This Friday, the Lane Arts Council’s free guided tour of art on display in downtown Eugene, the First Friday ARTWalk, will be the first to provide all spoken and written aspects of the program in both English and Spanish.
The event is set to correspond with Cinco de Mayo. Miriam Jordan, executive assistant and special events manager at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, will host this month’s ARTWalk. She said the reason for hosting a bilingual event is “to give the general public a taste of a different culture and of a different language, as well as to provide a welcoming environment for the Latino community.”
“We’re always looking for ways to expand the ARTWalk in downtown Eugene,” said Heidi Durden, Lane Arts Council arts program assistant and outreach coordinator. She explained that this month’s ARTWalk is an attempt to diversify the event and reach other parts of the community.
Jordan will guide a tour with five stops throughout downtown Eugene. At various stops she will conduct discussions and interviews with local artists in both English and Spanish.
The ARTWalk will begin at 5:30 p.m. and end at 8:30 p.m. Those who wish to follow the tour will meet at the Eugene Public Library at 5:30 p.m. The event’s patrons are welcome to go to the stops at their own pace as well as visit the various other venues and galleries that hold events and openings at the same time to coincide with the ARTWalk.
The first stop on the tour, the Eugene Public Library, will feature a photo exhibit titled “Show Me the West Eugene Wetlands,” as well as an educational discussion with the Willamette Resources and Educational Network (WREN) and the West Eugene Wetlands Partnership.
The second stop will be the Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts, where student artwork made of the reused materials from t he Network Charter School will be exhibited.
The third stop will be at the Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts to see a “Curated Animation Group Show” and photography by Group 699 as well as paintings by Jean Denis and Martin Sage.
The fourth stop will be at an ArtFest, a program created by Lane Arts Council and DIVA, where a group of local artists will have their work on display and for sale on West Broadway. There will also be live music.
The fifth and final stop will be at the Tango Center and will feature a tango performance, a short lesson and an informational discussion on art and music appreciation. This is the first time the Tango Center has been included in the program of the tour.
Other venues that will be open this Friday during the ARTWalk include Jacobs Gallery, White Lotus Gallery, New Zone Gallery, Emerald Art Center and the Karin Clarke Gallery. The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art has free admission on the first Friday of the month in honor of ARTWalk, though it is not open during the tour’s hours.
The First Friday ARTWalk is part of Lane Arts Council’s Community Arts program. Fred Crafts, entertainment reporter for The Register-Guard, started the event in 1993 in an attempt to allow galleries in downtown Eugene to share what they have with the community. Lane Arts Council has been in charge of the event since 1998. The First Friday ARTWalk mirrors similar monthly happenings in other cities nationwide.
Every month a different prominent member of the community hosts the event. Past hosts have included senators, commissioners and mayors as well as directors of the Eugene Ballet Company and the Lane County Historical Museum.
Various corporate and non-profit organizations sponsor ARTWalk.
ARTWalk is a great opportunity to get acquainted with local art and artists in a pleasant, convenient way. Durden describes the tour as “a fun, family, free event.” Many of the galleries have free snacks, hors d’oeuvres and refreshments as well as the opportunity to meet and speak with the artists who created the displayed work. Many galleries save their important openings for First Friday.
“It’s a meaningful experience for people who may not otherwise get a chance to get familiar with the arts,” Jordan said.
Because of ARTWalk’s popularity, the Lane Arts Council has been asked to bring it out to other parts of Lane County. Durden said if the council were to oblige, the ARTWalk would lose its integrity. The council has decided to expand the event in ways that do not take the focus out of downtown Eugene, such as high-lighting more non-traditional and over-looked artwork.

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