Arts & Culture
Whether you prefer classical theater, musical comedy, modern dance or contemporary art, you will find it all here.
Arts Venues
Theaters and museums and galleries, oh my! Arlington has a profusion of cultural and artistic venues just waiting to welcome you.
Arlington's arts scene is rich, varied and thriving. Within the capital region, Arlington is second only to Washington, DC, in its abundance of arts events, with more than 1,500 annually.
They take place in its theaters, galleries and museums, which are just as varied and dynamic as the arts themselves. There, you’ll find original works and critically acclaimed performances just about any time.
Theaters
Arlington is well-known for showcasing top talent in award-winning shows. Whether you prefer classical theater, musical comedy, modern dance or an innovative original drama, you will find it in one of the following small theaters.
Signature Theatre
Arlington’s Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre is best known for Broadway-caliber contemporary musicals and reinvented plays. Renowned for its definitive Stephen Sondheim productions, Signature has earned 128 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence. The theater has produced 59 world premiere works, including 19 new musical commissions, and is home to the single largest musical theater commissioning project in the United States, The American Musical Voices Project.
How to Visit: Signature is located in the Village at Shirlington, in a modern two-theater facility where audiences are never more than 45 feet from the action.
Synetic Theater
Brilliantly original, Synetic Theater showcases exciting visual storytelling with performances that incorporate text, drama, movement, acrobatics, dance and music. This synthesis of kinetic elements inspires its name, syn+etic. Expressing classical texts and modern stories entirely without words, Synetic gives audiences unforgettable visceral experiences through its stunning physicality.
Synetic’s productions have earned it 34 Helen Hayes Awards, garnering praise for both its “Wordless Shakespeare” repertoire — such as Hamlet…the rest is silence — and its dialogue-and movement-based pieces. Founded by Georgian immigrants, Paata and Irina Tsikurishvili in 2001, Synetic redefines theater by blending innovative techniques and movement. But even Paata Tsikurishvili says words cannot describe it exactly: “You have to experience it!”
How to Visit: Synetic Theater is located in Crystal City, right next to the Crystal City Metro station.
Gunston Arts Center
The Gunston Arts Center is a well-used performance space that houses two theaters: Theatre One, a 460-seat with proscenium stage, and Theatre Two, a 125-seat black box space. Several small performing arts groups use the Gunston facilities to produce their plays, including Arlington Players, Dominion Stage, Encore Stage & Studio (free theater by kids, for kids), National Chamber Ensemble, Teatro de la Luna (works related to Hispanic heritage) and others.
Gunston is located in a converted public school that the county government has turned over to artists. On any given evening, play rehearsals, dance recitals and other artistic events happen in classrooms, on stages and even in hallways. The former library has become the black-box theater where theater companies release their creative juices.
Avant Bard Theatre, for example, uses Theater Two as its primary performance venue to produce some of the most innovative plays in the Washington, DC, area. Founded in 1990 as the Washington Shakespeare Company, this performing arts organization presents both time-tested and contemporary classics that are bold and provocative. Think edgy productions of Shakespeare, from Julius Caesar
to a Kubrick-inspired Richard II, as well as works by other literary giants, such as Samuel Beckett, Tennessee Williams and Edward Albee, and by exciting new playwrights, too.
How to Visit: Gunston is located in the Gunston Middle School and Community Center in Crystal City, and has free parking.
Theatre on the Run
Like Gunston, Theatre on the Run serves as a very adaptable facility for several local performing arts groups (when they’re not at the Gunston Art Center or elsewhere), including Avant Bard Theatre, Arlington Players, Dominion Stage, Encore Stage & Studio and Jane Franklin Dance. This intimate 75-seat black box theater has stadium-like seating with plush green seats on three levels. With its minimalist décor and all-black floor and curtains, it provides a clean slate for visiting troupes to install their own stage sets and lighting.
How to Visit: The theater is located inside the Arlington Cultural Affairs building in Shirlington and has a free outdoor parking lot.
Museums and Galleries
Painters, sculptors and other visual artists find free expression showing their work at the following private galleries and museums in Arlington.
Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington
The Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington is a nonprofit visual arts center showcasing new work by regional artists in the mid-Atlantic states. At 17,000 square feet, it’s one of the largest non-federal venues for contemporary art in the Washington metropolitan area.
Housed in a historic school building dating to 1910, it includes nine exhibition galleries, working studios for 12 artists and three classrooms. The two-story symmetrical building has been designated an Arlington County Landmark and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It boasts magnificent original Tiffany stained-glass windows that have been carefully restored and are part of Arlington’s Public Art program.
How to Visit: The museum is located in Clarendon near the Virginia Square Metro station.
Gallery Underground
Established and emerging regional artists line up to show their work at Gallery Underground, a large, airy Arlington Artists Alliance space. It also hosts a variety of community events, like lunchtime paint-ins, monthly Painting Uncorked classes, and dance and musical performances, in addition to First Friday opening receptions held on the first Friday of every month.
How to Visit: It’s located in the Crystal City Shops near the Crystal City Metro station.
Cody Gallery
Part of Marymount University, the Cody Gallery is a contemporary art space that mounts exhibitions of local, regional and international artists to provide thought-provoking work for the community. Artist talks and lectures are also part of its lineup.
How to Visit: The gallery is located inside Ballston Center near the Ballston-MU Metro station and has street parking.
Fred Schnider Gallery of Art
The Fred Schnider Gallery of Art provides an open canvas for artists of all mediums and styles to showcase their broad range of work, including photography, collage, multimedia, painting and more. The gallery is located in the Ballston neighborhood.
