Upcoming Art Events
Art walks, gallery openings, fairs, and cultural events across the Southwest.
Salt Lake City Gallery Stroll
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City's Gallery Stroll, held the third Friday of each month, connects galleries across downtown, the Granary Arts District, and the Sugar House neighborhood. The event has grown steadily since its founding and now includes dozens of participating spaces, with the Utah Museum of Fine Arts and Phillips Gallery among the consistent anchors.
Phoenix Art Museum Free Night
Phoenix, Arizona
The Phoenix Art Museum offers free admission every Wednesday evening from 3–9pm - one of the best deals in the Valley. With over 20,000 works spanning American, European, Asian, Latin American, and Western art, plus one of the country's finest fashion design collections, this is an institution that rewards repeat visits. The free Wednesday program has become a staple for Phoenix-area art lovers.
Scottsdale ArtWalk
Scottsdale, Arizona
Every Thursday evening from October through May, Old Town Scottsdale gallery district stays open until 9pm. Dozens of galleries host opening receptions, artists appear in person, and the streets fill with collectors and curious visitors. One of the longest-running gallery walks in the country - free and open to all.
Moab Arts Festival
Moab, Utah
The Moab Arts Festival, held each Memorial Day weekend in Swanny City Park, brings 100+ juried artists to one of the most spectacular natural settings of any art fair in the West. Situated between Arches National Park and Canyonlands, with the red rock walls of the Colorado River canyon as backdrop, the festival draws collectors who combine art shopping with outdoor recreation in the surrounding canyon country.
Las Vegas First Friday
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas First Friday transforms the 18b Las Vegas Arts District on the last Friday of each month (6–10pm), with galleries opening simultaneously, live music, food trucks, and art installations filling the streets. The event is the anchor of downtown Las Vegas's arts community and draws a mix of locals and tourists to a neighborhood that offers something authentically creative amid the city's entertainment landscape.
Tucson First Thursdays
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson's First Thursdays art walk animates the downtown arts district on the first Thursday of every month. Galleries in the downtown corridor, the 4th Avenue neighborhood, and the university area stay open late. The crowd is characteristically local - artists, students, and longtime collectors who have made this a genuine community ritual rather than a tourist event.
Denver First Friday Art Walk
Denver, Colorado
Denver's First Friday Art Walk on the first Friday of each month (6–9pm) covers both the Santa Fe Arts District and RiNo Arts District simultaneously. Galleries open their doors, new shows debut, and the creative energy of the city concentrates into a few vibrant blocks. The Santa Fe Drive corridor has been the anchor for decades; RiNo adds a younger, more experimental counterpoint.
Phoenix First Friday Art Walk
Phoenix, Arizona
On the first Friday of every month, the Roosevelt Row Arts District in Phoenix comes alive from 6–10pm. Galleries, studios, and pop-up exhibitions open simultaneously, street vendors fill the sidewalks, and local musicians perform. One of the most-attended public art events in Arizona, drawing thousands each month to the city's creative core.
Santa Fe First Fridays
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe galleries across Canyon Road and the Railyard Arts District host simultaneous opening receptions on the first Friday of each month. The Canyon Road Friday openings are a long tradition - galleries stay open until 7pm or later, artists appear in person, and the street fills with pedestrians moving from space to space. The Railyard adds a contemporary counterpoint with a younger gallery roster.
Denver Art Museum Free First Saturday
Denver, Colorado
The Denver Art Museum offers free general admission on the first Saturday of each month for Colorado residents. The museum's collection of 70,000+ objects - including one of the largest Native American art collections in the country and a landmark Daniel Libeskind-designed building - makes this one of the best free cultural offerings in the Rocky Mountain region. Family-friendly programming accompanies each free Saturday.
Scottsdale ArtWalk
Scottsdale, Arizona
Every Thursday evening from 6:30 to 9:00 PM, Old Town Scottsdale transforms into one of the most active gallery walks in the American West. More than 80 galleries stay open late along Marshall Way and the surrounding arts district, offering complimentary wine, artist receptions, and the chance to browse an extraordinary concentration of Western, contemporary, and Indigenous art in a single evening. Free, walkable, and one of the best recurring art events in the Southwest.
Albuquerque Arts Walk
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque's monthly Arts Walk covers the Nob Hill corridor along Central Avenue (old Route 66), the downtown Arts & Cultural District, and the Old Town galleries. On the second Friday of each month, participating galleries stay open late and often host demonstrations, artist talks, and live music. A community-focused event with a price of admission that makes it accessible to everyone.
Aspen Art Museum Summer Opening
Aspen, Colorado
The Aspen Art Museum anchors the summer cultural season with its annual summer exhibition opening - typically in late June - which coincides with the beginning of the Aspen Ideas Festival and the Aspen Music Festival. The museum's Shigeru Ban building and no-permanent-collection model means the summer programming is always fresh, with international artists of significant reputation. Free admission year-round.
