ArtsFairfax proudly announces the 2023 ArtsFairfax Awards honorees

ArtsFairfax recently announced the 2023 ArtsFairfax Awards honorees. 

Workhouse Arts Center is being honored with the Jinx Hazel Award, Lola Reinsch with the Philanthropy Award, Inova Schar Cancer Institute in partnership with Smith Center for Healing and the Arts with the Impact Award, and The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at George Mason University with the Education Award.

Workhouse Arts Center, which is operated by the Workhouse Arts Foundation, is the 2023 recipient of the ArtsFairfax Jinx Hazel Award, the premier arts and culture award for Fairfax County.

As the only multi-disciplinary arts center in south Fairfax County, now known as Potomac Banks, Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, is home to a vibrant arts community that offers engaging opportunities and inspiring experiences through visual and performing arts, education classes, historical perspective, community engagement, and personal enrichment.

Workhouse Arts Center curates and presents art exhibitions from local, regional, and national artists, and provides studio space for nearly 65 resident and associate artists. Attracting an audience of 100,000 patrons annually, Workhouse artists present more than 70 art shows, 300 performing arts events, and over 300 education classes, in addition to special events such as the annual Fireworks in July. One of their most impactful programs is the Workhouse Military in the Arts Initiative, a free arts access, and art therapy program for military service members, veterans, and their families to participate in quality arts programming that is sensitive and responsive to their unique experiences.

Reinsch is the 2023 ArtsFairfax Philanthropy Award honoree. President, owner, and CEO of the Reinsch Companies, a residential housing and golf course community developer and owner of real estate entities, including multifamily housing communities in Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida, Reinsch is an avid supporter and patron of healthcare, education, and the arts. 

She founded the Reinsch Pierce Family Foundation in 2010 and has a long history of supporting many of the region’s arts and culture organizations. Through her family foundation, and before that, the Emerson G. & Dolores G. Reinsch Foundation, she has strengthened many Northern Virginia nonprofits, including 1st Stage, Arlington Community Foundation, Arlington Philharmonic, Tysons McLean Orchestra, Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, Synetic Theater, Signature Theatre, and Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, among others. 

For more than 30 years, The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at George Mason University (OLLI Mason) has been committed to providing educational, cultural, and social opportunities for adults in their retirement years, and they are the recipient of the 2023 ArtsFairfax Education Award.

A nonprofit affiliate of George Mason University, OLLI Mason offers more than 600 courses each year on a broad spectrum of subjects, as well as numerous clubs, social events, and excursions.

Commended for their Arts and Healing Program, the Inova Schar Cancer Institute, in partnership with Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, is the 2023 ArtsFairfax Impact Award recipient.

A state-of-the-art cancer center in the Washington, D.C., metro area designed to bring healing and hope to every patient, Inova Schar gives patients unmatched logistical, clinical, and emotional support. A key component of that support is the Arts and Healing Program, which is 100% funded through philanthropy.

“The 2023 ArtsFairfax Awards honorees all demonstrate how the arts revitalize communities, improve our well-being, and spark creativity in unexpected places. We’re thrilled to celebrate each of these awardees for enriching the lives of Fairfax County residents,” said Linda Sullivan, ArtsFairfax president & CEO. 

Held annually to raise the visibility of arts and culture throughout Fairfax County and the Cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, the ArtsFairfax Awards attract more than 300 guests, including local, state, and federal elected officials, as well as private supporters, business professionals, and arts and community leaders.

“Reston Community Center is delighted to be a Visionary Sponsor for the 2023 ArtsFairfax Awards. The arts are the heartbeat of all truly great communities, and we can’t envision any world in which the arts aren’t central to what makes us human,” said RCC Board Chair Beverly Cosham. “The arts play a central role in Reston’s neighborhoods and Fairfax County has embraced their vital importance to building vibrant places to live and learn. ArtsFairfax is the catalyst for these successful efforts.”

Proceeds from the ArtsFairfax Awards help sustain the critical services, resources, and support the nonprofit provides for the local arts sector and the broader community. As Fairfax County’s local arts agency, ArtsFairfax serves more than 200 arts and culture nonprofits by distributing County funds to the arts, connecting artists and arts organizations to each other and to other sectors, and promoting arts and culture activities for approximately 1.2 million County residents.

The honorees will be celebrated at a fundraising event in late October. For more information visit ArtsFairfax.org/Awards.