means of hope for the future, as humans learn more about the miraculous natural processes that they perform.

Afterlight, by Ian Husting

What holds when a home breaks? How do we live through grief without losing our capacity for wonder? Ian Husting’s Afterlight explores these and other questions, bringing together six mixed-media works exploring loss and displacement, imagination and renewal. The series draws from Husting’s experience of late childhood, which was shaped by instability, while also responding to the emotional and material conditions of the present: fractured communities, ecological threat, and uncertain times. The exhibition unfolds in two movements. Three wall-mounted reliefs show harm and decay. Three freestanding sculptures reach toward regrowth. Together, the work asks how a damaged structure can become shelter again, and how memory can carry us forward.

Hubris and the Sublime, by Sally Veach

In an era marked by ecological precarity, Sally Veach’s Hubris and the Sublime investigates humanity’s historical drive to control nature’s indomitable power. This exhibition explores how the philosophical concept of the Sublime – that overwhelming sense of awe and terror before nature’s magnitude – finds renewed urgency as climate anxiety intensifies. Working with 18th-century images from the foundation’s rare book library, Veach explores human nature by substituting historic botanical illustrations for the chintz textile patterns. Incorporating layers painted after Hudson River School paintings of Arctic scenes the work in the exhibition evokes a warning about illusions of control over the power of the natural world.

In addition to the September 17 Opening Reception, a Tea & Talk presented by The Mather and lead by MPA Artistic Director Nancy Sausser is scheduled for September 30, 2026, at 11am.

Additionally, an Artist Talk is scheduled for October 29, 2026, at 7pm. All exhibition events will take place at the MPA Berlage Center for Arts & Education, open for visitors daily from 9am-9pm, and located at 6910 Fleetwood Road, McLean, VA.

Sponsored by the O’Shaughnessy Hurst Memorial Foundation, the Fall Solo Exhibitions run through November 14, 2026.

RSVP for the September 17 opening reception at mpaart.org

ArtsFairfax
East City Art

We're building something new — MPA Clay, our ceramics studio opening this fall, and we're looking for instructors to hel...
08/23/2026

We're building something new — MPA Clay, our ceramics studio opening this fall, and we're looking for instructors to help shape it from the ground up. Wheel-throwing, hand-building, all skill levels welcome to teach.

Apply on Indeed at the link below. Priority applications due September 4.

https://www.indeed.com/job/experienced-ceramics-instructor-and-studio-educator-79bc5ca6ae2398b3

ArtsFairfax
East City Art
McLean Community Center
Virginia Commission for the Arts
VisualArtsDC
Mid Atlantic Arts

NEW! “Close to Home” Exhibition Opens Sat., Aug. 22We're excited to feature a short exhibition of work by a group of tal...
08/21/2026

NEW! “Close to Home” Exhibition Opens Sat., Aug. 22

We're excited to feature a short exhibition of work by a group of talented MPA staff, board, faculty and friends — “Close to Home.”

Join us for an Opening Reception, Thursday, August 27, 7pm, MPA Berlage Arts & Education Center. The exhibition will continue through September 11 in our Yasmine C. Iskander Gallery, and is available for viewing from 9am-9pm daily.

Featuring work by:

June Linowitz
Helen Frederick
Kurt Laubinger
Joe Wetzel
Barbara Januszkiewicz
Joyce Lee
Greg Staley
Stephanie Tao-Hsuan Chang
Cynthia Miller
Jennifer Lillis
Nancy Sausser
Sharon Fishel
Briana Clorey
Richard Dana
Lori Carbonneau
Nathan Johnson
Kathryn Rickards
Bobby Han
Dennis Findley

Learn more at MPAart.org.

McLean Community Center
Mclean Living Magazine
Dranesville District - Supervisor Jimmy Bierman

Register NOW for two Labor Day Workshops! MPA fall art fun begins Labor Day weekend, with two one-day workshops. Join Gr...
08/20/2026

Register NOW for two Labor Day Workshops!

MPA fall art fun begins Labor Day weekend, with two one-day workshops. Join Gregory Staley on Sat.; Sept. 5 from 1-4pm for our “Beginning Video Editing Workshop.” Ronni Jolles offers a Sun., Sept. 6 “Creating Artwork with Layered Paper: Trees by the Lake” workshop from 1-4pm. Both workshops take place in our DuVal Studio in the McLean Community Center.

Learn more about these two workshops and all of our fall art class and workshop opportunities at https://www.mpaart.org/education.

ArtsFairfax
East City Art

We’re excited to share this wonderful review of our Café Monet from Arlington Magazine — “Café Monet Serves French Bistr...
08/19/2026

We’re excited to share this wonderful review of our Café Monet from Arlington Magazine —

“Café Monet Serves French Bistro Fare with Art on the Side

Tucked inside McLean’s Berlage Arts & Education Center, the gallery-adjacent eatery channels the colors and flavors of Giverny.”

Read more here:
https://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/cafe-monet/

Address

1234 Ingleside Avenue
McLean, VA
22101

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4pm
Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

(703) 790-1953

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