(Above: Eugene-based hiker and photographer Mike Gunderloy’s landscape and nature photos are on display at Ebb & Flow Boutique.)

(Note: As always, getting to downtown Eugene’s monthly First Friday ArtWalk can be as simple as going online to lanearts.org/first-friday-artwalk/ on the day of the ArtWalk and getting the code for a free bus ride on Lane Transit District’s buses.)

Edited by Randi Bjornstad

As part of the Downtown Eugene First Friday ArtWalk on Aug. 7, 2026, the following galleries and venues will be open from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., unless unless otherwise noted below: 

#instaballet (WOW Hall, 291 W. 8th Ave.) — Help dancers and musicians make a new dance in real time, as audience ideas are translated into movement by professional artists. All ages welcome, no dance experience required, fun guaranteed. Stop by to be a part of the creative process, with the finished piece presented at 8 p.m. (The basement beer garden will be open.)

Allies, LLC (200 E. 11th Ave., Suite 130) — New Art Annex features all-original artworks created by Allies’ member artists. Proceeds from works sold benefit the Allies Art Fund.

Bree’s Way Gift Shop (1231 Alder St.) — Showing works by Oregon artist Aaron Rhule focusing on texture, emotion, his personal journey to sobriety, and the natural world, and inviting viewers to slow down, reflect, and find their own connection to each work.

City of Eugene’s Apprenticeship Program Mural (44 W. 7th Ave.) — From 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., unveiling of a new downtown mural created by artist Erick Wonderly Varela and youth muralists from the Mural Apprenticeship Program; in  the alley between 7th and 8th avenues on the West side of Willamette Street, under the Parcade garage.

City Exhibitions at City Hall (500 E. 4th Ave.) — Special reception 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., featuring 2026 Salon des Refusés, Selected Works, highlighting pieces by 15 local artists including watercolor, acrylic, mixed media, photography, drawing and sculpture. (On view at City Hall weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. through March 5, 2027.)

Placemaking Letters (7th Street Hult Center Marquee) — Featuring Eugene’s newest interactive sculpture and landmark, with massive EUG letters.

City of Eugene’s Urban Canvas Murals:

  • WJ Dog Park (between 5th & 6th avenues near Washington Street) — Jump to the Moon, murals by Esteban Camacho Steffensen celebrating dog and human relationships.
  • 941 Willamette Alley — Radically Radiant by Wayde Love
  • 957 Willamette Alley — Nature’s Child by Mural Mice Universal

Dark Pine Coffee (954 Pearl St.) — Outsider Art Show fundraiser for Share Fair, featuring art created by those pushed to the margins of society, examining failures of current systems and calling for creating a community we build together; featuring art made both at recent Share Fairs and by the broader community.

Downtown Athletic Club (999 Willamette St.) — Special celebration in partnership with the Eugene Symphony, featuring live music by their musicians; wine, beer, and sodas available for purchase.

Ebb & Flow Boutique (946 Willamette St.) — Beautiful Oregon, featuring landscape and nature photography by Eugene-based hiker and photographer, Mike Gunderloy.

Flux Crystals (280 W. Broadway) — Fauna and Fire, featuring new work by artists Heather Sterling-Minder, Gloria Udosenata, and Anna Bousquet, focusing the ancient symbolism of fire, and human kinship with animals.

FUSE Jewelry Collective (112 E. 13th Ave.) — In the Classroom, a Gemstone De-stash Sale featuring cabochons, gemstones, and beads at a discounted rate, created by local jewelry designers.

High Street Tonics (267 W. 8th Ave.) — Showing work by Matt Hawk,  a freelance artist who teaches children’s art classes and illustrates and co-authors children’s storybooks with his wife, along with commissioned pieces and sketchbooks.

Karin Clarke Gallery (760 Willamette St.) — Show of work by the late Rick Bartow who died in 2016, Self Portrait and Dream,  including pastel drawings, monotypes, lithographs, and dry point prints. Through Aug. 29.

Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts (MECCA), 555 High St.)— On display in August, GuitART, an innovative art-making challenge in which local artists transformed broken guitars and guitar parts into pieces of art.

New Zone Gallery (110 E. 11th Ave.) — Eclectic mix of contemporary and traditional art created by New Zone members, featuring three special exhibits during August:

  • Mischelle Pennoyer, Texture First, Rules Later. “Texture is the reason I stitch fabrics. I use sturdy, straight stitches for their comforting, calm, and steady feel. I’ve started painting with acrylics to create visual textures instead. In my new pieces, I explore both stitching and painting, using them individually to create the same pieces differently.” Artist Discussion about self-teaching and learning processes; Thursday Aug. 13 at 2-3 p.m.
  • Gene Carey, Hexad. Five imaginary images created with oil on canvas and one figure drawing done with charcoal on paper.
  • In the Klausmeier Room: Kathleen Frazer, Piecing It Together; A few of many quilts. “I have been sewing since childhood and began making quilts a few years ago. Here are just a few.”

One Wall Gallery at Epic Seconds (30 E. 11th Ave.) — You Can Return Most Items For Free. New work by Peter Helinski and Benjamin Heiken. Items purchased must be returned to original container, the trash can or tree, the paper mill and all the oxygen expended in its unlikely transformation. Ingredients must be deflated and emancipated to fit the shipping box. Detoxed of the scent of consumption. Art as the apple returned to the tree. The orchard that exfoliates its impetus as a form of sincerity.

PLAY (232 W. 5th Ave.) — Features artist Cassandra Genc. “I’m drawn to bright, vivid color, and use hyper-saturation to re-imagine the everyday — revealing a deeper sense of appreciation and intention. This series of works demonstrates my love for the natural world, in conjunction with a prismatic view of the world within ourselves.”

Radiant Community Arts (110 E. 11th Ave, Suite C) — Opening reception of our newest exhibition, Greetings from Tomorrow, imagining what our future looks like. Generously sponsored by Rachael Anderson, Insurance Agent, Country Financial.

Starlight Lounge (830 Olive St.) — Features Kait Gliem’s acrylic work. In an attempt to bring peace and comfort to herself and those around her, portraying silliness, whimsy, and vibrant color, inspired by Louis Wain, Yayoi Kusama, Bob Ross, animals (mostly cats), humor, and nostalgia.

The Community Apothecary (271 W. 8th Ave.) — Hosting artist Barbara Counsil’s work presents highly rendered portraits of wildflowers, done in the grisaille technique with oil paint from her studio in Oakridge near the Willamette National Forest.

Venue on Broadway (28 E. Broadway) — Presenting art with technological and industrial themes by The Museum of Techno Art, reflecting on the history of human invention, retro-futurism, and imaginative machines of the future.

About Lane Arts Council

Founded in 1976 as the centralized arts agency serving the Lane County region, Lane Arts Council is a multi-faceted nonprofit arts organization providing arts education, arts advocacy, artist support, and community arts programs and services.