There will be no such thing as summer doldrums at downtown Eugene’s First Friday ArtWalk on July 5

(Above: Valentina Gonzalez’ mural at Public Streetwear examines the quest for safe space as people use fashion to explore personal identity)

Edited by Anne-Allegra Bennett

Voice talent M. Clare Feighan lends her expertise for downtown Eugene’s First Friday ArtWalk on July 5. Feighan is donor relations manager for Downtown Languages, a local non-profit that serves immigrants in the community. She also has served on the Oregon Country Fair’s Bill Wooten Endowment Fund committee, which funds grants in the Fern Ridge School District.

The official ArtWalk guided tour starts at Oregon Contemporary Theatre (194 W. Broadway) at 5:30 p.m., but as usual, those who want to make their own way among the many open venues from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. are welcome to forge ahead.

Official guided tour

Feighan and her followers gather at 5:30 p.m. with #instaballet at Oregon Contemporary Theatre (194 W. Broadway), where audience members — any age and with or without dance experience — become choreographers as they collaborate with Eugene Ballet Company dancers to create  a new ballet. #instaballet is a non-profit dance company founded by former EBC dancers Antonio Anacan and Suzanne Haag. The finished product will be danced at 8 p.m. by Eugene Ballet dancers.

Design Arts Apprenticeship Showcase (942 Olive St.) is the tour’s stop at 6:00 p.m. Middle- and high-school students from around Lane County display work they created with product designers to develop new products ranging from furniture to re-use fashion to a mobile library.

Joining the ArtWalk for the first time, at 6:30 p.m. will be Public Streetwear (873 Willamette St.) Valentina Gonzalez (VRGNZ) introduces brand new studio work and a mural. Kate Reid, owner of Public Streetwear, met Gonzalez through the city of Eugene’s Urban Canvas muralist roster and collaborated with her to create a safe space for all people to explore their identities through fashion.

Julie Anderson’s Motherhood is part of her show at InEugene Real Estate

The tour makes its way to InEugene Real Estate (100 E. Broadway) at 7:00 p.m., where Julie Anderson showcases a new direction in her artwork in Everything Circles, creating mixed-media monoprints using gel plate image transfer, found-object stencils, and a laser cutter with embellishments such as canvas circles. Anderson is a full-time artist and a member of Eugene’s Whiteaker Printmakers. She also is a board member of the Lane Arts Council.

The last stop on the tour at 7:30 p.m. at IDX Broker (100 E. Broadway) and features their art director, Santiago Uceda, who created a custom mural in the company’s lobby. The mural combines his personal design aesthetic with IDX Broker’s “work hard/play hard” company values. More of Uceda’s work also will be on display, as well as motion graphics and a behind-the-scenes timelapse video of the mural’s progress.

More arts and culture

Besides the official stops on the First Friday ArtWalk, many other galleries, shops, and eateries also stay open for the occasion:

• Broadway Commerce Center (44 W. Broadway) — Work by John Holdway.
• ECO Sleep Solutions and Gallery (25 E. 8th Ave.) — Felted wool home décor and apparel by Tylar Merrill; clay tile collages by Annie Heron; hand-painted wood pieces and hand-painted silk apparel and other items by Lybi Thomas; wood and stone carvings and wood sculptures by Cedar Caredio; and Luminessence light sculptures by Stephen White.
• Epic Seconds (30 E. 11th Ave.) — The Animals Think We Make the Strangest Sounds, new work by Benjamin Terrell; on display through August.
• Eugene Public Library (100 W. 10th Ave.) — Watercolors by Tim Goss. High-energy Dixieland music by Calamity Jazz Band starts at 6 p.m.
• Euphoria Chocolate Company (946 Willamette St.) — A collection of Oregon Bach Festival posters from past years, in celebration of the festival.
• Fenario Gallery (273 W. 8th Ave.) — Official re-opening party for the gallery, introducing its new location and the addition of framing to the space, plus a retrospective display of the private collection of art director Brent Ross, including work by visionary artists Robert Venosa, Mark Henson, and Jerome Garcia.
• Karin Clarke Gallery (760 Willamette St.) — Mark Clarke (1935-2016): Modernist, paintings and collages from the estate of Mark Clarke, best-known for his soft, masterful Oregon landscapes, but also for smaller-scale abstract acrylic collages; show ends July 27.
• The Lincoln Gallery (309 W. 4th Ave.) — FREEDOM, a community exhibit of artists’ concepts of the word, including special spoken art presentations during the ArtWalk, and in the Beverly Soasey Community Gallery, a traveling gallery of art by Saturday Market artisans in celebration of the market’s 50th anniversary.
• LovaKava Kava Bar & Restaurant (120 W. Broadway) — Fluid abstracts by Codie Cheyenne Wilson, expressed in acrylic pouring.
• Mosaic Fair Trade Collection (28 E. Broadway) — Handmade fair trade jewelry, home wares, gifts, accessories, and more from around the world.
• The New Zone Gallery (22 W. 7th Ave.) — Artsy Summer Collection 2019 by Kaitlin Acacia McNally plus a unique show commemorating the 50th anniversary of Oregon Country Fair, with pieces created to reflect the joy and wonder of the Fair experience, and in the rear gallery, a display of PhotoZone members’ photographic work. Music by Machiko Shirai on guitar, playing bluegrass, country, and Japanese folk music.

