Savoir Fair

Fine Arts Festival reaches higher

By Janet Rems

Courtesy of Paula Wachsstock, “Perched”

It’s a turning point for what the 2008 Art Fair Source Book hails as the top East Coast festival. The Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival, held May 16 and 17 in Reston, is embracing technology to heighten its quality. 

“One of the reasons the festival is so high quality is that it’s always had exceptional jurors,” says Joanne Bauer of festival producer Greater Reston Arts Center. The jurying process of artists went totally electronic in 2006, but until now, works were still juried in-house with slides. For 2009, the works were judged remotely online, which allowed for top national jurors like Mark Richard Leach, director of the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, N.C., and Michael Monroe, ex-director of the American Craft Council. This year, the festival’s 18th, more than 900 people applied for 200-plus slots in 18 categories. 

See www.restonarts.org. 

(May 2009)

Tags: Fine Arts Festival