There are few cities in the United States that compare to Eugene’s well-loved artistic community. The performing arts clearly have a home in Eugene at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts, but the visual arts haven’t been quite as lucky to find a permanent home with enough space to house all of the artwork that comes out of the Eugene area. Many organizations have popped up around town to aid in the preservation of the visual arts in Eugene, but a true leader in the push for this conservation has been the long-running Lane Arts Council, which puts on many different types of events to help visual arts stay afloat in Lane County.
The Lane Arts Council has been a staple to the visual arts community since 1976. It focuses on three separate categories of service to the Lane County area, which cover everything from workshops for children to the Gallery At The Airport to creating networking opportunities for artists and art lovers.
“We have three avenues of service: youth arts, community arts and arts advocacy,” Lane Arts Council’s Executive Director Andrew Toney said. “Youth arts connects professional artists with young people throughout Lane County through workshops and sessions. Community arts includes a community arts grant provided by the city of Eugene, in which we fund projects and programs around the city. Generally they’re small grassroots kinds of things that wouldn’t otherwise happen. Arts advocacy essentially provides a voice for the arts in the community and providing information for our members and to artists around town.”
One of the Lane Arts Council’s biggest and most esteemed events is the First Friday ArtWalk, a monthly event, rain or shine, that has been a part of downtown Eugene for years. The Lane Arts Council’s First Friday ArtWalk provides a free walking tour around town to visit different galleries, businesses and other attractions that are displaying artwork. Although there are other ArtWalks that take place across the country, the Lane Arts Council’s First Friday ArtWalk stands out from the rest because of its hosts. These hosts, which have included everyone from Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy to the SLUG Queens from the Eugene Celebration and other art leaders in the community, serve as tour guides and provide opportunities to question each artist being showcased.
While having a host is a positive and popular thing, competitions between businesses and galleries to get listed on the Lane Arts Council’s First Friday ArtWalk tours arise because of time constraints and the inability for the host to be omnipresent.
“The Portland ArtWalk isn’t hosted. So if (artists) want to be listed, they’re listed, and the walkers can go wherever they want,” Toney said. “For us, because we have a host, we can only stop at four or five places at the most, so every month there are fifteen that we can’t stop at. It’s one of our challenges, because on any given month we could probably stop at twice as many locations. We’re trying to serve as much of the downtown arts and business community as we can, but that can be challenging.”
Another hindrance the Lane Arts Council’s First Friday ArtWalk faces is the lack of University students that show up. Trying to bridge the communication gap between the University and downtown has been an ongoing problem for the Lane Arts Council, but members are doing everything in their power to get the word out.
“Something that we’ve been trying to do is get more young people to attend the event,” Arts Program Assistant Chelsea Cannon said. “If you really take a hard look at the
demographics of the people that normally attend the ArtWalks, they’re mainly in their 50s and above, which isn’t a problem. It’s great. But it’d be really nice to connect more with the University, especially during the school year because really, the University and downtown Eugene aren’t very far.”
“But it feels like it,” Toney said.
“There isn’t a bridge there and there should be, especially because the First Friday ArtWalk is such a great event,” Cannon said. “It’s almost like adult trick-or-treating. Free wine, free food and the visual arts. And it’s a great chance to meet people.”
Luckily for University students, classes begin before the First Friday ArtWalk on Oct. 7, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Jacobs Gallery, which is located on the lower level of the Hult Center for the Performing Arts. The October First Friday ArtWalk is one of Cannon’s favorites because it highlights the Mayor’s Art Show and the Salon des Refuse and is a great tour for young people, Cannon said.
There are also many ways for students to get involved with the Lane Arts Council, which is always on the lookout for interns and volunteers to help with events and getting the University involved.
“We are always open to more University students’ perspectives on what we can do to make the First Friday ArtWalk more accessible to young people,” Cannon said.
“We’re hoping to do some kind
of University ArtWalk sometime
in the spring,” Toney said. “And we’re very open to collaborations or ways for students to be involved if they like. Just contact us and we’ll find a way.”
The Lane Arts Council is located at 99 W. 10th Ave., suite 100, and online at www.lanearts.org.

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