Downtown Eugene’s June 7 First Friday ArtWalk features the usual eclectic art plus a nod to the city’s Pride community

(Above: One of the artworks on display in Sarjé Haynes’s show, Excavating a New Future, at The New Zone Gallery.)

Edited by Randi Bjornstad

The First Friday ArtWalk in downtown Eugene on June 7 will  be much as usual in many ways, but it also will have a special emphasis, described by the Lane Arts Council as “highlighting Pride and amplifying voices of the LGBTQIA+ community.”

As usual, the Farmers’ Market Pavilion is a good place to start, as a place to pick up the official ArtWalk guide for June as well as experience some of the special activities, hosted by Bill Sullivan (aka performer Daphne Bertha Storm) and Storm Family Productions.

Some of the special offerings include:

• Community Sewing Circle with HIV Alliance and Eugene PRIDE, inviting everyone to participate in helping to create a new community Pride flag. No previous sewing experience necessary.
• Drag Story Time with Fanny’s Magic Queendom from 6-6:30 p.m.
• Free photo booth to capture your fresh look or get your photo taken with your favorite Drag Queen, to download and share on your social media platforms or devices.
• ArtWalk After Hours Drag Performances from 7:30-9:30 p.m., featuring performers Daphne Bertha Storm, Karress Ann Slaughter, Nicole Serenity Storm, Petra LaFaye, Maliena, Drake Demonwing, and Morena.
• Beverages and food available from Viking Brewing and Kento’s.

As always, a good place to begin the ArtWalk is at the

Anyone needing a ride to the ArtWalk can get a free LTD bus pass online on the day of the event at lanearts.org/first-friday-artwalk.

The following galleries and other businesses will be open from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. during the First Friday ArtWalk, unless otherwise noted:

#instaballet at Capitello Wines (540 Charnelton St.) —  Help make a new dance in real time by suggesting new moves for local, professional dancers to perform. The choreography will be created by YOU! No dance experience necessary, all ages are welcome. Plus, live music! The final community created piece will be presented at 8:00pm.

Allies, LLC (200 E. 11th Ave., Suite 13) — Check out the new Art Annex! Featured art this month is Group Art. See all original artworks thoughtfully created at Allies by member artists. All work sold goes to benefit the Allies Art Fund.

Art with Alejandro (5th St Market Alley, Suite 104) — Visit us during the monthly First Friday ArtWalk to see guest art and Alejandro’s newest works on display in our gallery! Come check out Paisley’s new portraits Goglin and Butterfleyes and Alejandro’s new Furious Tiger and Dragon paintings, among other new works. This month’s new, featured artist is plein air painter Jerry Ross, featuring two stunning local views.

Detail of art by Eric Braman, If Reincarnation is Real, at Broadway Commerce Center

Broadway Commerce Center (44 W. Broadway) — With Words features original watercolors and multimedia works infused with poetry created by Eric Braman, original generative line art by Kris Katkus, and the Wall of Blossoms, showcasing nine different artists presenting works in response to Braman’s poem “Bury Me in Cherry Blossoms.”

Bumble Boutique  (233 W. 5th Ave.) — Erick Wonderly Varela is an illustrator, muralist, and teaching artist based in Eugene, Oregon. Central to their work is exploration of joy & connection, drawing from both nature illustration & Central American folk art.

Capitello Wines (540 Charnelton St.) — Colorful: A Happy Collection of Vibrant Abstracts showcases work by local artist and flower farmer Cindy Ingram. Explore intoxicating textures and unabashed reflections of light in this fresh addition to Capitello’s tasting room, with new works rotating in regularly.

ColdFire Brewing (263 Mill St.) — Lael Salaets layers color and tones to maximize depth, creating both realist and impressionist works that suggest narrative and develop form, space, and highlight the passage of time.

Cosmic Haus (347 W. 5th Ave.) — You are in for a treat with this rare public appearance by Thomas McGrath, his first in seven years. He has mingled genres from an admiration of American tattoo culture and a fondness of mid-century modern graphic design. No, he’s not a tattoo artist, or an actual designer…. He just gets a buzz from a really good doodle.

EMERGE Exhibitions (99 W. 10th Ave., South Window) — New work by Savannah vanZutphen. Inspired by the Windowfront Exhibitions program, EMERGE activates this underutilized window space with rotational artwork, supporting new and emerging artists through all phases of exhibiting their artwork.

Eugene Printmakers at ArtCity Studios (160 E Broadway) — Monoprint Mania! We are going to experiment with Gelli Print Plates, an easy technique you can use to make one of a kind prints at home, no printing press needed, just a Gelli Plate and some acrylic paint! We will be in our downstairs ArtCity space, come print with us!

Flux Crystals (280 W. Broadway) — Pieces of You by Gloria Udosenata is an invitation into shadow, through the portal, and into the depths. This collection explores connections between flesh, fauna, and spirit using acrylics and canvas to express and translate visions from beyond the veil.

FUSE Jewelry Collective (112 E. 13th Ave.) — A new venue for jewelry lovers to learn, shop, and create. View collections by local artists and thoughtfully curated, small-batch gifts. Take a tour to learn about our new metalsmithing workshop!

Good Creative Design (942 Olive St.) — Engage with an interactive graphic design studio and see ART as a living, breathing experience. YOU are ART, WE are ART. This is ART. Lights, lasers, music, lively conversation, and art styles represented include watercolor, abstract illustration, woodcut designs, mixed media, and more. Special live DJ set by Avitar Virgonian.

High Street Tonics (267 W. 8th Ave.) — Andrew Humphries is a photographer whose images reveal abstract composition, examining the juxtaposition of modern structures and their consequence on natural backdrops. Using multiple photographic mediums, Andrew takes what surrounds us and may go unnoticed, transforms the sights into artful narratives, and invites the viewer to look past what’s on the surface.

Karin Clarke Gallery (760 Willamette St.) — Florae Animalia, a fresh spring exhibit of new work by Claire Burbridge, Matthew Dennison, Marjorie Taylor, and Olga Volchkova.

Modern Betty Salon (Miner Building, 132 E. Broadway Suite 102) — Colorful collection of new abstract paintings as well as a large retrospective collection of dozens of mixed-media creations by artist-in-residence Shannon Carleen Knight.

One of Gosia Mohon’s artworks in Silent Ghosts, on show at Epic Seconds.

One Wall Gallery at Epic Seconds (30 E. 11th Ave.) — Silent Ghosts, work by Gosia Machon, “about living beings, like silent apparitions, yet of this world, maybe in our minds (and) in our memories.”

OSLP Arts & Culture Center (110 E. 11th Ave., Suite C) — Spring Showcase, featuring art created during fall and winter creative classes, including mosaic art, paintings, assemblage, acrylic and watercolor paintings, mixed-media sculpture, drawings, and jewelry.

Our 21st Century Renaissance, R21 (132 E. Broadway, ground floor atrium) — sculpture-oriented introduction to a proposed series of exhibitions related to the Renaissance theme, celebrating the scientific, technological, and artistic advancements of the original Renaissance and the current one.