First Friday ArtWalk

First Friday ArtWalk & Visual Arts Week

To reduce crowding and allow for safe social distancing, we are expanding the ArtWalk experience from one night to a full week. Come downtown to enjoy Eugene’s art scene and support local artists during First Friday ArtWeek & Visual Arts Week, August 7-15! We will not host a guided tour, but you can check out a list of open venues and art exhibitions below.

Special thanks to our First Friday ArtWeek Sponsors the City of Eugene Cultural Services Downtown Program Fund and Summit Bank.

5th Street Public Market (296 E 5th Ave)
Venues: J. Scott Cellars, Bennett’s at 5th Street, Sweet Cheeks Tasting Room, and the Market Eateries
Hours: Aug. 7-Aug. 15, during hours of operation for each venue. Check website for information.
The 5th Street Public Market presents paintings created by its own staff during the time of the coronavirus shutdown and isolation. Some 15 staff members from throughout Obie Companies produced more than 60 large-canvas works. Painting proved to be a healthy creative outlet during a stressful time. Some of these paintings will be displayed in the new Gordon Hotel when it opens in the fall.  Image:  Irene Alltucker.

Black is Beautiful Panel Installation
Eugene Public Library (100 W 10th Ave, along westside on Charnelton St)
Created for the Eugene 2020 Juneteenth, this piece measures 60 feet long and was created by the Eugene BIPOC Artist Collective to celebrate and stand in solidarity with our black and African American community members.

Create-Your-Own-Sculpture Treasure Hunts
Website
Earthbound Moon invites you to participate in five Create-Your-Own-Sculpture Treasure Hunts. You can find the posters for the Treasure Hunts in the windows of Eugene’s Public Library or at DIYSculpture.com. Download a Treasure Hunt (or all five Treasure Hunts!) and be a part of the artmaking for Visual Arts Week! Artists include: Eugene Difficult Music Ensemble, Jorah LaFleur, Mija Andrade, Pat Luther, and Patricia Montoya Donohue.

DanceAbility International Installation, presented by Harmonic Laboratory
(10th & Willamette storefront)
Viewable August 7-15, 8:30 pm-midnight
DanceAbility International’s mission is to dissolve barriers and connect people with and without disabilities through dance and movement. Harmonic Laboratory has lent their digital expertise to present a projection of the historical perspective of DanceAbility International performing company, viewable in the evening hours.

David Walker Storefront Installation
(LCC Titan Store, 101 W 10th Ave)
David Walker has been creating wooden wearable art for 19 years. His pieces have been in international competitions and exhibitions around the world. Three of his wooden wearable garments “Tree of Life,” “Ajaw Eamanom,” and “Stella Nova” will be displayed along with projected images of the pieces being worn.

Epic Seconds
(30 E 11th Ave)  Facebook
Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10am-7pm, Sunday 12-6pm 
“Summer Reading,” work by Benjamin Terrell, on display for August and September. In a normal world “summer reading” refers to books that are better saved or savored over long breaks with more time to digest. Created during the COVID crisis, where time, schedules and normalcy are radically less controllable, these paintings are inventories of everyday objects and of the familiar places from where we emerge to confront the unknown.

Karin Clarke Gallery 
(760 Willamette St)  Website
Hours: W-F 12-5:30pm, Sa 10am-4pm  
Live-stream Award Show on Zoom: August 14th, 6pm
“The 2020 Eugene Biennial,” a juried show celebrating the exceptional art of our region. Jurors selected 41 paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, textiles, prints, and mixed-media work out of 277 entries. Artists include: This year’s selected artists are: Susan Applegate, Germaine Bennett , Keith Bennett, Sandy Brown Jensen , Zoe Cohen, Bets Cole, Todd Davis, Tallmadge Doyle, Terry Duffy, Janine Etherington, Peter Fox, Analee Fuentes, Pete Goldlust, Leslie Green, Joel Haffner, Megan Haight, Phyllis Helland, Lynn Ihsen Peterson, Heather Jacks, Bob Keefer, Margot  Lovinger, Rebecca Mannheimer, Luke McCready, Satoko Motouji, Anna  Mueller, Hossein Peigahi, John Pellitier, Marilyn Perry, Sarah Peterman, Christopher St. John, Andrea Schwartz-Feit , Sarah Sedwick, Liam Sherlock , John Subert, Lauren Suveges, Marjorie Taylor (right), and Libby Wadsworth. Show Dates: August 5 – 29, 2020 

Mayor’s Art Show
(online and at former SCAN Design, 856 Willamette St, and previous Lane Community College building, between 10th and 11th on Willamette)  Website
The Mayor’s Art Show is part of a larger celebration of contemporary visual art, artists and the City’s public spaces. In response to COVID-19, The Mayor’s Art Show is pivoting to become an online exhibition, with satellite art installations of selected artworks throughout the city. Vote for the People’s Choice award by Friday, August 14th 5pm! On display August 7-September 4, 2020.  Image: Rob Varela, Painting In Isolation, photo by Nathan Alexander Ward Photography.

The New Zone Gallery 
(22 W 7th Ave)  Website
Hours: 12-6pm daily; Reception: August 7th 5:30pm 
New Zone Gallery hosts the “Salon des Refusés,” an exhibition of art refused from the Mayor’s Art Show, from August 7-28th. Also on display: “Goddess is Alive, Magic is Afoot,” a collection of oil paintings on wood panel and canvas completed in the last five years by Rebecca La Mothe (right) and “Impressions Of A Story,” new photographic work by Barbora Bakalarova. Music on August 7th: folk and jazz music by Justus Grose on guitar.

