“My Mom Would Never Let Me Do That!,” is just one of the fun and educational Summer Art Camp sessions that the Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) offers for rising 1st-9th graders. These week-long, full-day camps, led by outstanding professional art educators, have been redesigned for 2015 and are held at local schools. Each session features new, engaging hands-on art activities designed to stimulate campers’ creative and critical thinking skills.
Summer Art Camp Sessions include:
- Picture This! Photography Camp (Oakton)
- Gathering STEAM, putting the Arts in STEM (Reston)
- Art & Movement (Reston)
• GRACE Art Unleashed (Reston)
• My Mom Would Never Let Me Do That! (Reston)
There are two entirely new camp offerings for 2015: “Picture This! Photography Camp” and “Gathering STEAM (Putting the Arts in STEM)”.
“Picture This! Photography Camp” will give campers the opportunity to learn both digital and traditional darkroom techniques, build a pinhole camera, experiment with Photoshop, and take better photos with any camera. This session will be held in the fantastic photo lab at Oakton High School, where camp instructor Susan Silva teaches photography and leadership during the school year.
“Gathering STEAM (Putting the Arts in STEM)” will have students engaging their minds in some seriously fun project-based learning. Students will collaborate to design/build a working miniature golf course, create their own inflatable sculpture, and use science and engineering to explore new ways to make art! These projects focus on teaching students important 21st-century skills: communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. This camp was inspired by GRACE’s STEAM Pilot Program with FCPS, as well as the STEAM club led by camp instructor Kyle Anderson at his elementary school.
Perhaps the most unique camp session offered by GRACE is “Art and Movement.” Each day begins with a yoga session designed for young campers and led by our partners at Beloved Yoga, followed by hands-on art projects that will have campers moving while they create action-filled artwork!
Campers will be having so much fun with their projects, they won’t realize it’s educational! Sibling and multiple camp discounts are available, as are discounts for GRACE Members — but register soon as some camps have already sold out! Learn more about GRACE and each summer camp opportunity here.
Greater Reston Arts Center, located at the Reston Town Center, is a 41-year old non-profit institution dedicated to promoting involvement and excellence in contemporary art. GRACE operates most of its Summer Art Camps at Hunters Wood Elementary School in Reston (Photo Camp is held at Oakton High School). In 2014, GRACE was awarded the Arts Impact Award from the Arts Council of Fairfax County for its beloved GRACE Art program. GRACE offers a contemporary art gallery with free-to-the-public rotating exhibits and mediums, as well as year-round educational programming for adults, teen, and children, including GRACE Art, TGIF Free Fridays, Explore More, and more! Visit the GRACE website at www.restonarts.org for more information.
This is a sponsored post by Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate.
To many in Reston, art is synonymous with The Greater Reston Arts Center — a wonderful place with a mission to enrich our community by providing access to contemporary visual arts. In pursuit of this mission, GRACE provides a year-round program of contemporary visual art exhibitions, education programs for all ages, and special events.
GRACE has been a Reston institution since 1974, when artists and art lovers founded it as a source of cultural enrichment for the new town of Reston. From its early beginnings in the Lake Anne Village Center to its current home in Reston Town Center, GRACE continues its role as a leader in the expanding regional arts community.
What I love about GRACE is that something is always happening there. I love spending evenings at Reston Town Center, seeing a new exhibit at GRACE and then going out for a wonderful dinner. I feel like I’m in Washington, DC — or even New York. And every May, I look forward to the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival–one of the premier juried art festivals in the country.
Click any of these links to learn about GRACE’s exhibitions, educational programming, and the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival.
GRACE is located at 12001 Market Street Suite #103 Reston, VA 20190 (near the little park area where you often see children playing). Gallery Hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Another Sports Letter of Intent — Herndon field hockey’s Sofia Palacios has committed to play at the University of Pennsylvania. Palacios has 24 goals and is top-ranked in the the area with with 30 assists. She joins several other area athletes who have committed to play NCAA sports. [Reston Now]
Wine Event To Support Women — Head to Kalypso’s at Lake Anne Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. for a wine event to benefit Artemis House, a local domestic abuse shelter. The event is being hosted by Mary Kay rep Leslie Kane, who will also have samples to try and items to order, with donations of cosmetics also going to the shelter.
Schools Shortfall — The Fairfax County School Board will meet with the Board of Supervisors next week to discuss the $117 million shortfall that will loom on next year’s budget. [Washington Post]
Line Works At GRACE — A new exhibit at Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) Lineworks: Drawing Redefeined explores lines in multimedia works by five artists. The show runs through early January. [GRACE]
Holly Koons McCullough has been appointed the new executive director of the Greater Reston Arts Center.
McCullough,currently the GRACE curator, replaces Damian Sinclair, who recently resigned. She will also maintain her curator responsibilities.
“My goal is to lead GRACE to a position of growth and prosperity, allowing the organization to better serve its mission to enrich community life by promoting involvement and excellence in the visual arts,” McCullough said in a statement.
“I intend to bring in exhibitions that inspire and educate, in addition to promoting Reston as a cultural destination. I also hope to expand the reach of our educational programming that currently serves over 20,000 students in more than 40 schools regionally, and take our highly-anticipated annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival to an even higher level of quality and success.”
McCullough has spent 17 years in the arts. She served as the Director of Collections and Exhibitions at the Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah, GA, in the 15 years prior to her appointment as GRACE’s curator. She managed the Telfair’s permanent collection and 12-16 changing exhibitions annually, was responsible for an extensive curatorial budget and staff of six, and pursued grants and fundraising in support of exhibitions, collections, and acquisitions, GRACE’s board said.
At GRACE, she has scheduled upcoming exhibitions featuring nationally-recognized artists and has proposed collaborative installations beyond the gallery’s walls, cultivating a greater awareness of the center and its mission.
McCullough holds a BA in English and Art History from the University of Georgia and an MA in Art History from the University of Notre Dame. She will assume the Executive Director role Jan. 1.
The Greater Reston Arts Center is turning 40, and to celebrate it is looking towards the next 40 years.
One way of looking ahead: getting younger Reston residents involved in the arts.
GRACE is hosting a reception to launch a new program, Generation Next, Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at the gallery at 12001 Market St. There will be free food and Happy Hour-priced beer and wine provided by Il Fornaio and sponsored by Reston’s Beloved Yoga.
Generation Next is a new group of patrons and rising business, civic, and social leaders under the age of 40 who will be the future of the Greater Reston Arts Center, says GRACE executive director Damian Sinclair. Organizers hope that the group will inspire and involve the next generation of GRACE members and leaders by hosting art-infused events.
Wednesday’s reception will feature a conversation with GRACE Curator Holly McCullough on the current exhibition 40 for 40: Celebrating Four Decades of GRACE and an opportunity to network with other arts-loving colleagues.
GRACE recently embarked on a new fundraising campaign, 40 Forward, which is aimed at increasing contributions to the arts center so it can enhance the annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival, expand marketing efforts, grow the quality of exhibitions, and improve its online presence, among other things.
“We only started the campaign in August and have already raised more than $135,000,” Sinclair said, adding that that amount has surpassed original goals.
“The Center at 40 is at a unique crossroads,” say 40 Forward materials. “Planning experts and developers envision a Reston Town Center that, capitalizing on Metro, becomes a dynamic, urban, regional destination with a rich array of live, work, and play options. Re-imagining the Greater Reston Arts Center as a regional center for fine art and culture perfectly aligns with this bold vision. The challenge before us: grow anew and be a vibrant part of the new Town Center that is coming.”
