Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art

11/29/2022

Are you curious to learn how to start a career in the arts?

The Art School & Career Panel Series at Tephra ICA offers an opportunity for high school students, college students, and early-career professionals to learn more about pursuing a degree or career in the arts field.

Listen to a panel of established arts professionals from all over the country as they discuss their backgrounds and career paths while sharing valuable tips and recommendations.

The second program of this series will focus on art history, art education, and art management. It will be held virtually via Zoom on Thursday, December 1st, from 6PM - 7PM. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions during a Q&A session following the panel discussion.

Speakers of this panel will include: Justin Sutters, Assistant Dean of Research and Assessment of the College of Visual and Performing Arts and Director of Master of Arts in Education (MAT) program at George Mason University; Maleke Glee, inaugural Director of STABLE, and Molly Warnock, art historian, critic, and published writer at Artforum. Please visit Tephra ICA’s website to learn more and read the speaker bios.

RSVP at Programs & Events link in our bio.

11/23/2022

As we enter the holiday season and Giving Tuesday, taking place on November 29th, share the arts organization you love with the people you love by giving the gift of membership.

Tephra ICA membership provides the opportunity to further engage with the institution through private member-only gatherings, curator and artist-led tours, early access to innovative education programs, and more! We’re pleased to announce new special membership benefits and student and artist discount membership rates.

Learn more here: https://www.tephraica.org/join-give

11/15/2022

The 32nd Tephra Fine Arts Festival (VA), May 20-21, 2023 is consistently rated as one of the best outdoor art festivals in the country, both for the high-quality of the artwork presented and for its exceptional artist hospitality. Apply today on ZAPP. For more info click https://conta.cc/3EwmSlk. Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art

11/04/2022

32nd Tephra Fine Arts Festival (Reston, VA): 11/7 Early Application Deadline - Apply on ZAPP!​

32nd Tephra Fine Arts Festival (Reston, VA): 11/7 Early Application Deadline - Apply on ZAPP!​

Show Date: May 20-21, 2023 32nd Annual Tephra Fine Arts Festival formerly the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival May 20-21, 2023 Early Application Deadline 11/7/22 Apply Here Call to Artists WHAT: 3

10/25/2022

Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art (Tephra ICA) is pleased to present the Slow Looking program series, a facilitated workshop featuring in-depth engagement with a selected artwork on view. Participants are invited to closely engage with the artwork in order to develop meaningful perspectives and interpretations that are unique to their own lived experiences.

Join us tomorrow at Tephra ICA for a Slow Looking program exploring the artwork, Send it On (A Love Letter to Love) (2019) by figurative painter Dominic Chambers, a painting featured in the current exhibition, What Makes the Earth Shake.

The program will begin at 6pm. We encourage participants to arrive promptly to allow for time to engage with the exhibition independently prior to the start of the workshop. For questions, please contact us by email at [email protected]. Free and open to the public.

RSVP at link in bio.

This program is generously sponsored by Reston Community Center.

Image: Dominic Chambers, Send it On (A Love Letter to Love) (detail), 2019

10/17/2022

Thank you to everyone who joined us last Saturday to celebrate at The Alloy Project, Tephra ICA’s Annual Benefit & Cocktail Event!

Couldn’t make it to the event? You can now purchase the signed, limited-edition prints through our online print shop.

The Alloy Project is a new fundraising initiative featuring dually authored artworks, showcasing the interaction between two distinct voices in contemporary art. Five artists were commissioned to engage in a process of creative response with another artist of their choice, to create an artwork that, like an alloy, creates new synergies and possibilities.

Each artwork is available as a signed edition of 25, printed on Fine art Moab paper, and 13 x 19 inches.

Visit the link in bio to collect yours today.

