ART. MUSIC. FOOD. COMMUNITY.
THE FIRST FRIDAY OF EVERY MONTH STARTING AT 5pm!
First Fridays is a monthly cultural event highlighting local artists, performers, exhibits, and more! Stop by one of the many art galleries offering new exhibits and special performances, then make a night of it in downtown or elsewhere in the city!
First Fridays’ primary purpose is to highlight the organizations and spaces that are bringing local, regional, and even national art to the Lynchburg community.
JUNE 6, 2025 PARTICIPANTS
PARTICIPANT DETAILS
Riverviews Artspace
52 9TH STREET
Join us for a captivating First Friday, celebrating The Feminine Spirit: American Works from Sue Ott Rowlands' Private Collection. Immerse yourself in this curated excerpt of the Randolph president’s private collection while enjoying our signature cocktail, beer, or wine. Admission is free for all.
Main Gallery Exhibition: The Feminine Spirit: American Works from Sue Ott Rowlands' Private Collection
Open Artist Studios: Explore working studios, meet the artists, and see them creating in action
Live Music: Enjoy performances throughout the evening.
Gallery Bar: Serving The Feminine Spirit signature cocktail, wine, beer, soda, snacks, and more.
Click here to learn more! 5-8pm
Steve Francis Fine Art
1200 MAIN STREET
Please join us at Steven Francis Fine Art’s Main Street Gallery on Friday, June 6th for the art exhibition Father & Son featuring paintings by Philip Geiger and his son Martin Geiger.
You can also join us at the gallery on Sunday, June 8th, from 2-5pm, for the opening reception of this show. Martin Geiger will be present in the gallery for this event and will give a gallery talk. All are welcome.
The 921 Contemporary
Art Gallery
921 MAIN STREET (S.H. FRANKLIN BUILDING)
Four Women. Four Points of View. One Unforgettable Night of Art.
Get ready, Lynchburg—The 921 Contemporary Art Gallery is opening its doors wide for a First Friday event that promises to delight, provoke, and inspire. Four powerhouse women artists will showcase original works spanning sculpture, watercolor, ink, photography, and bold narrative painting. Together, they bring four wildly different styles—and one shared mission: to make you feel something real.
Featured artists:
🎨 Kim Myhre Clarke
🖋 Beth Wright
🖌 Monica Hebert
📷 Lillian Merritt
Four women. Four visions. One space. This isn’t just an art show. It’s a multi-sensory conversation about becoming, belonging, and seeing the world through four fiercely original—and deeply alive—sets of eyes.
Come celebrate this bold new wave of artistic energy at The 921 Contemporary Art Gallery, located inside the beautifully restored S.H. Franklin Building—a space just as layered and historic as the work it now holds.
5-8pm
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From the whimsical depths of her imagination, Kim brings clay to life. Her vibrant, story-rich sculpted figures are influenced by Frida Kahlo, Tim Burton, and Beatrice Woods, blending traditional methods with intuitive flow. Each piece begins as a character in her mind and ends as a tangible invitation for you to dream. Her recent explorations into watercolor and ink extend her storytelling across every medium she touches.
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Architect by training, humorist by instinct—Beth’s ink-and-watercolor sketches are love letters to Lynchburg’s historic grit and quirky beauty. Whether she’s capturing the sly look of a dog or the quiet dignity of a forgotten building, her work walks the line between comic mischief and reverence. You’ll leave her corner of the gallery grinning—and maybe looking at Main Street with fresh eyes.
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The creative force behind the Monirose brand, Monica’s emotionally charged paintings radiate color, clarity, and personal power. A bold voice for reinvention after 60, she paints from a place of deep transformation. Her work is not just art—it’s a visual manifesto: that joy, truth, and freedom are still available, no matter what season of life you’re in.
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Lillian believes every story deserves to be told. After discovering Fine Art Photography in 2013, she was captivated by its ability to convey entire narratives in a single image. In 2016, she founded Strength of Atlantis, leading to international exhibitions—including in Paris—and the sale of high-end limited edition prints. Now restoring a 1935 home to house an artist residency, Lillian continues to explore storytelling through her lens, always guided by the belief that every story matters.
