Downtown Richmond’s long-standing monthly art walk happens year-round on the First Friday of every month. Hours are generally from 5pm-9pm, though each location may have separate hours.

First Fridays is a signature event in the city’s Arts District. The exact participants change every month, but it roughly runs west-to-east on Broad St from Laurel St to 7th, and south-to-north from Franklin to Clay, but also includes the UNOS gallery at 4th and Jackson. Check the blog to see who’s scheduled to participate each month.

Please send me an email (rvafirstfridays [at] gmail [dot] com). As long as you’re in the Arts District, I would love to have you! (If you’re outside the Arts District, I am happy to speak with you too, however, please note we have strict geographic limits to keep the “art walk” as walkable as possible.)

To sell on the sidewalks, you need to have a peddler’s permit from the city, and you could be ticketed if the police ask you for one and you don’t have it on you. There are occasional markets that pop-up on private property, in which case you do not need a peddler’s license (though you may be required to show your business license for the city.) Otherwise, each individual gallery or location coordinates their own shows for First Fridays, and some are booked up to 18 months in advance. Keep an eye out on galleries web pages and Facebook pages, as they will often post RFP’s or calls for artists there. And remember: it never hurts to ask, so if you feel that a gallery or event space is a good fit for your work, speak with someone there.

Keep an eye on the blog and our Facebook page. Starting the Monday before the Art Walk, we begin sharing posts about which galleries will be participating, and what they have planned.