Featured prints (left to right):

Sarah Irvin & Anne C. Smith, 306 Dots/306 Lines

Laurénée Gauvin & Charles Philippe Jean-Pierre
Like Water for Chocolate, 2022

Joseph Shetler & Mary Early
Untitled, 2022

Omolará Williams McCallister & Jessica Valoris (with David Norwood)
a spot in the sun, 2022

Olivia Tripp Morrow & Emily Fussner
Beneath These Scars, 2022

09/02/2022

Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art (Tephra ICA) is pleased to partner with American University and Howard University to present special programming with artist Dominic Chambers in conjunction with the What Makes the Earth Shake exhibition. 

On Wednesday, September 7th at 6pm, the American University (AU) Studio Art MFA program & Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art will present the Visiting Artist Series with Dominic Chambers. Dominic Chambers will be joined in conversation by Andrew Wasserman, Professorial Lecturer, Department of Art, American University. Moderated by Jaynelle Hazard, Executive Director and Curator, Tephra ICA. Open to the Public. RSVP at
 
On Friday, September 9th, Howard University Department of Art will host Dominic Chambers as a guest artist to provide engagement and critique to MFA students. The studio visits will be followed by an artist talk with Chambers, in anticipation of the Tephra ICA What Makes the Earth Shake exhibition, open to all Howard University students and faculty.

On Saturday, September 10th at 6pm, join Dominic Chambers and Tephra ICA Executive Director & Curator, Jaynelle Hazard, for an in-person Opening Reception and Artist Talk at Tephra ICA. Masks are required while inside the gallery. In addition to the in-person program, the Artist Talk will be livestreamed beginning at 6:30pm and guests are welcome to join via Zoom. Link to be provided. RSVP at [email protected]. This program is generously supported by Reston Community Center.

08/11/2022

Danni O'Brien: Cross Sections
On view through October 11, 2022
Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art
Reston, Virginia
tephraica.org

“I conceive of the works in a haphazard way, a quick, intuitive gathering and selection of the diagrams and found objects that initiate each piece. Then I spend months carefully contending with what I have laid out in a slow and meditative process, often resulting in a clash with my previous self.” -Danni O’Brien

For this exhibition of new work, Baltimore-based interdisciplinary artist Danni O’Brien (she/they) has built each artwork around a borrowed instructional diagram, carefully stripping away its original function and context. O’Brien uses the act of decontextualization deliberately, creating wall-hung constructions that are rich with connotation. Within the visceral surfaces and quasi-bodily forms, the compositional logic of systems and mechanisms prevail.

[Image: Danni O’Brien, Steady, 2021. Courtesy the artist]

05/24/2022

Join us tonight for an in-person closing reception at Tephra ICA. Free and open to the public. Please RSVP at [email protected].

Image credit: Laurel Nakadate, The Kingdom #10, 2018. Image courtesy of the artists and Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects.

05/12/2022

We’re so excited to welcome walk-in gallery visitors again! Join us for our open walk-in hours on Thursday-Saturday from 11am–5pm. We remain open for advanced appointment gallery visits on Tuesday–Saturday from 11am–5pm. Make an appointment at tephraica.org.

The current exhibition Mother Line, featuring works by photographer, filmmaker, video and performance artist Laurel Nakadate, is on view until May 28. Guest curated by Lily Siegel and Don Russell, the exhibition is presented in partnership with George Mason University. In conjunction with Mother Line, the group exhibition MOTHER is currently on view at Mason Exhibitions Arlington, and an exhibition catalogue highlighting both exhibitions is now available at Tephra ICA and Mason Exhibitions Arlington.

05/09/2022

Mother Line
On view through May 29, 2022
Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art
Reston, Virginia
tephraica.org

Laurel Nakadate (American, b. 1975) creates work that examines contemporary modes of self-representation and identity formation. Exploring loneliness and relationships amongst strangers, her practice predates, yet foreshadows, the onslaught of social media platforms that pervade our everyday lives, including Instagram and Facebook, freelance marketplaces like fiverr and Upwork, and consumer genetic testing services such as 23andMe. "Mother Line" presents two series, Relations and The Kingdom, which result directly from the artist embracing such platforms.

[Image: Laurel Nakadate, The Kingdom #10, 2018. Image courtesy of the artist and Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects]

04/29/2022

Endlessly proud of my team. Thank you ⚡️✨.

