All events listed occur on the first Friday of the month and are free and open to all visitors unless otherwise specified.
First Friday Art ride | meet at sidestreet arts
Casual ride to art galleries for the First Friday Art Walk. First Friday Art Walk is a monthly tradition where art galleries stay open late, bring in artists, have free food, and have hands-on arts projects. http://firstfridaypdx.org
Biking is the best way to get around to these wonderful galleries, as they’re spread around inner SE/NE. We usually get to 5-8 galleries, depending on how long our group spends in each gallery. We’ll stay out until ~9:30pm, then see if folks are up for a group dinner afterwards. Join for as many galleries as you like, and leave when you wish. If you have a sound system bring it! I love music on group bike rides.
Ride details: 5-15 minutes of biking between galleries. Our ride is perfect for new cyclists and families with kids. We’ll go at a slow pace so folks can socialize, and everyone can keep up. We’ll use small neighborhood streets with minimal cars.
https://www.shift2bikes.org/calendar/event-21078
6 PM @ 140 SE 28th Ave., Portland, OR
Funky Town | Sidestreet Arts
Join us for the vibrant opening of Funky Town, a celebration of all things weird and wonderful in Portland! This lively exhibition features the work of two talented ceramic artists – Erika Rier and Sarah Fine, whose playful, sculptural characters are sure to delight, alongside painter Joel Fleminger, whose bold and expressive works capture the soul of the city. Funky Town brings together the best of contemporary ceramics and painting, with a quirky twist that reflects the unique spirit of Portland.
5 PM – 7 PM @ 140 SE 28th Ave., Portland, OR
Down to clown | JaJa PDX
JaJa’s art gallery will be full of clowns for the month of May! Come see works by talented local artists, learn some clown history, and watch performances by circus legends!
Show starts at 7pm
Performers:
Rhys Thomas
Charlie Brown
Summer Olsson
Stefano Laboni
Michael O’Niell
Emily Van Kley
JaJa the Clown
Hope you’re down to clown!
6 PM – 11 PM @ 819 SE Taylor St., Portland, OR
Into the woods | Splendorporium Gallery
Splendorporium Gallery invites you to the opening reception for Into the Woods, a journey into the folkloric forests of the imagination.
This is our annual Art4Life exhibit, showcasing the best work students in our Art4Life program have created over the course of the school year. Art4Life currently provides after school, spring break and summer arts education programs in three PPS elementary schools.
In this show, student work will be displayed side by side with that of over 25 adult professional artists.
Local painter Stephanie Taimi-Mandel is the featured artist.
Opening night is Friday, May 2nd 6-9 PM.
We will have vending by Sinister Coffee and Ice Cream,
Live Piano Music by Art4Life teacher Pablo Reese and
Oracle Card Readings by Ghost Terrestrea.
The show hangs through May 29th.
Regular gallery hours are weekdays 11-5.
Pictured: Story 4, Watercolor on Paper by Stephanie Taimi-Mandel
6 PM – 9 PM @ 3421 SE 21st Ave., Portland, OR 97202
Meg Samples trio at Breathing. Room | The Lobby
The Lobby’s Breathing. Room exhibit will be in its final month, so come see it and enjoy some live music from the Meg Samples trio. More info about the band below:
Meg Samples Morrow (drums) is a drummer, percussionist, and a radio host at KMHD. She is the executive Director of Portland Jazz Composer’s Ensemble which advocates for new jazz in Portland through its performances, young composers program and record label. You can hear her on Today’s Good News with co-host Rev Shines Monday through Friday at 8 am on KMHD, and on the weekends from 2-4 PM on Blue in Green.
Mieke Bruggeman (woodwinds) is a Portland based multi-instrumentalist and educator. Three major life transitions, two trumpet players, one crummy first grade teacher and a whole mess of incredible mentors shaped Mieke’s charismatic and thoughtful approach to music.
Ryan Meagher (guitar) is a guitarist, composer, and educator known for his versatile playing that spans post-bop, Latin, and avant-garde styles. After honing his craft at San Diego State University and in New York City’s competitive music scene, Meagher relocated to Portland in 2012 where he balances teaching at multiple Northwest institutions with his role as Artistic Director of the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble.
6 PM – 8 PM @ 2871 SE Division St., Portland, OR
Oracle Obscura | Gagallery
Join us for an opening reception of Oracle Obscura: @Naomi Koumori, @Enoch Jones and @Morgan Shanafelt’s works. Featuring fine art prints, transfers and sewn objects, lampshades, bats and intricate costumes. Refreshments and light snacks will be provided.
7 PM – 8 PM @ 2035 SE Belmont St., Portland OR
Camp kboo | kboo COMMUNITY radio
Welcome to summer camp — for everyone!
We’re embracing summer with open arms, and we want you to join us! Earn a merit badge by coming down to the KBOO station on Friday, May 2nd from 6-9 PM for our monthly First Friday Pop-Up Gallery event!
Enjoy local art, jam around the (metaphorical) campfire, shop local vendors, have a boozy snowcone, and maybe even a s’more!
Can’t be there in person? We’ll be broadcasting all performances live on air, and KBOO hosts Dee Jamie & Katie Zipp will be interviewing participating musicians, artists and vendors. We’ll see you ’round the campfire
6 PM – 9 PM @ 20 SE 8th Ave., Portland, OR
May the Force Be with You | Ford Gallery PDX
Friday, May 2nd- join us for a truly out-of-this-world show. May the Force Be with You starts opens 6PM at FGPDX inside the Ford Building.
