Alexandria, VA – ‘Tis the season to be giving! Art makes the perfect gift for loved ones and friends. Port City galleries and artist studios in the Torpedo Factory Art Center are a jolly good place to shop. Buy small, y’all! Small business, that is….
Celebrating their 30th anniversary tradition of purveying fine art and artisanal craft curation, Del Ray Artisans on Mount Vernon Avenue is the place to start. Check off just about everything on your wish lists, perusing handmade gifts galore—for both home and body—among the intimate indoor gallery market setting. Vendors change each of the first three weekends of December beginning Friday, December 5, and ending Sunday, December 21.
Shopping local is made easy at DRA, where veteran holiday market artisans, gallery members, and new-2-U vendors represent a diverse and unique selection of high-quality gifts across various mediums, including painting, printmaking, photography, fiber/textiles, mosaics, mixed-media, pottery/ceramics/polymer clay, glass, paper craft, jewelry, sculpture, wood, wreaths, and ornaments. AND MORE! Something special for everyone at prices that please.
Hours: Fridays, 6-9 p.m. Saturdays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. The market is free and ADA accessible. For additional information and to see which artists and artisans are present for which dates, go to delrayartisans.org/event/holiday-market-2025
Nepenthe Gallery has decked the walls to floors to ceiling with spectacular artwork beckoning you to “take me home!” DMV-area art icon Lenny Campello has made Nepenthe the 18th of the 19 venues to proudly host the Women Artists of the DMV survey exhibition.
To date, over 700 fabulously female artists have participated in the first and most expansive curation of regional women artists on exhibit both nationally and internationally. Lenny has been imagining this exhibition for almost 20 years. The next and 19th exhibit space will be Falls Church Arts beginning January 10, 2026.
Nepenthe is proud to have Lenny select the following artists for this showcase, on view at Nepenthe through January 2026: Jenny Davis, Sarah Ernst, Cathy Hirsh, Michal Hunter, Kristina King, Phyllis Mayes, Dora Patin, Judith Peck, Eve Sandmeyer, and Barbara Fee Sheehan.
Don’t miss the Nepenthe Christmas Marketplace on Sundays, December, 7, 14, and 21 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Celebrate the season with holiday music, wassail, and cookies. Explore the new artwork each week inside the Christmas Box. Sundays bring extra special cheer when all the artwork inside the box is 20 percent off!
Meet master photographer Renée C. Gage Thursday, December 11, while celebrating George Washington’s Mount Vernon, the jewel in the crown of Alexandria’s historic places. Enjoy talking with Renée during the opening reception of her fine art photography from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
The last but not least soirée of the season at Chez Nepenthe is Thursday, December 18, when local bluegrass group Dogwood Hollow rock the holiday blues jamming at the gallery beginning at 6 p.m. They’ll jingle your Kris Kringle with a diverting style that would put a smile on even the grinchiest humbug!
The holidays are coming. So let’s get shopping! But keep in mind that this is also the season of giving for those in need. Giving to others less fortunate can be the greatest gift you can give—and get—for yourself. The gift of time shared with another is the greatest gift of all! Whatever you do, give art this year. One size, large or small, fits all! And the parking is EZ!
A Creative Partnership in a Season of Giving
Alexandria art devotees got a big jump on giving the gift that truly lasts at Alexandria Living Legend Nina Tisara’s Serenity Gallery last month. A mosaic artist and photographer, Nina celebrated her own birthday by generously hosting a Partners in Art fundraiser benefiting Del Ray Artisans. Nina founded Living Legends of Alexandria in 2006.
Nina’s mosaic artistry and the unique photographic art of Steven Halperson’s Garden Series were on exhibit with 20 percent of all sales during the event, as well as online sales, donated to DRA. Many of Nina’s most popular mosaics and photographic images are available on mugs and notecards. Steve’s Garden Series images are also available as unframed prints and notecards. Steve is not only Nina’s son and managing partner at Tisara Photography but he also joined DRA one month after its founding in 1992.
Del Ray Artisans President and graphic designer/artist Dawn Wise Hurto thanked Nina for her art advocacy in Alexandria, her tireless support for DRA, and for inspiring out-of-the-box exhibits and philanthropic opportunities by creating an alternative in-home space for her Creative Partnerships at Serenity Gallery. Also present was founding member and Living Legend Kathryn Brown, who is currently Director of Archives at DRA and the longest-serving Board member at the 33-year-old nonprofit art space.
