All events listed occur on the first Friday of the month and are free and open to all visitors unless otherwise specified. Due to the 4th of July holiday, many of our regular galleries may not be open.
FRIDAY 10.02.26
Gerald Clarke: Between the Lines | Native Arts + Cultures Foundation
Gerald Clarke (Anza, CA) is a distinguished Cahuilla artist, educator, and tribal leader known for utilizing wit and material innovation to expose historical and present-day injustices. For the 2026 Triennial, he presents Between the Lines at the Center for Native Arts and Culture. The project interrogates the performative nature of land acknowledgments, including a 16-foot “rubber stamp” sculpture and prints that contrast terms like “Unceded” and “Stolen”. Through a new collaborative mural and video, Clarke demands a transition from symbolic recognition to a raw, material understanding of sovereignty.
1 PM – 4 PM @ 800 SE 10th Ave., Portland, OR
Kierstin Oliver: My Moon Valley – Reception | Red E Gallery and Cafe
Mixed-media artist, Kierstin Oliver, hosts a reception at the Red E. Beverages and snacks will be served. “My Moon Valley” is an exploration of what we choose to keep and what we choose to discard over a lifetime. Incorporated into each painting are the shredded pages of “Valley of the Moon” by Jack London. Ask Kierstin about the bag of torn pages that she carried to three different houses over 10 years.
6 PM – 8 PM @ 1006 North Killingsworth St., Portland, OR
The Tarot Show | SPLENDORPORIUM
Please join us for the opening reception of The Tarot Show, an October tradition, on Friday, October 2nd, 7-9 PM.
This show features new work by collage artist Pamela Kieffer (pictured: The Empress) other local artists celebrating the imagery and themes of the Tarot in a variety of styles and media.
We will have:
Ice Cream and Coffee by Sinister Coffee and Creamery
Live Acoustic Guitar and Piano by LANCINATOR
Dollhouse tarot readings by Ophelia Darkly and tarot readings by Ghost Terresterea
Our Children’s Gallery will also be showcasing Tarot themed artwork created by students in our Art4Life afterschool program at Richmond and Abernethy Elementary schools.
This show is proud to be a part of the first annual ADX fest, a region-wide art and design festival activating venues, studios, and spaces across the Portland metro area during the month of October.
The show runs through October 29th.
Gallery hours are 11-5 Monday-Friday.
7 PM – 9 PM @ 3421 SE 21st Ave., Portland, OR
Temporal Suspension | SIDESTREET ARTS
Featured artists: Rye Watts, Brad Menninga & Dawn Panttaja
Show runs: October 1-31, 2026
First Friday: October 2nd, 5-7 pm, with artists at the opening.
About the show: Time may pass swiftly, slowly, or at times may seem not to move at all.
When beginning a body of work, there can be a sense of infinite time to reach your goal. As you begin to create, all sense of time ceases, and you become lost in the process — suddenly realizing that hours have passed as the piece comes alive under your hands. The finished work is the embodiment of time stopped — a bookmark of where the artist was at that particular moment. A temporal suspension made visible.
About the artists:
Rye Watts is an oil painter based in Portland, Oregon, whose work explores identity, memory, and our experience of time. Working primarily in oil on wood and linen, Rye’s figurative and symbolic works combine dramatic light, unusual perspectives, and shifts in scale and gravity. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is held in private collections across the US, Netherlands, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and Spain.
Instagram: @RyeWatts
Dawn Panttaja is a ceramicist, doll maker, and a founding member of the Sidestreet Arts gallery. Pieces are first thrown on her backyard patio on an old Lockerbie kick wheel, then they are carried up to her cozy attic studio. Transformed with figures and fancy, they are allowed to slowly dry until finally ready for the kiln’s fire. She is a theatre teacher and director with the Multnomah Arts Center, as well as co-founder and long-time musician with Karaoke from Hell – a live band karaoke group.
Instagram: @panttajadawn
Brad Menninga (MFA California College of the Arts 2010) teaches ceramics classes at Clatsop Community College in Astoria, Oregon. He has published with Studio Potter, Ceramic Arts Daily, and Pottery Making Illustrated. He is the recipient of a Minnesota Artist Initiative Grant and the 2020 McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists. Menninga has been featured in many solo and group exhibitions, including an installation at the Mall of America in Minnesota and at the 2019 NCECA Conference.
Instagram: @bradmenninga_art
5 PM – 7 PM @ 140 SE 28th Ave., Portland, OR
Monsters Ball 2 – a spooky group art show! | Witching Hour Tattoo
It’s that time of year again….
Get ready for Monsters Ball 2 – a curated celebration of the strange and surreal. We will continue to answer the collective question…What makes a monster? And perhaps more importantly…who makes them?
The grand opening night is always sure to be a fantastic time, be there to enjoy first glimpse of the show and get the first chance to purchase a piece of the collection for your own!
Works will remain on display exclusively available in the Witching Hour Gallery through to November 25th.
4 PM – 9 PM @ 1960 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Ste 102, Portland, OR
Sepulchers and Shrines: An Exhibition of Reliquaries and Altars | Gagallery
October 2nd-24th!
On view at Gagallery, an array of paintings, sculptures, jewelry, assemblages and prints celebrating the macabre.
Participating artists: Adam Strong, ahuva s. zaslavsky, Andrea Wolfensberger, Andrew Lintz, Anthony Roberto, Audrey Lewis,Cherise (Sexta-Feira Ceramica), David Cole, Mismonsta, Erin Dengerink, Francis Dot, Gavin Farrell, Harmony Eberhardt, Jenny Wilde, Katherine Bartschat, Mark Blyde, Matthew Damato, Matthew Morpheus, me.diem, Michael Toti, Miranda Tarrow, Naomi Koumori, Aronne Barnes, Rachel Rusenko, Stashia Cabral, Stefania Salles Bruins, and Goodshrines
Opening Reception, October 2nd 6pm to 8pm
Join our artists to view the current exhibition. Light refreshments will be served.