04/27/2022

One Week Left to Apply | Mary B. Howard Invitational

One week left to apply to the Mary B. Howard Invitational! More information at the link below.

Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art (Tephra ICA) seeks regional artists for the Mary B. Howard Invitational exhibition, guest curated by Deirdre Darden. One Week Left to Apply Call for Artists Mary

04/13/2022

Join us for a special Creative Response program on Thursday, April 14 at 1:30pm, featuring Imogen-Blue Hinojosa, a contemporary artist known for performance, video, and photography, in response to the exhibition Laurel Nakadate: Mother Line, currently on view at Tephra ICA.

For this afternoon program, Hinojosa will perform her text Dreaming at the Edges of a Petrol Blue Room live from her bedroom in Berlin. The text begins under the same circumstances as Nakadate’s Relations series – the meeting of two people, at an agreed upon location, for a brief exchange. Hinojosa’s work lays bare the experiences of trans women in survival s*x work situations, and draws upon anecdotal experiences of her community, manifesting in a private performance of prose and poetry.

The presentation will be followed by a Q&A. Free and open to the public. RSVP in advance at [email protected] for Zoom Room link and password. This program is sponsored by Reston Community Center.

04/12/2022

Borrowed and Not Returned
On view through June 28, 2022
Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art
Reston, Virginia
tephraica.org

"Borrowed and Not Returned" includes three recent and ongoing series by artist Travis Childers. Childers’ work is concerned with our society’s extractive relationship to nature, though he often approaches the topic with humor and a healthy dose of culpability as he acknowledges his own participation. In his new "Story Tellers" series, Childers employs miniature, model railroad materials to create landscapes that, despite their small size, imply the depth of the earth and the boundlessness of the sky. In contrast, Childers' collage work in the Vegetation series presents opaque facades and coverings that create expansive fields of borrowed images.

Altered and constructed landscapes serve as anchors across Childers’ work, creating a common thread between a wide variety of human experiences. Underlying his practice is the sensibility that in our human relationship to landscape, there is something borrowed and not returned.

[Image: Travis Childers, Contemplating the Void, 2021. Photo credit: Luke Walter]

03/02/2022

Head over to stories today as takes over their series.

02/24/2022

10 Cool Art Galleries Around the DC Area | Washingtonian (DC)

Thank you Washingtonian for including Tephra ICA in "10 Cool Art Galleries Around the DC Area.”

Tephra ICA is open Tuesday–Saturday. 11am–5pm by appointment. Appointments are free and available at tephraica.org.

Looking to brush up on the local art scene? Here are a few good places to start.

01/17/2022

One more week remains to check out Andrea Limauro: A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats currently on view at the Tephra ICA at Signature gallery.

Andrea Limauro is a visual artist and city planner whose work explores migration and migrant identity issues, nationalistic narratives, gun violence, climate change, and other social topics. Through his attentive and laborious process of screen printing and careful painting, Limauro’s works bring into focus the looming nature of disasters due to the effects of climate change. By employing striking color combinations, metal leaf, and patterns, he creates an illusion to a dystopian future of the DC region.

Tephra ICA at Signature is located at the Signature apartment building in Reston,​ VA. Provided in partnership with Boston Properties and Bozzuto. Generously supported by Reston Community Center.

Visitors are welcome Tuesday–Saturday, 11am–5pm. Face masks are required to enter. Reservations are not required.

Image: A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats, 2018

01/04/2022

Accepting Late Applications through January 9 for the Tephra Fine Arts Festival.

We know this time of year can be a busy one for artists, so we are extending the opportunity for you to submit an application for the largest fine arts festival on the East Coast! The 31st Annual Tephra Fine Arts Festival will take place May 20-22, 2022 in the unique outdoor setting of Reston Town Center, where the numerous buyers are serious and the "art stars vie for spaces."

