Meanwhile, we're still wondering why the city won't just close down Santa Fe Drive for the event, which has recently undergone some changes. If you enjoy First Friday more when Santa Fe Drive is closed to traffic, mark your calendar for next month's First Friday on August 1 — August is typically the only month when the event is fully closed to traffic. More vendor spots have opened up for August as well.
The arty parties draw thousands of people looking to shop, eat, browse galleries and immerse themselves in the arts scene of the Art District on Santa Fe, the River North Art District (RiNo), Tennyson Street Cultural District, 40 West Arts District in Lakewood and more.
What is First Friday in Denver?
First Friday is a largely unofficial event celebrating community, culture and art on the first Friday of every month. Thousands come to the metro area's art districts to view art, visit galleries, meet artists and browse street vendors selling handmade wares and food.What Time Does First Friday Start in Denver?
First Friday events start at different times in different art districts.- Art District on Santa Fe: 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
- RiNo: 6 to 9 p.m.
- Tennyson Street: 6 to 10 p.m.
- 40 West Arts District: 6 to 9 p.m.
Where is First Friday in Denver?
Art District on Santa Fe: Spans from West 13th Avenue to Alameda Avenue and Kalamath Street to Inca Street. The bulk of the galleries are in a walkable area between Fifth and 11th avenues.RiNo: Most galleries are on Blake, Walnut, Larimer and Lawrence streets between Broadway and Downing Street.
Tennyson Street: Along Tennyson Street in the Berkeley neighborhood in northwest Denver.
40 West Arts District: Lamar Station Plaza, 6501 West Colfax Avenue, Lakewood
Other First Friday locations include the 1400-1500 blocks of South Pearl Street, and arts areas in Englewood, Littleton and Arvada.
Are There First Friday Public Transportation Options in Denver?
At the start of this year, the Regional Transportation District added a new ART District Connector bus route. The route connects pockets of some of Denver's most visited cultural sites, including the Art District on Santa Fe, Denver Theatre District and RiNo Arts District.The route serves the Baker, Five Points and Elyria-Swansea neighborhoods. In February, Westword tested out the route.
What Can I See During First Friday in July?
There are new shows opening all over town on First Friday weekend. Here are some of the most intriguing:
drioux and kacper are Colorado Springs-based artists who work in painting, sculpture, photography, installation works and more.
Cottonwood Center for the Arts
Cottonwood Center for the Arts, 427 East Colorado Avenue, Colorado Springs
Opening Reception: 5-8 p.m. Thursday, July 3; Show on Display Through July 26
drioux and kacper are Colorado Springs-based artists who work in painting, sculpture, photography, installation works and more. "Their subject matter most often depicts scenes that are familiar yet ‘off’, leaving the viewer with a sense of grasping at a dream after just waking from a deep sleep," a release from Cottonwood Center states.
Viverra Animalibus displays the work of local photographer Kendra Page Stone.
Cottonwood Center for the Arts
Cottonwood Center for the Arts, 427 East Colorado Avenue, Colorado Springs
Opening Reception: 5-8 p.m. Thursday, July 3; Show on Display Through July 26
This solo exhibition displays the work of local photographer Kendra Page Stone. Each photograph in this collection is titled according to the conservation status of the featured species, ranging from critically endangered to least concerned. These images serve not only as a visual representation of their unique personalities but also as a reminder of the current state of our planet’s biodiversity," Stone says.
2025 Cherry Creek Arts Festival
Cherry Creek North, 2nd Avenue from Clayton to Adams Street, and between 2nd and 3rd Avenues from Detroit to Adams Street
Friday, July 4 through Sunday, July 6
Find inspiration and connect with others through art at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, where 260 juried artists will share their work. The event also includes live music, food, kids' activities and more. Learn more about this year's featured artists at cherryarts.org.
One of the works in Coming To America, A Nation of Immigrants at Niza Knoll Gallery.
Niza Knoll Gallery
Niza Knoll Gallery, 915 Santa Fe Drive
First Friday: July 4; Artist Reception: Friday, July 18, 5 – 8 p.m.; Show on Display July 4-August 24
Gallerist and artist Niza Knoll is not one to shy away from important topics; previous shows at her gallery over the last 15 years have addressed politics, the pandemic and AI. For Coming To America, A Nation of Immigrants, Knoll invited local artists to create a showcase representing the tapestry of individuals from around the world who have made up the United States since its founding. The result is a mixed media exhibit including paintings, collages, sculptures and more.
