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Capital One Center Celebration of the Arts
Capital One Center Celebration of the Arts, presented with Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art (Tephra ICA), is a two-day outdoor festival happening October 4–5, 2025, in the heart of Tysons, VA. Designed for all ages, this immersive event transforms the streets of Capital One Center into a multi-block celebration of the arts—featuring interactive installations, hands-on workshops, live music, and culinary experiences for every generation.
With streets closed for the weekend, each zone of the festival offers a unique creative experience. Guests can engage in participatory artmaking with regional artists and arts organizations, take part in workshops designed for all ages and skill levels, and discover unexpected moments of creativity throughout the campus. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ traveling ArtMobile will showcase Love, Laughter, Tears: An Artist’s Guide to Emotions—an exhibition exploring how artists across cultures and time have expressed universal human emotions through their work.
The festival features a full schedule of live music performances, a Kids Zone, food and desserts vendors, and more.
Tephra ICA is the curator of a featured activation inside The Vault, a 300-person immersive venue in Capital One Hall. This special installation will showcase a VR art experience by artist Arden Bendler Browning, blending contemporary painting with cutting-edge virtual reality to create a singular expression of immersive creativity.
This is not your typical art festival—it’s an invitation to create, taste, listen, and explore. Whether you're looking for family-friendly fun, live entertainment, or a reason to get outside and connect, the Capital One Center Celebration of the Arts delivers a full weekend of inspiration and hands-on engagement for all ages.
When:
- October 4th 11am-5pm
- October 5th 11am - 5pm
**Celebration of the Arts Schedule is Subject to Change Based on Weather and Event
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About Capital One Center
Capital One Center is a 35 acre mixed-use development in the heart of Tysons, VA. Anchored by the headquarters of Capital One, Washington DC's hometown bank, and home to its over 12,000 associates in the region, Capital One Center is quickly transforming the skyline and the cultural landscape of Fairfax County. This 3 million sq. ft. development is a vibrant arts & entertainment destination which includes a large skypark, The Perch - complete with Starr Hill Biergarten, food trucks, and an 18-hole miniature golf course - and a 300-all-suite hotel, The Watermark Hotel, numerous retail and dining options, and most notably a world-class corporate events and performing arts center, Capital One Hall. In spring 2023 Capital One Park opened doors to a baseball stadium which will host college, high school, and tournament games. Capital One Center is located 500 steps from the McLean Metro Station on the Silver Line.
About Tephra ICA
Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art (Tephra ICA) is a 501c3 non-profit, non-collecting institution committed to promoting innovative contemporary art and thinking. The word “tephra” – matter from geothermal eruptions that lands upon, nourishes, and changes the surrounding environment - emphasizes the institution’s belief in the combustibility of creativity and the generation of ideas and growth that the arts can provide. Tephra ICA works with artists, galleries, institutions, universities, thought leaders, and collectors globally.
About Capital One Arts
Over the past 23 years, Capital One has supported a culture of creativity for their associates through a museum-quality art collection, rotating exhibitions and community partnerships with local and regional nonprofit arts organizations. Today, Capital One has over 8,300 artworks in their offices across North America. This impressive collection is recognized by associates, visitors, and the wider arts community as a substantial and impactful investment. Capital One has over 2,000 works of art throughout their secure office buildings at Capital One Center, as well as a public art collection that’s accessible to all visitors, differentiating this campus as a performing and visual arts destination.
Community Arts Organizations
VMFA ArtMobile
VMFA on the Road is the museum’s 21st-century Artmobile, coming to you from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. In fall 2023, VMFA on the Road will showcase the exhibition Love, Laughter, Tears: An Artist’s Guide to Emotions. This compilation of works from the VMFA collection examines the relationship between art and emotion across various cultures and time periods to explore human emotion as a unifying and universal factor.
VMFA ArtMobile Activity
In conjunction with the VMFA Artmobile exhibition, this hands-on printmaking workshop allows participants to create their own relief prints. Using pre-carved linoleum blocks, participants will learn to mix and roll ink, then use hand pressure to transfer designs onto paper. Each participant will leave with their favorite print from their small edition.
Art Enables
As part of the "View Masters: Art Enables Reframes the Perspective" exhibition on display at Capital One (September – January 2026), festival guests can experience a retro-styled giant “ViewMaster” viewfinder in a whole new way! Peer through the lens to frame any scene that sparks your imagination, then capture it in a quick sketch. Add color, pin your finished
drawing to a giant “reel” and watch as the community board transforms into a livin mosaic—hundreds of individual visions coming together through countless tiny lenses. This evolving artwork celebrates observation, spontaneity, and the joy of seeing the world through a shared creative perspective.