01/03/2022

Final Deadline! Apply today to the 31st Tephra Fine Arts Festival (VA), May 20-22nd. This show is consistently rated as one of the best outdoor art festivals in the country, both for the high-quality of the artwork presented and for its exceptional artist hospitality. Application on ZAPP - Deadline 1/9/22! For more info click https://conta.cc/3Hz9Ku6. Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art

12/22/2021

31st Tephra Fine Arts Festival (Reston, VA): 12/27 Application Deadline - Apply Today!​

31st Tephra Fine Arts Festival (Reston, VA): 12/27 Application Deadline - Apply Today!​

Show Date: May 20-22, 2022 31st Annual Tephra Fine Arts Festival formerly the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival May 20-22, 2022 Application Deadline 12/27/21 Apply Here Call to Artists WHAT: 31st A

12/22/2021

ZAPP Event Information - Tephra Fine Arts Festival 2022

Deadline approaching - apply now! There is still time for artists to apply to the Tephra Fine Arts Festival. Application Deadline December 27. Late applications accepted through January 3.

Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art (Tephra ICA) is committed to promoting innovative contemporary art and thinking. Leading with curiosity and care, we are a catalyst, generator, and advocate for visual and interdisciplinary arts. The Tephra Fine Arts Festival is hosted annually by Tephra ICA as its largest fundraiser. The primary goal of the Festival is to make meaningful connections between artists and patrons, and to promote the sharing and selling of the artists’ work.

Read more about Tephra Fine Arts Festival 2022 on ZAPPlication

12/21/2021

Tephra ICA will be closed December 24 – 25 and December 31 – January 1. All other days we are open as usual Tuesday–Saturday, 11am–5pm by appointment. Make your appointment today at tephraica.org to view our current exhibition 3AM: Time Sensitive, curated by Adriel Luis. Since 2016, 3AM members Ma Ei, Ko Latt, and Yadanar Win have collaborated on works that dissolve the lines between art and activism, performance, and media.

12/20/2021

Now Hiring | Summer Art Camp Instructor

Tephra ICA is currently hiring a 2022 Summer Art Camp Instructor!

Presented in partnership with Reston Association (RA), Tephra ICA Summer Art Camp provides a safe and educational environment for campers to explore contemporary and historical art through artmaking, critical thinking, and creative play.

Presented in partnership with Reston Association (RA), Tephra ICA Summer Art Camp provides a safe and educational environment for campers to explore contemporary and historical art through artmaking,

12/07/2021

ZAPP Event Information - Tephra Fine Arts Festival 2022

Tephra Fine Arts Festival 2022, Call for artist applications.

The Tephra Fine Arts Festival, formerly the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival, welcomes your application for the 31st annual festival taking place May 20-22, 2022. As a participating artist your work will be presented in the elegant, open-air location of Reston Town Center and visited by over 20,000 affluent patrons and collectors. Each year the festival receives press coverage from major media outlets including The Washington Post and Northern Virginia Magazine and celebrates participating artists and award recipients at the Festival Cocktail Hour.

The Festival provides an opportunity for artists to engage directly with sophisticated patrons and knowledgeable collectors. Don't miss out on the opportunity to participate in one of the top three festivals on the East Coast!

Read more about Tephra Fine Arts Festival 2022 on ZAPPlication

12/03/2021

12/02/2021

Explore More Home Edition - Youth Programs - Tephra ICA

Explore More Home Edition is a free program providing fun and creative projects centered around exhibitions at Tephra ICA. New activities are now available for our current exhibition 3AM: Time Sensitive and the Buoyant Force sculpture by artist Sue Wrbican. Create your own artist collective like 3AM or make an upcycled bug buddy inspired by Sue Wrbican!

Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art (Tephra ICA) is a non-profit, non-collecting institution committed to promoting innovative contemporary art and thinking. The word “tephra” – matter ejected from geothermal eruptions that lands upon, nourishes, and changes the surrounding environment - emph...

11/30/2021

This Giving Tuesday, please consider Tephra ICA and our Annual Giving Campaign, supporting one of the most critical areas, general operations. Visit https://www.tephraica.org/join-give to donate today.