The Lincoln Gallery
(309 W 4th Ave)  Website
Hours: Thursday and Friday from 2-6pm or by appointment.  
With a mission to connect scrap and fine art, MECCA challenged artists to make inspiring, thought-provoking, and creative works of art out of a mystery box of materials. The resulting artworks exist in the space where artistic discovery and conservation meet, inspiring us all to think differently about the materials we may consider waste. The annual Object Afterlife Art Challenge is MECCA’s signature event and hosted at OSLP’s Lincoln Gallery from August 7-September 13.  Image: Rosia Diaz.
 
Oregon Art Supply
(1020 Pearl St)  Website
“Eugene Postcard Project” – Artists are invited to submit handmade postcards to transform the storefront into a temporary gallery! This is a new way to stay connected in a time that feels alienating, while supporting the US Postal System. The display is up now through the first week of September, with submissions accepted through 8/15/2020. Learn how to submit  Image: Emily Looman.

PhotoZone Gallery
(inside the New Zone Gallery at 22 W 7th Ave) Website
Hours: 12-6pm daily; Reception: August 7th 5:30pm 
PhotoZone is a collection of diverse individuals interested in the craft of photography. A wide variety of skills are valued which range from masters of silver print, platinum/palladium, gum bichromate, etc. to enthusiasts of digital production. August’s featured artist is Michael Strain (right), whose photographs explore shapes, colors, and textures of the vibrant street scene in Oaxaca de Benito Juárez, Mexico.

Starlight Lounge
(830 Olive St)  Website
Hours: 2pm-midnight daily 
Acrylic paintings on canvas by Effy Andrews. Effy states, “I’ve created for as long as I can remember; I’m a 3rd generation artist. I learned from my Grandmother Karen Hubbard who is also an artist here in Eugene. Creating art will always be my happy place.”  Instagram: @effyandrewsart  

White Lotus Gallery
(767 Willamette St)  Website
Open by appointment only – click on links below for artist interviews
“In Good Company: Works by Regional Artists,” showcasing new art by Rich Bergeman, Jon Jay Cruson (right), Li Tie, Satoko Motouji, Connie Mueller, Jamie Newton, Margaret Prentice, Charles Search, and Gary Tepfer. The collection will include works ranging in medium from acrylic and oil on canvas to photography and linocut reduction printmaking. Exhibition dates: July 3 – August 15.

Visual Arts Week: Workshops, Studio Tours, Installations, and more!
Celebrate Eugene’s annual Visual Arts Week with dozens of opportunities to enjoy public art, meet local artists, and celebrate the visual arts in our community. In the past, Lane Arts Council’s First Friday ArtWalk kicked off Visual Arts Week with an evening of gallery-hopping, but this year our ArtWalk extends through the entire week to prevent crowding in venues. With Visual Arts Week events happening daily and First Friday ArtWeek venues showing art across downtown, you can enjoy visual arts experiences all week long! Go behind the scenes with some of Eugene’s finest art studios for virtual demos and artist talks, or mask up and visit open studios throughout the week. Get creative with socially-distanced workshops, where you can try your hand at watercolors, iPhoneography, mosaics, and more. Beginners are especially encouraged to join! The much-loved Mayor’s Art Show, Salon des Refusés, and Eugene Biennial exhibitions will be available virtually, with a series of downtown storefront satellite installations available for viewing all week long, and galleries open as State guidelines allow. Explore many more Visual Arts Week offerings here, and stay tuned on our Facebook for highlights and updates. Visual Arts Week is presented by City of Eugene Cultural Services, Lane Arts Council, and Maude Kerns Art Center. Read more

Enjoy Local Art Online

Connect with local art from home by checking out artist interviews, gallery tours, and art demos on our Facebook page!

In this video, we explore landscape paintings of Oregon on view at Karin Clarke Gallery. Karin describes the artists’ processes, explores details in each work, and shares stories about the artists and their creative practice.

In this video, Lorane artist Beth I. Robinson shares work currently on view at Oregon Art Supply and discusses the role of grief in her artistic practice, her recent collaborations, and working as a rural artist.

In this video, Eugene artist Heather Halpern shares about being and becoming an artist, then gives us a VIP tour of the Whiteaker Printmakers studio. And in this video, Heather gives a monotype printmaking demo in the studio.

In this video, artist Holly Wilson shares about becoming a visual artist after working for years as a florist in Roseburg: “I realized I really wanted to paint. I thought at that point I had no skills at all. I took a painting class, and what I realized was that I had been being an artist for the last 25 years. I was working with texture and color every single day… that just opened a whole world to me.”

In this video, we join artist Robert Gamblin in the studio for Amsterdam in vermillion, the drama of icebergs, and coloring how it feels to be in the Willamette Valley.

Do you have local art available virtually? Email links to hillary@lanearts.org!

Past – March 6th First Friday ArtWalk

Lane Arts Council presents the First Friday ArtWalk year-round in Downtown Eugene.  Take the guided tour and follow the host to hear from the featured artists, or explore the other galleries and venues from 5:30-8pm on your own.  This event happens rain or shine, and is always free!

Lane Arts Council’s March 6th First Friday ArtWalk is guest-hosted by Debbie Williamson-Smith, Communications Manager at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and Director of Communications for the 20x21EUG Mural Project. In her non-art time, she slimes around Eugene as Old SLUG Queen Holly GoSlugly or tends to her fabulous flock of fluffy butts at FusterCluck Farm.  Join us at The New Zone Gallery at 5:30pm for the start of the guided tour (full details below)!

Check out the March 6th ArtWalk Guide  |  Join the Facebook event  |  Sneak Peek of images on Facebook

March 6th First Friday ArtWalk Guided Tour Stops