McLean's Newest Art Galleries Keep Dinner Hours. Here's What's on the Walls This Fall.
"From a community metric, we are just thrilled about the idea of increasing foot traffic, of being able to serve the local residents," McLean Project for the Arts Executive Director Lori Carbonneau told FFXnow in April. At the time, the nonprofit's new space downtown still had bare walls.
Six months later, the most useful thing about the MPA Berlage Arts & Education Center may be its schedule rather than its square footage. The building is on the ground floor of The Signet at 6910 Fleetwood Road, across the street from Elm Street Park. Its galleries keep the same hours as the bistro inside. So a Friday dinner reservation in downtown McLean can now include three free exhibitions before or after the meal.
MPA didn't leave McLean Community Center. Its Emerson and Atrium Galleries are still at 1234 Ingleside Avenue. The Berlage Center added a second home with three more galleries, a ceramics studio, teaching space and a café. The two buildings run on very different schedules.
| MPA Berlage Center, 6910 Fleetwood Road | MPA at McLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Avenue | |
|---|---|---|
| Galleries | Simms Gallery, Gallery Vivienne, Iskander Gallery | Emerson and Atrium Galleries |
| Sunday | 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. | Closed |
| Monday to Thursday | 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Friday and Saturday | 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. | Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Admission | Free | Free |
The Ingleside galleries close at 4 p.m., before most commuters get home, and they're closed all day Sunday. The Berlage galleries stay open an extra six hours on Saturday night and are open all day Sunday. MPA says every one of its galleries is free and open to the public. Some classes, workshops and special events need registration or a fee.
Carbonneau gave FFXnow a second reason for the move. MPA had struggled at times to keep its identity separate from the community center's, and some visitors assumed the annual MPAartfest was an MCC event. A building on Fleetwood Road with MPA's name on it, open into the evening, settles much of that. FFXnow put the center at nearly 6,000 square feet, and the ribbon was cut on April 30.
The fall season at the Berlage Center is three solo shows that opened together on September 17. MPA's exhibition pages list all three through November 14, 2026:
All three artists are scheduled to speak at the Berlage Center on Thursday, October 29, at 7 p.m. The event page links to a registration form. That evening is the easiest way this season to hear the people behind the work. It's a weeknight with an evening start, in a building that serves dinner until 9.
On the end date, MCC's printed fall program guide gives November 4 for the Berlage shows. MPA's own pages say November 14. If you're planning a visit for that first week of November, check MPA's exhibitions page before you go.
The galleries can keep late hours because they share a door with Café Monet. MPA owns the bistro, and KNEAD Hospitality + Design operates it. The space was meant for a restaurant or retail tenant but had never been occupied, so this is new dining in downtown McLean rather than a replacement for something that closed.
Café Monet's site lists these meals:
The dinner closing times match the gallery closing times exactly. The menu runs from garlic sourdough and burrata to beef bourguignon and steak frites. At breakfast there's a ratatouille omelet, and French toast is on the weekend menu.
Arlington Magazine reviewed the café on August 18, 2026, under the headline "Café Monet Serves French Bistro Fare with Art on the Side." Writer Warren Rojas described a menu that "channels the colors and flavors of Giverny." The review singled out the avocado tartine, pain perdu, fingerling potatoes, burrata and beef bourguignon, along with the cocktail and wine lists. It named Jonathan Dearden, KNEAD's corporate chef. That review gave an 8 a.m. opening time, while the café and MPA both now say 9 a.m. If you're counting on an early coffee, check before you head over.
The galleries and dinner share a building, and Elm Street Park is across the road, so the outing fits within a block of Fleetwood Road. On a Friday or Saturday it could go like this:
On a weeknight, the same plan works until 9. On October 29, the artist talks are the main event.
The new building gets the evening hours, but the largest exhibition this fall is at Ingleside. "(Not) Strictly Painting 15" fills the Emerson and Atrium Galleries at McLean Community Center with work by 48 artists. MPA's page lists it from September 10 through November 7, 2026. MCC's guide prints November 17 as the closing date, so the same check applies here.
That show is only open weekdays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., so seeing it takes a daytime visit. Saturday is the only weekend day both MPA locations are open. A Saturday plan that starts at Ingleside before 4 and ends on Fleetwood Road at dinner covers all four fall shows.
Ingleside is also where MPA's adult classes meet. MCC's fall guide lists:
All three courses started before late October. Contact MCC if you'd like to join one partway through or get notice of the next session.
The identity question Carbonneau described has played out in the community calendar too. This year's fall art festival in McLean Central Park ran on October 4 as "McLean Artfest, formerly MPAartfest." MCC produced it, and MPA served as visual-art partner. Admission was free, and more than 30 juried regional artists took part. In its fall guide, MCC said it was "excited to take on the producing role." So the community center now runs the big outdoor art day, and MPA has a building on Fleetwood Road with its own name over the door.
MCC's calendar picks up from there and runs into the holidays:
The Antiques Show opens on November 14, the same day MPA's pages give as the last day for the Berlage solo shows. That makes it a good weekend to do both buildings.
If family is visiting this fall and you'd like ideas for their stay beyond Fleetwood Road, I'm always glad to share the McLean places I recommend. Reach out to Jennifer Hernandez and Powers Home Group anytime. Let's Connect.
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