Academy Center
of the Arts
600 MAIN STREET
In The Art Galleries
The Ann White Academy Gallery June 6- July 25
Nelson County Group Show
“Art and Artists of Tye River”- Mixed Media
The Up Front Gallery June 6- July 25
JoAnne Becker “Beauty of the Unexpected”- Photography
Arts & Education Building June 6- June 27
Rachel Gagen “ The ABCs of Vaccines ”
Music during First Fridays event - Acoustics Chloe Hostetler
Regular Gallery Hours: M-F, 9:30 am - 5 pm and Saturdays, 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 pm
Vector Space
2004 MEMORIAL AVENUE
Skill Share & Open House: Tufting!
Join us this First Friday for our monthly Skill Share and Open House, featuring tufting—where yarn crafts meet Rambo-level power tools! Come watch yarn fly as we guide you through the art of turning threads into bold, textured designs.
First Friday is always free, family friendly and open to the public, entry donations of $2 or more are welcome and very appreciated. We look forward to seeing you there!
Click here to learn more! 5-8pm
Jazz@720
1019 JEFFERSON STREET
Jazz@720 presents Flat Five Jazz First Fridays at The Glass House.
Click here to learn more! DOORS 6pm; SHOW 7:20pm
Frostfire Sauna and
Cold Plunge
1337 MAIN STREET
You are invited to experience art and wellness in harmony during this First Fridays. Step into our serene space and discover a stunning local artist mural of delicate paper cranes, symbolizing peace, renewal, and transformation.
Don’t miss our handmade ceramic pottery wall, a tactile, earthy installation that celebrates craftsmanship and the grounding power how nature and manmade objects can come together for recovery.
Come for the art, stay for the vibe—and ask us about how we blend recovery and creativity in every session.
Lynchburg Art Club
1101 RIVERMONT AVENUE
Lynchburg Art Club and Gallery proudly announces the Annual Show Your Best Art Show opening with a First Friday reception on June 6; refreshments will be served.
This year’s judge is Ron Boehmer. He received his BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and his MFA from the University of Pennsylvania. While at Penn, he had the opportunity to study with several notable artists of the day, including Neil Welliver, Janet Fish, Brice Marden, Alex Katz, Paul Resika, and Paul Georges. Since moving to Virginia in 1978, Boehmer has worked as Visual Arts Division Director for the Lynchburg Fine Arts Center (1978-1987) and has taught courses in studio art and art history at Central Virginia Community College, Lynchburg College, Hollins University, The Virginia School of the Arts, The Lynchburg Fine Arts Center, the Lynchburg Art Club, and the Beverley Street Studio School. In addition, he has served in the capacity of judge/ juror, consultant, and workshop instructor for various arts and cultural and educational organizations in Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and North Carolina.
Boehmer is recognized as one of Virginia's foremost landscape painters. His work has been included in several significant museum and touring exhibitions including: "The Virginia Landscape- A Cultural History" at the Virginia Historical Society; "Within Our borders- The Virginia Landscape" at the Hermitage Foundation Museum in Richmond; and "Experience the James: Lynchburg's Pathway to the World" at the Lynchburg Museum System's Court House Museum. He has exhibited in over 130 solo, group, and juried exhibitions and festivals, receiving more than 65 awards in painting or drawing. He has also been included or featured in articles in Plein Air Magazine, Lynchburg Magazine and numerous newspaper articles or reviews. He has been featured in the recent publication "100 PLEIN AIR PAINTERS OF THE MID- ATLANTIC" by Gary Pendleton, Schiffer Publishing, 2014, and "THE VIRGINIA LANDSCAPE- A CULTURAL HISTORY" by James C. Kelly and William Rasmussen, Howell Press, 2000. At present, he is represented by the following galleries: Nichols Gallery, Barboursville, VA; Main Street Gallery, Annapolis, MD; Carspecken- Scott Gallery, Wilmington, Delaware; and Lin-Dor Gallery, Roanoke, VA.
The Judge's Critique and Awards will be held on June 8th at 2pm.
The juror will select six “Awards of Distinction” worth $100 each. These awards will not be ranked.
Following the opening, gallery hours are Thursday and Friday, 1-5pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 1:30-4pm; and by appointment.
Click here to learn more! 5-7:30pm