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After nearly a decade of planning, setbacks and a change in location, the McLean Project for the Arts has opened its new Berlage Arts & Education Center—and is now $400,000 away from completing its fundraising campaign.

The 6,100-square-foot center occupies the ground floor of The Signet condominium building at 6910 Fleetwood Road. It features three galleries, a café and a professional-grade ceramics studio and workshop space that is nearing completion.

“This is now an asset for the future,” MPA Executive Director Lori Carbonneau said during a May 8 tour.

MPA has raised $5.85 million toward the $6.25 million needed to purchase and equip the facility. The organization is preparing a final fundraising drive after temporarily shifting its focus to completing construction and opening the center.

The facility is named for MPA board member, donor and arts supporter Bruce Berlage. Its financing includes a $500,000 grant from Fairfax County’s Economic Opportunity Reserve Fund and $1.8 million contributed through MPA’s 45-member board.

Carbonneau said most of the money came from highly local investors who recognized the project’s potential. One-third of The Signet’s residents also donated.

The new center expands MPA’s presence beyond its primary gallery and offices at the McLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Avenue.

First exhibition celebrates Yasmine Iskander

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held April 30, coinciding with the opening of the center’s inaugural exhibition, “Life Through the Power of Color.”

The show features work by Yasmine Iskander, an abstract artist who lived from 1998 to 2024 and was an MPA member. Her paintings have been collected and exhibited around the world.

Iskander used vivid color, washes, softened edges and geometric or organic forms to create layered abstract compositions, according to the exhibition’s curators.

The exhibition will remain on view through Sunday, June 7. A reception is scheduled for Thursday, May 14, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Café Monet opened during the week following the ribbon-cutting. MPA owns the café, while Knead Hospitality + Design operates it. Its name honors both French artist Claude Monet and McLean’s Monett family, whose support helped fund the project.

Years of planning and a new direction

The idea for an additional MPA facility dates to 2017. The organization initially sought to partner with the Fairfax County Park Authority and use an 18th-century house at Clemyjontri Park as the foundation for a larger arts center.

After that proposal collapsed, MPA turned its attention to McLean’s redeveloping downtown. Negotiations for the vacant Fleetwood Road space took place in 2022 and 2023, alongside the start of fundraising.

Converting the unfinished first-floor shell into an arts center and restaurant took nine months and brought some disruptions for residents of The Signet’s 121 condominium units.

Jan Moshinsky, The Signet’s general manager with FirstService Residential, said residents handled the construction complications well and are excited to have the gallery and restaurant in the building.

“It’s been a team effort,” she said.

MPA Community Engagement Director Elizabeth Murphy said the McLean Community Foundation, McLean Community Association, McLean Revitalization Corp. and the office of Dranesville Supervisor Jimmy Bierman supported the center during its lengthy development.

“Everybody who lives in this county is interested in how we bring opportunities to this area,” Murphy said, describing the center as a fresh addition to the community.

Carbonneau also credited Bierman, former Dranesville Supervisor John Foust, the Fairfax County Department of Economic Initiatives and McLean Community Center leaders with sustaining the project.

“Early in his tenure, he made a big bet on us,” she said of Bierman.

The Berlage center is not MPA’s first operation away from the community center. During a major renovation there, MPA moved into a former Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control store at Chain Bridge Corner Shopping Center in late 2016. The temporary MPA@ChainBridge gallery operated for about two years.

Carbonneau acknowledged that raising the remaining money for the new facility has taken time, particularly as the organization concentrated on finishing construction. She nevertheless expressed confidence that the campaign would soon reach its goal.

Naming opportunities remain available for the executive office and five pottery wheels.