Washington Project for the Arts
Washington Project for the Arts—DC’s laboratory for collaborative experimentation—presents a timeline of the organization’s 50-year history of supporting trailblazing art in the DMV region. Visitors are invited to peruse a selection of WPA’s publications spotlighting recent artist- organized projects. All books are available for purchase.
Transformer Gallery
Shop Transformer's FlatFile, a growing collection of 500+ artworks by 40+ local, emerging artists! The FlatFile consists of continually rotating selections of original artworks + limited print editions which have been presented in art fairs and international exhibitions. All works are 2D, sized 16" x 20" or smaller, and priced at $500 and below.
MOCA Arlington
Step into our pop-up lounge and relax alongside Reclining Liberty. This vibrant space will offer a hands-on art activity and a chance to meet professional artists. Feel transported to the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington as you lounge, create, and connect right from where you are.
WorkHouse Arts Center
Once a reformatory, the Workhouse Arts Center is now a lively creative hub where art and community thrive. Explore creations in glass, join interactive workshops, painting and mixed media exhibits and connect with artists in an inspiring creative setting. It's a celebration of transformation, collaborations, and the freedom to create.
Pyramid Atlantic
Join Pyramid Atlantic for some letterpress love! Explore letterpress works such as posters, postcards, greeting cards, and artist books made by local DMV artists. Also, get hands-on experience making your very own letterpress post-card on one of Pyramid's proong presses.
Fifty/Fifty
Join the Fifty/Fifty team as they reclaim public parking spaces and transform them into a substance-free urban oasis. The Free Parking Bike sets the stage for Fifty/Fifty’s series of community-focused bike projects. Since 2015, Fifty/Fifty continually strives to reduce the social stigma and isolation associated with individuals struggling with substance use disorders, nationally and internationally.
Tephra ICA | VR Artist - Arden Bendler Browning
Tephra ICA has curated and commissioned Philadelphia-based artist Arden Bendler Browning to create a new immersive artwork for the The Vault at Capital One Hall. Land-escape and the Aura of Distance is a multi-faceted digital installation using projectors, colored light, Mixed and Virtual Reality headsets, and sound. Visitors will be able to explore digital landscapes created by Bendler Browning in an ever-changing journey through virtual worlds.
Artist Workshop
Adjoa Burrowes
In this hands-on workshop learn how to apply ink on natural materials to make exciting prints using the gelatin printing process. This printmaking workshop is perfect for beginners and experienced creatives alike. No prior experience is necessary, just a willingness to explore, experiment, and enjoy the organic beauty of nature captured on paper.
Workshop Sessions 11am | 1pm | 3pm
1pm:
Danni O'Brien
"Bits and Pieces" invites participants to explore the processes of playing and tinkering as they create modular, monochromatic relief sculptures using a wide range of provided materials. From leftover packaging to sequins, pipe cleaners, and found objects collected by the artist, these
individual assemblages will come together to form a large, collaborative sculpture. Inspired by O’Brien’s work, this activation emphasizes how unity in color can transform eclectic, disparate materials into balanced and cohesive compositions, highlighting the critical importance of re-imagination and play to help us reframe and reimagine the world we inhabit.
Workshop Sessions 11am | 1pm | 3pm
Sue Wrbican
This experience combines participants images with sculptural manipulation to render imaginary public artists’ renderings. Through the use of materials from the artist’s studio, agreed upon images from participants’ phones will be abstracted through reactive materials that are twisted into forms and digitally manipulated to “site” the maquettes in contemporary landscapes. This collaborative experience will be posted on a special instagram account for the public to follow.
Workshop Sessions 12pm | 2pm | 4pm
Eric Jackson
A large-scale ber art installation created through community participation. This collaborative work is inspired by the themes of energy, transition, and change. It reflects the collective presence of those whose contributions and energies help shape a place in motion, and create a sense of belonging through an immersion in creative practice.
Workshop Sessions 12pm | 2pm | 4pm
Music Lineup
The MOD Band (Jazz Funk)
Bobbe Shore and First Call (Jazz, swing and blues)
Pleasure Business (pop/rock)
Adwela & the Uprising (Reggae)
Black Masala (Ethno-funk)
Washington Balalaika Orchestra