Finding My Breath, a watercolor by Terry Duffy, is part of a series examining connection and conflict on the walls at Oregon Art Supply

• Oregon Art Supply (1020 Pearl St.) — Seeking Understanding and Taking Refuge: A Year of Watercolor, a series of paintings with themes of connection and conflict by Terry Duffy. Open until 6:00 p.m.
• Passionflower Design (128 E. Broadway) — Jewelry, clothes, and gifts featuring regional and U.S. artists and designers. Open until 6:30 p.m.
• Starlight Lounge (830 Olive St.) — Photography by Kristin Rush. Website: kristinjrush.wixsite.com
• Townshend’s Teahouse (41 W. Broadway) — Work by Joshua Melte, using gesso and charcoal for a wet-on-wet, dry-on-wet, or dry-on-dry approach to create pieces in a short time span.
• White Lotus Gallery (767 Willamette St.) — Rainwork, Linework & Things with Wheels by Jamie Newton, including acrylic and ink paintings, sculpture, artist books, and pieces enhanced by nature-driven wind- and bird- drawing machines.

Additional events

Sara B3 & 45 RPM Concert (Kesey Square) — Soul and funk dance party in Kesey Square from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. features Sara B3 and 45 RPM with some of Eugene’s most accomplished musicians. B3 uses the moves, style, and voices that pay homage to the Girl Groups of the ’60s, while 45 RPM recreates classic, iconic grooves that have stood the test of time since the ’60s and ’70s.

Artist Marketplace (Kesey Square) — Showcase and sale of local artists’ work in a wide variety of mediums, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Mural Unveiling on the Mahonia Building (120 Shelton McMurphey Blvd.) — Kathleen Caprario, Sherman Sherman, and team Austin Arkin and Ellie Arkin unveil their latest colorful murals, created separately but coincidentally a shared reflection of the Eugene-area ridgeline. The building is on the north side of the railroad tracks, but the best viewing spot is from the Amtrak platform on Willamette streets on the downtown side of the tracks.

No Shame Eugene (99 W. 10th Ave.) — Doors open at 7:30 p.m. with live music. The show begins at 8:00 p.m. with the first 15 original, 5-minute acts — monologues, sketch comedy, and the experimental — to sign up after the doors open. Come to perform, but there’s or no shame in just watching.

Support for the First Friday ArtWalk

Lane Arts Council: Founded in 1976, the nonprofit organization cultivates strong and creative arts communities throughout Lane County, including in-school arts education programs, support of local artists and arts organizations, and coordination of community programs such as downtown Eugene’s First Friday ArtWalk.

July ArtWalk Sponsor: The Oregon Country Fair celebrates its 50th Anniversary July 12-14 west of Veneta, featuring hand-crafted arts, gourmet foods, music, dance, vaudeville, kid’s activities, and surprises around every bend of the tree-lined paths; proceeds support many grants to local nonprofit organizations, totaling more than $1.5 million so far. Info at www.oregoncountryfair.org.

July ArtWalk Media Sponsor: KLCC/NPR for Oregonians, brings the arts to its 88,000 listeners with on air features, performances and reviews, plus NPR news, local and regional news, and a wide variety of music at 89.7 FM, klcc.org, and the free KLCC App.

Santiago Uceda’s Pacific Northwest mural is on the wall at IDX Broker, the 7:30 p.m. stop on the monthly First Friday ArtWalk