Interdependence Day
Blue Tile Gallery, 3944 South Broadway, Englewood
Artists’ Reception: Saturday, July 12, 4-7 p.m.; Show on Display July 3-27
Interdependence Day is a group exhibition featuring guest artists Naji Elmogtaba, Leo Sailas and members of Chameleon Collective. "As the U.S. celebrates its culture of independence, this exhibition highlights how societies, even the most dysfunctional ones, are in fact, built on the cooperation of large groups of people, or interdependence," reads a description of the show. "It explores how operating within a collaborative system is an act of resistance to oppressive political and social systems, and how everyday micro actions can strengthen our communities. This show is sure to spark opinions, conversations and reactions."
Member artists invited guests artists to display their work alongside them in Plus One .
NKollectiv
NKollectiv, 3485 South Broadway, Englewood
Artists' Reception: Saturday, July 12, 4–8 p.m.; Show on Display July 3-27
Plus One is a diverse showcase of the work of NKollectiv member artists, each of whom has invited one guest artist to exhibit as well. The result is a show featuring a rich variety of artistic styles and mediums, including oil, watercolor, encaustic painting, printmaking, ceramics and more. “There are so many incredible artists in the Denver area,” says gallerist Nicole Korbe. “This show is a meaningful way to celebrate that creative richness and honor a selection of colleagues that we admire.”
Ongoing Shows Worth a Visit
One of Heidi McKay Castro's playful ceramic pieces, now on display at Plinth Gallery.
Heidi McKay Castro
Plinth Gallery, 3520 Brighton Boulevard
Through July 26
Playful ceramic objects adorned with animal portraits and vibrant colors made by Iowa artist Heidi McKay Castro will be on display and for sale at Plinth Gallery. “By bringing into question the similarities between instinctual animal behaviors and habits learned through my lived experience as a woman, artist, and mother, I hope to gain insight and inspiration for living with fewer insecurities and societal pressures," explains Casto.
In Home, elementary, middle school and high school students along with other guest artists explore past, present and future concepts of what home means to them from memories to dreams.
DAVA
Downtown Aurora Visual Arts, 1405 Florence Street
Through August 18
In Home, elementary, middle school and high school students along with other guest artists explore past, present and future concepts of what home means to them from memories to dreams. In the creation of the exhibit, guest artist Samira Hemmat inspired high school students with her artistic excellence and her story and memories from her home country of Iran. DAVA teacher Amanda Graves Greer painted watercolor of all the homes she lived in, examining domestic memories and healing spaces. Middle school students added patterns and topics inspired by their home on handmade flowerpots, bowls, mugs or platters.
Embedded: A Mid-Career Survey; Origin Stories; Past is Present is Past is Present
Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, 6901 Wadsworth Boulevard, Arvada
Through August 24
Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities’ Galleries are opening three exhibitions for the summer, which explore the past and present, and reality and fantasy. “My work explores human nature and struggle as it manifests itself in relation to contemporary society and the remains of the past,” says conceptual painter Melissa Furness, about her show Embedded. “I am interested in what one culture upholds as significant — objects and ideals that we revere versus those that we discard or discount as unimportant. What does what we throw away say about us as a people versus what we place on a pedestal or seek to preserve?”
St. Francis residents working on their collaboration piece with Emma Balder. The piece was displayed earlier this year at Understudy, and now it is part of Emmanuel Gallery's Made in Colorado exhibit.
Photography by Daniel Brenner and AAron On'veroz
Emmanuel Gallery, 1205 10th Street Plaza
Through September 12
Made in Colorado returns to showcase artists from all over the state, including the piece made by Emma Balder in collaboration with the residents of St. Francis Apartments. Juried by Larry Ossei-Mensah, the show at Emmanuel Gallery, which is part of the University of Colorado Denver's College of Arts & Media, is meant to highlight diverse and groundbreaking art made in the Centennial State.
Justice of the Piece brings together the voices of artists Lady Pink, Sydney G. James and Grow Love.
Ent Center for the Arts
Marie Walsh Sharpe Gallery, Ent Center for the Arts, 5225 North Nevada Avenue, Colorado Springs
Through October 4
Justice of the Piece brings together the voices of artists Lady Pink, Sydney G. James and Grow Love, whose work navigates the intersections of resistance, reclamation, and collective healing through public murals and studio practice. Each artist, in their own way, reclaims the wall and canvas as a site of visibility and social justice, creating powerful visual affirmations in spaces often marked by erasure or exclusion.
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