Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art (Tephra ICA) presents MATRICULTURE, the 2025 Mary B. Howard Invitational exhibition. Curated by Liz Ensz, the exhibition features new work by three regional contemporary artists: Danyela June Brown, Devin Harclerode, and Nadia Nazar. The exhibition will be on view February 1–May 18 and an opening reception and talk with the artists and the curator of the exhibition will be held on February 1, 5–7pm.

MATRICULTURE features a hydroponics installation by Danyela June Brown offering healing herbal teas; hand-made curtains by Devin Harclerode addressing public and private forms of reproductive labor; and braided steel sculptures and animations that explore the matrilineal relationships and history of Nadia Nazar. Diverse in material, the exhibition is unified by a collective exploration of maternal nurturing and troubling the boundary between compassion and resistance.

“My curatorial vision for MATRICULTURE originated from a desire to assemble artists whose work expressed the interconnection, care, and strength that textile properties embody. After several conversations with Danyela, Devin, and Nadia, I could see their ideas, processes and work connecting broadly around practices of care and alternative models of family and kinship, and specifically on mothers and mothering,” says curator Liz Ensz. “Based on the lessons of textiles, MATRICULTURE positions flexibility and softness as strength, care and nurture as an antidote to disposability, and slow intentional processes as crucial acts of resistance for building and maintaining the relationships that make our lives worth living. I see this exhibition as a creative container for envisioning the worlds in which we can thrive. Our mothers name us, but we are also responsible for naming ourselves.”

The exhibition is the 2025 iteration of Tephra ICA’s Mary B. Howard Invitational, a biennial program which values exhibition-making as a collaborative and generative process while supporting the development and public presentation of innovative new work.

Related Events

Saturday, February 1, 5–7pm | Free and open to the public.

Art After Hours
Thursday, February 20, March 20, and April 17, 5:30-7:30pm
Every third Thursday at Tephra ICA, stop by the gallery for hors d’oeuvres, drinks, contemporary art, conversation, and special programming. Free and open to the public.

Saturday, April 26
MATRICULTURE is supported in part by Reston Town Center Association and presented in conjunction with the annual RTC Earth Day Celebration. Free and open to the public.