Big and bold pieces with a personality to match. Be there or be star dust!
Alison Dougherty’s solo show, Make Out Sessions, will be housed in the foyer of the gallery. New work on a grand scale! Let’s goooooo.
6 PM – 9 PM @ SE 11th Ave. and SE Division St., Portland, OR
Keelan Booth | Clinton Street Coffeehouse
May Artist: Keelan Booth
Join us for live music from Alexandra Helgerson
Born and raised in Portland, I’ve long been inspired by local landscapes, above all, Mt. Hood and the greater Cascade Mountain Range. My work spans across a handful of media- illustration, painting, photography and filmmaking. No matter the art form, I hope my pieces evoke a sense of wonder, calm, and joy in the viewer, with soft, inviting colors and thoughtfully designed compositions. You can find me at makers’ markets around Portland selling prints and other art products as Keebee Studios.
Alexandra Helgerson is a singer-songwriter whose pop-centric melodies will have you singing, dancing, laughing and crying. Over the last decade, she toured regularly and released three EPs as Who Can Sleep and Lex Helgerson Rides Again with longtime collaborator Dean Vivirito. Sacramento’s CAP Radio called their song “Paradise Lost” an instant favorite. Their “Sprinklers Are Running in the Rain” video earned the number one pick by the Global Texan Chronicles in 2020. Drawing on influences such as Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, Boy Genius and John Prine, Helgerson creates a lush sonic landscape that is at once personal and universal, direct and ethereal. Check out her 2025 Tiny Desk Contest submission “Worthwhile“.
Her debut album Halcyon Days is set for a 2025 release.
5 PM – 7 PM @ 2706 SE 26th Ave., Portland, OR
ARTISTs’ OPEN STUDIOS | EAST CREATIVE COLLECTIVE
Come by to see the work and meet the artists of East Creative Collective! Featuring new artists every month, live music by Community Jams, installations and more!
Pictured: “Oh Holy Creation, Oh Holy Suffering, Oh Holy Liberation” by Noah Alexander Isaac Stein
6 PM – 9 PM @ 211 SE Madison St., Portland, OR
INTERTWINED poetry reading | Soliloquy fine arts
First Friday poetry reading at Soliloquy fine arts, May 2 from 6-8 p.m.! Please join us for a lively evening celebrating the intersection of word and image as we near the end of EKPHRAESTIVAL 2025. The garage annex will be open to showcase video installations complementing the gallery exhibition, intertwined, featuring artwork and poetry illustrating this theme. Readers for the evening: Daneen Bergland, Karla Brundage, Ching-In Chen, Rae Diamond, Duana Fullwiley, Caroline Goodwin.
6 PM – 8 PM @ 2232 SE Clinton Street, back of building, Portland, OR
Open Mic Arty Party | Ambient Magic Art Studios
There’s gonna be a party this Friday night Ambient Magic Art Studios! Bring your friends and a song or two… grab yourself a craft cocktail & some BBQ, and browse the artisan vendors while enjoying some tunes. Just down the street from the Night Market, and in conjunction with the PDX First Friday Art Walk, this is going to be a fabulously arty night out. See you there!
5 PM – 10 PM @ 322 SE Morrison St., Portland, OR
ERIN ROBINSON GRANT: DE(RE)COMPOSE | ADX Gallery
As a visual artist, I am interested in imagery that both embraces, but denies… entices yet disgusts. I find, from personal observation and lived experience, that the vile and the exquisite are a cyclical continuum that encompasses all of human experience. I strive to bring visual representation to not merely human events (sex, death, birth, consumption), but to reveal the ephemeral, un-mentionable quality of such experiences.
While it is true that these events are part of every being’s existence, it would be wrong to assume the banality of such incidents. From birth to death, these events mold the individualistic nature of every human. However, it is also because of these shared experiences that one can identify with another outside of the self. Sex, death, birth, and consumption are not exclusive events encapsulated in time, but temporal experiences that ebb and flow. My artwork is a testament to this fact of existence in a cycle.
Life is not a binary experience. One does not simply experience happy/sad or calm/angry. Human experience is complex, subtle, and above all fleeting. My work strives to embody this, and reflect this essence back upon the viewer. By enacting the grotesque realities of life within the pictorial beauty of the hyper natural, I hope to encapsulate the transient idea of shared humanity.
5 PM – 9 PM @ 417 Southeast 11th Ave., Portland, OR
Make Out Sessions | Ford Gallery PDX
Make out sessions is a visual experience of emotional truth. Over the last 12 months, great shifts have promoted new experiences. This called for a wider range of reflection. Focusing on expanding my work onto larger format helped to translate my contemplations with a more appropriate scale.
Peace comes from feeling things sharply; through paint is where it’s processed to its fullest capacity.
I paint to the remain in the present while simultaneously reflecting on the past, which becomes my inspiration for the future.”
-Alison Dougherty
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Join us Friday May 2nd for the opening reception of Make Out Sessions, a solo exhibit from artist Alison Dougherty (@alisondougherty.fineart). 6-9PMat FGPDX inside the Ford Building in SE Portland.
6 PM – 9 PM @ SE 11th Ave. and SE Division St., Portland, OR
First Friday | Manifestation
6 PM – 9 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.