7 Urban Gallery Walks for Budding Culture Vultures
July 8, 2015
Up-and-coming artists. Neighborhood vibes. Free drinks and snacks. For the budding culture vulture looking to hit the town, urban gallery walks don’t just provide perfectly bite-sized, arty adventuring—they do it on the house.
Throw on your coolest threads, then, and make a beeline for these seven neighborhoods, each of which has so many galleries with free viewings, you could spend hours meandering among exhibitions. Enjoy some daytime wandering, or save the date for First Friday events that cater to nocturnal crawlers with late-night hours. (And seriously, don’t miss out on those snacks. Because free cheese, people.)
OLD CITY, PHILADELPHIA: With its old-timey architecture and quaint little streets,
Old City in
Philly is already a tempting proposition for urban explorers. But throw in the art scene and the neighborhood becomes unmissable. Host to more than 50 individual galleries, clustered mostly on 2
nd and 3
rd Streets, Old City is especially lively during First Fridays, when crowds help create a street party vibe.
Image courtesy of B. Krist for Visit Philadelphia
DUPONT CIRCLE, DC: Washington, DC is a museum lover's town, but if you aren't quite geared up for Smithsonian-scale browsing, head instead to Dupont Circle. A hub for area artists since the '20s, today Dupont Circle has a number of local galleries on hand, showcasing everything from street photography to Latin American art. If you can't leave without just
a bit of museum-ing, note that the
Phillips Collection and the
Textile Museum also call the area home.
Image courtesy of Historic Dupont Circle Main Streets
UNION SQUARE, SAN FRANCISCO: Despite encroaching tech start-ups, Union Square has remained the heart of the
San Francisco gallery scene for more than half a century. Take advantage of
First Thursdays and go on some gallery walks around the upscale addresses in the vicinity. Pro tip: These are the kinds of spaces that regularly host A-list artworks, so keep an eye out for pieces by Nan Goldin, Louise Bourgeois, Sally Mann, and Willem de Kooning.
Image courtesy of San Francisco Travel Association/Scott Chernis
BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN: Chelsea may be the
New York neighborhood that gets the bulk of the art world hype, but it's time to borough-hop. For the most avant-garde offerings, Bushwick's
blossoming gallery scene is the one to visit. Begin your gallery walks at locations like
The BogArt, a creative hub that's host to a number of individual gallery spaces and studios. The neighborhood also runs an
open studios festival, so you can ask the artists themselves about the meaning behind those abstract paintings.
Image courtesy of
Hrag Vartanian/Flickr
CHICAGO ARTS DISTRICT: Known formerly as PilsenEast, the redubbed
Chicago Arts District earned its moniker thanks to the lively
Chicago artist community that's called the area home for the last 30-odd years. The best time to explore is on Second Fridays, when resident creatives open up their studios for passersby. Expect lots of exciting and forward-thinking works; performance art is a thing here.
Image courtesy of Chicago Arts District
SOWA, BOSTON: After its revitalization began back in the early 2000s,
SoWa quickly distinguished itself as one of
Boston's art world epicenters. (It helps that the old warehouse district was full of studio-ready real estate.) Nowadays, there are dozens of galleries and multicultural art spaces to discover. Head over on First Fridays and you'll have prime access to more than 60 different artist studios. On Sundays, you'll also find a spectacular amount of food trucks, a vintage market and a farmers market.
Image courtesy of GTI Properties, Inc.
GALLERY ROW, LA: Stroll
Gallery Row in Downtown
LA, and you'll be able to admire as much art indoors as out—the area is a mecca for some of the city's splashiest street art (and given the fact that it will almost certainly be sunny outside, it's worth it to linger). Once you head indoors, you can choose from dozens of galleries, head to the pop-up
Art Walk Lounge on Second Thursdays, or even dive into museums like the
Geffen Contemporary and
MOCA Grand Avenue.
Image courtesy of Matt Marriott
OLD CITY, PHILADELPHIA: With its old-timey architecture and quaint little streets,
Old City in
Philly is already a tempting proposition for urban explorers. But throw in the art scene and the neighborhood becomes unmissable. Host to more than 50 individual galleries, clustered mostly on 2
nd and 3
rd Streets, Old City is especially lively during First Fridays, when crowds help create a street party vibe.
Image courtesy of B. Krist for Visit Philadelphia
DUPONT CIRCLE, DC: Washington, DC is a museum lover's town, but if you aren't quite geared up for Smithsonian-scale browsing, head instead to Dupont Circle. A hub for area artists since the '20s, today Dupont Circle has a number of local galleries on hand, showcasing everything from street photography to Latin American art. If you can't leave without just
a bit of museum-ing, note that the
Phillips Collection and the
Textile Museum also call the area home.
Image courtesy of Historic Dupont Circle Main Streets
UNION SQUARE, SAN FRANCISCO: Despite encroaching tech start-ups, Union Square has remained the heart of the
San Francisco gallery scene for more than half a century. Take advantage of
First Thursdays and go on some gallery walks around the upscale addresses in the vicinity. Pro tip: These are the kinds of spaces that regularly host A-list artworks, so keep an eye out for pieces by Nan Goldin, Louise Bourgeois, Sally Mann, and Willem de Kooning.
Image courtesy of San Francisco Travel Association/Scott Chernis
BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN: Chelsea may be the
New York neighborhood that gets the bulk of the art world hype, but it's time to borough-hop. For the most avant-garde offerings, Bushwick's
blossoming gallery scene is the one to visit. Begin your gallery walks at locations like
The BogArt, a creative hub that's host to a number of individual gallery spaces and studios. The neighborhood also runs an
open studios festival, so you can ask the artists themselves about the meaning behind those abstract paintings.
Image courtesy of
Hrag Vartanian/Flickr
CHICAGO ARTS DISTRICT: Known formerly as PilsenEast, the redubbed
Chicago Arts District earned its moniker thanks to the lively
Chicago artist community that's called the area home for the last 30-odd years. The best time to explore is on Second Fridays, when resident creatives open up their studios for passersby. Expect lots of exciting and forward-thinking works; performance art is a thing here.
Image courtesy of Chicago Arts District
SOWA, BOSTON: After its revitalization began back in the early 2000s,
SoWa quickly distinguished itself as one of
Boston's art world epicenters. (It helps that the old warehouse district was full of studio-ready real estate.) Nowadays, there are dozens of galleries and multicultural art spaces to discover. Head over on First Fridays and you'll have prime access to more than 60 different artist studios. On Sundays, you'll also find a spectacular amount of food trucks, a vintage market and a farmers market.
Image courtesy of GTI Properties, Inc.
GALLERY ROW, LA: Stroll
Gallery Row in Downtown
LA, and you'll be able to admire as much art indoors as out—the area is a mecca for some of the city's splashiest street art (and given the fact that it will almost certainly be sunny outside, it's worth it to linger). Once you head indoors, you can choose from dozens of galleries, head to the pop-up
Art Walk Lounge on Second Thursdays, or even dive into museums like the
Geffen Contemporary and
MOCA Grand Avenue.
Image courtesy of Matt Marriott
