MPA ArtReach

Each year, MPA ArtReach provides visual arts experiences for thousands of elementary, middle, and high school students, as well as neurodiverse adult learners and senior participants.

About the Program

For more than three decades, MPA ArtReach has partnered with Fairfax County Public Schools and local community organizations to provide meaningful, standards-aligned visual arts experiences rooted in contemporary art. Each year, MPA ArtReach serves thousands of elementary, middle, and high school students, as well as adult learners and senior participants. The program is built on close looking, thoughtful dialogue, and creative response.

Accessible Art Experiences

Our in-gallery and community-based programming ensures access to contemporary art is not limited by transportation, schedule, or circumstance. Whether in the gallery or in a classroom, MPA ArtReach strengthens visual literacy, cross-disciplinary learning, and confidence in self-expression. MPA ArtReach advances MPA’s mission of connecting art and community through sustained, meaningful engagement accessible to everyone.

MPA ArtReach advances MPA’s mission of connecting art and community through sustained, meaningful engagement accessible to everyone.

In The Gallery: Guided Tours

MPA ArtReach guided tours engage directly with contemporary art on view in MPA’s galleries.

Students are encouraged to think critically about art through small-group conversations led by trained docents. Our “Come, Look and Discover” gallery brochures enable students to record their perceptions through drawing, journaling, and poetry.

All tours are aligned with Virginia Standards of Learning in Science, Technology, English, Art, and Math, reinforcing interdisciplinary STEAM objectives while strengthening visual literacy.

For second-language learners and students from Title I schools, these opportunities offer an empowering entry point into complex ideas, helping them form shared language through art.

Art in the Community: Site Visits

MPA ArtReach brings customized contemporary art experiences directly into partner schools, community centers, and service organizations across the region.

Programs include classroom-based art activities connected to current exhibitions, early childhood creative sessions, after-school initiatives, special education workshops, and virtual offerings. Participants are encouraged to respond actively to the art they encounter through dialogue, drawings, mixed-media work, or collaborative projects.

Each partnership is designed to respond to the specific needs of learners and educators across age groups and abilities.

Ongoing partnerships include:

• Fairfax County Public Schools, elementary through high school
• McLean High School Special Education monthly classroom programs
• ServiceSource initiatives, including “Art About Our Earth” with its ecological focus
• Wellness Center senior adult programs
• SparcSolutions adult club classes