Other Gagallery Events in October:
Aronne Barnes Gallery Sitting: October 15th and the 17th 5 to 7pm
Cemetery Tour: October 17th and 24th 1-4pm
Cemetery Tour hosted by Aronne Barnes and Memento.Koumori https://events.humanitix.com/immortal-icons-cemetery-tour
Guests will complete one unique “Passport to the Beyond” filled with hand-stamped art prints and create All Hallows’ Eve postcards to send to their most spirited friends. No prior art experience required. All materials supplied. Event held rain or shine. We hope to summon you there!
6 PM – 8 PM @ 2035 SE Belmont St., Portland, OR
THE COLLAB LAB SHOW | The HAVEN PDX
It’s almost time for another First Friday!!
For the month of October we are showing off the collection of works that were made for Collab Lab, starting last October. Each painting is the product of 4 artists working together. It’s a cool show and you should totally come see the work. We will also have all the amazing work from our members on display in the main gallery as well as the “west gallery” where the office studios are.
The Haven is home to over 40 artists, healers, makers and just all around brilliant humans. Oh, and we are also a home base for Portland Psychedelic Society!
It’s going to be a super fun night with snacks, and non-alcoholic drinks, plus music from our own @rootsncultureshop as well as some of our other members and friends.
Please come celebrate art and creativity with us!
6 PM – 10 PM @ 2505 NE Pacific St., Portland, OR
First friday with Melissa Wellspring | Past Lives Makerspace
Meet our maker Melissa Wellspring
Melissa is a painter who works primarily with acrylic and natural earth paint. Her current subject matter spans from abstracts to the body and the landscape, often combining environment and the figure, with a nod to art history and fashion. Come to Past Lives Makerspace Art Gallery October First Friday to see her recent work and speak with her. Over 30 paintings. All work is for sale. See additional work at artladyatelier.com
Our craft for the month will be decorating bats for spooky season to take home!
Come be creative and see some art!
6 PM – 10 PM @ 2808 SE 9th Ave., Portland, OR
First friday FORAY | Ambient Magic Art Studios!
On Friday October 2nd from 5-10pm, Rumble in the Jumble is popping up at Ambient Magic Art Studios (322 SE Morrison) for the First Friday Foray… This studio pop-up aims to showcase arts & creations that were foraged in some way… be it upcycled, found, recreated, refurbished, thrifted, or whatever other creative concept this selection of artists & artisans have to bring.
Free & open to all, we’ll be featuring 15 unique makers & artists, with live music by Stefano Calles, pop-up bar with craft cocktails, tasty treats, an art supply swap table, and more.
See you this Friday under the Morrison Bridge!
5 PM – 10 PM @ 322 SE Morrison St., Portland, OR
B/W | Ford Gallery PDX
What’s black and white and read all over?! FGPDX’s newest exhibit “B/W: A Black & White Group Show.”
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Join us Friday, October 2nd from 6-9 PM for an epic evening of two-toned work.
Sounds and libations from @backcountry.wine
6 PM – 9 PM @ 2505 SE 11th Ave., Portland, OR
FIRST FRIDAY STREET ART MARKET & OPEN STUDIOS | East creative collective
Join us Friday, October 2nd for some local art, open studios, performances, street vendors and good food and drinks!
We’re teaming up with our neighbors @wonderlove_pdx to bring some good vibes and community. Come through the studios, meet local artists, shop around, and enjoy the night!
WHEN: OCT 2nd, 6-9pm
WHERE: 211 SE Madison St, PDX
WHO: You, your friends, and family! All ages welcome and it’s FREE!
6 PM – 9 PM @ 211 SE Madison St., Portland, OR
Between Seasons Opening | The Keepspace
Between Seasons is an exhibition about becoming—the ongoing process of transformation, renewal, and self-discovery.
The work in this exhibition reflects the spaces between what has been and what is still taking shape: moments of transition, release, emergence, and change. Through varied materials, perspectives, and practices, participating artists explore how identity, memory, nature, and experience continually evolve.
Like the changing of seasons, becoming is rarely immediate or linear. It can be gradual, layered, and uncertain. It may involve shedding old forms, moving through periods of stillness, or discovering new possibilities within what already exists.
The evening will include an opportunity to view the exhibition, meet participating artists, and experience the creative community within the building.
As part of the opening, we will also host an Artist Residency Open House with The Factory Collective, inviting guests to explore additional creative spaces throughout the building. Visitors will be able to tour working studios and view the wood shop, pottery and ceramic studio, and other spaces supporting local artists and makers.
5 PM – 8 PM @ 819 SE Taylor St., Portland, OR
First friday OPEN HOUSE | Manifestation
It’s that time again, First Friday is creeping into the spooky season. Cool nights, rustling leaves, and long shadows are the perfect opportunity to gather round the studio and heat things up a bit. We have @thee_dj_ba spinning the vinyl, a Raku demo, vendors vending, weirdos weirding, and you may catch a glass torch or metal forge glow to round things out. Come one, come all let’s celebrate Art and the joy of friendship and laughter.
6 PM – 10 PM @ 2020 SE Bush St., Portland, OR
Contact Us
We do our best to make the list as complete as possible, if you have an event or correction you would like to see listed please send show details to Info@FirstFridayPDX.org or use our easy online event submission form.