The Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington (MOCA Arlington) occupies the 1910 Maury School building at 3550 Wilson Boulevard, on the stretch of Wilson between Clarendon and Virginia Square. It began in 1974 as the Arlington Arts Center and adopted its current name in 2022. Admission is free, and the museum focuses on new work by emerging and mid-career artists from the Mid-Atlantic and beyond.
The red-brick schoolhouse gives the museum an unusual scale. Former classrooms and hallways now hold rotating exhibitions across several galleries, so a single visit often covers multiple solo and group shows in painting, sculpture, installation, video and photography. Upstairs, the museum rents subsidized studios to working artists, which keeps active art-making inside the building. Open studio events let visitors meet residents and see works in progress. MOCA Arlington also runs classes and camps for children, teens and adults, plus exhibition openings and talks that draw a local crowd. The building’s grassy front lawn makes an easy stop for families.
Visitor Highlights & Practical Info
The galleries are typically open Wednesday through Sunday afternoons, but hours change between exhibitions, so check the museum’s website before you go. Weekday afternoons are the quietest. Opening receptions are livelier and give you a chance to meet the artists. Take Metro’s Orange or Silver Line to Virginia Square–GMU, about a five-minute walk away, or to Clarendon, about ten minutes away. Clarendon’s restaurants make it easy to pair a gallery visit with dinner. Street parking is limited, so transit is the simpler choice.