The campaign directly supports Tephra ICA’s vision to deepen our impact nationally, reach new audiences, and continue to advance as a leading contemporary art institution. This past year, Tephra ICA has made significant strides in delivering this vision, including:

- Presenting the exhibition Quantum Shift, featuring light and space artist Gisela Colón, and the accompanying public sculpture, Parabolic Monolith Iridium, located at James Monroe Park in Washington, DC. Both projects were reviewed by The Washington Post.

- Buoyant Force, by artist Sue Wrbican, remains in Reston Town Square Park and is the focal point of this year’s Emerging Visions program where we work with Fairfax County Public Schools to develop art curriculum for K-12 students.

- We also look forward to continuing to build institutional partnerships, such as the forthcoming exhibition featuring photographer, filmmaker, video and performance artist, Laurel Nakadate, in conjunction with George Mason University.

We appreciate you and those who are willing to make commitments to Tephra ICA during this moment. Any gift of any size will help sustain Tephra ICA's mission to promote innovative contemporary art and thinking.

Thank you for considering the arts and supporting Tephra ICA.

11/19/2021

A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats: Andrea Limauro
On view through January 25, 2022
Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art
Reston, Virginia
tephraica.org

Andrea Limauro (b. 1976, Rome, Italy) is a visual artist and city planner whose work explores migration and migrant identity issues, nationalistic narratives, gun violence, climate change, and other social topics. Through his attentive and laborious process of screen printing and careful painting, Limauro’s works bring into focus the looming nature of disasters due to the effects of climate change. Through the employment of striking color combinations, metal leaf, patterns, and minute details, the illusion to a dystopian future of the DC region entices the eye.

Explore the Online Viewing Room Here: https://www.tephraica.org/exhibitions/a-rising-tide-lifts-all-boats

[Image: Andrea Limauro, A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats (detail), 2018]

10/26/2021

Tephra ICA is pleased to offer free Family Day Activity Bags filled with fun supplies to create fall-themed art projects. Each bag contains instructions and the necessary materials for hands-on art activities to complete at home.

Simply stop by the gallery on Saturday, October 30 between 12–3pm to pick up your bag and prepare for fun with the whole family. This event is free and sponsored by Reston Community Center. Limited to one bag per individual, while supplies last.

The activity bag pick-up station will be located outside in front of the gallery. Masks and social distancing are required.

10/21/2021

Join us tomorrow at 6pm for an in person opening reception and brief artist talk with artist Andrea Limauro, whose exhibition A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats is currently on view at Tephra ICA at Signature. This program will be held at the outside courtyard at Signature Apartments at 11850 Freedom Drive, Reston VA.

This program is free and open to the public. Please RSVP by email at [email protected].

Tephra ICA at Signature is generously supported by Reston Community Center.

Please note: All guests age 12 and older must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend this event. Though this is an outdoor event, masks are required while indoors.

09/23/2021

Join us tonight at 6pm for a virtual Creative Response with Myanm/art Founder and Director, Nathalie Johnston. Johnston will respond to Tephra ICA's current exhibition, 3AM: Time Sensitive, featuring works by Myanmar artist collective, 3AM, guest curated by Adriel Luis.

The presentation will include a Q&A. Free and open to the public. RSVP in advance at [email protected] for Zoom Room link and password. Sponsored by .

Nathalie Johnston is a curator and researcher and has recently returned to Virginia from Myanmar where she was involved in numerous independent projects and initiatives. In 2016, she founded Myanm/art, an exhibition space, gallery, and reading room dedicated to promoting contemporary art in Myanmar by developing collaborations and showcasing artwork to local and international audiences. In 2013, she co-founded Myanmar Art Resource Center and Archive (MARCA), an archive and resource center that aims to become the largest bilingual digital resource on the history and current state of the arts in Myanmar. Johnston is the co-founder of Pyinsa Rasa art collective. Since leaving Myanmar, she is eager to continue her work with artists, institutions, and the art-loving community of the Washington, DC metropolitan region.

Closed captions will be provided. If you have any questions about accessibility for this program, please email [email protected].