Las Vegas Fiestas
Las Vegas, New Mexico
The annual Las Vegas Fiestas celebrate the history and culture of Las Vegas, New Mexico, one of the oldest communities in the Southwest. The multi-day festival features traditional music, folk dancing, food vendors, a carnival, and a parade through the historic plaza district. A beloved community tradition drawing visitors from across New Mexico and beyond.
Cherry Creek Arts Festival
Denver, Colorado
The Cherry Creek Arts Festival, held annually over the Fourth of July weekend in Denver's Cherry Creek North neighborhood, is one of the top-ranked juried outdoor art festivals in the country. More than 250 artists exhibit work across all media over three days, drawing upwards of 350,000 visitors. The festival is complemented by performing arts programming and food, making it one of the signature summer events in the Rocky Mountain region.
Santa Fe Art Market
Santa Fe, New Mexico
The Santa Fe Art Market, held annually in late July on the historic Santa Fe Plaza, is a juried outdoor art market that runs the weekend before the Indian Market - making late July the most concentrated period of gallery and market activity in the Santa Fe calendar. The market focuses on contemporary fine art and fine craft by living artists, with a strong Southwest regional emphasis alongside national exhibitors.
Aspen Art Show
Aspen, Colorado
The Aspen Art Show, held in August in conjunction with the Aspen Music Festival, brings together gallery-quality work from exhibitors across the country in a tent structure in the heart of Aspen. The juried show focuses on painting and sculpture, with price points that range from accessible to investment-grade. The August timing - peak Aspen festival season - gives it one of the most financially serious collector audiences of any outdoor art fair in the country.
Austin First Thursdays
Austin, Texas
Every first Thursday of the month, South Congress Avenue in Austin transforms into a vibrant open-air celebration of local art, music, and commerce. Galleries, shops, and studios open their doors late, street performers take the sidewalks, and food trucks line the strip. It is one of Austin's most beloved recurring community events, drawing locals and visitors from across the city. Collectors will find original work from emerging Texas painters, photographers, and ceramicists alongside established artists with decades in the Austin scene.
Reno First Friday Art Walk
Reno, Nevada
Reno's First Friday art walk transforms the downtown arts district into a free, self-guided gallery evening on the first Friday of each month. Participating galleries, studios, and creative spaces host openings and receptions, many with complimentary wine and live music. The event highlights Reno's growing contemporary art community and the city's revitalized midtown arts corridor, which has seen a surge of new galleries and artist-run spaces over the past decade. Expect a mix of painting, sculpture, ceramics, and photography from both local and regional artists.
Fort Collins First Friday Art Walk
Fort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins First Friday Art Walk is a self-guided tour of galleries, studios, and creative spaces in Old Town Fort Collins, held on the first Friday of each month. Participating venues stay open late with new exhibitions, artist receptions, and live music, making it a beloved tradition for the Northern Colorado arts community. The walkable Old Town setting, lined with historic brick storefronts and locally owned galleries, creates an ideal environment for discovering regional artists working in everything from oil painting and printmaking to bronze sculpture and mixed media.
Colorado Springs Gallery Walk
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs Gallery Walk is a free monthly arts event on the first Friday evening of each month, bringing together galleries, studios, and arts organizations throughout the city. Participants explore original painting, sculpture, photography, and ceramics across multiple venues in the Old Colorado City arts district and downtown, with artists and gallery staff on hand to discuss their work and process. The event showcases the creative community thriving at the base of Pikes Peak and offers a welcoming introduction to collecting for first-time buyers.
El Paso First Fridays
El Paso, Texas
El Paso's First Fridays art walk brings together galleries, studios, and creative spaces in the downtown arts district for a free monthly celebration of the region's vibrant borderland art scene. Inspired by the converging cultures of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, participating venues feature Chicano art, contemporary photography, and border-region folk art alongside experimental work by emerging artists. The event runs from 6 to 9 PM with light refreshments and live entertainment at select venues, and is among the most culturally distinctive monthly art events in the entire Southwest.
San Antonio First Friday Blue Star Arts
San Antonio, Texas
On the first Friday of every month, the Blue Star Arts Complex in San Antonio's Southtown neighborhood hosts a free gallery opening night drawing artists, collectors, and art lovers from across South Texas. Studios and galleries stay open late, live music fills the courtyards, and local food vendors set up outside. Blue Star has anchored San Antonio's contemporary art scene since the 1980s and remains the beating heart of the city's creative community. The complex houses more than a dozen independent galleries and studios alongside the renowned Blue Star Contemporary art center.
Kimball Art Festival Park City
Park City, Utah
The Kimball Art Festival is Park City's premier outdoor fine art festival, held annually over the first weekend of August along Main Street and in City Park. More than 200 juried artists exhibit painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, and jewelry, with work ranging from affordable prints to investment-level originals. The festival includes live music, interactive art demonstrations, and a beloved chalk art competition that draws families from across the Wasatch Front. Founded by the Kimball Art Center, the event has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for arts education and community programming.
Santa Fe Indian Market
Santa Fe, New Mexico
The Santa Fe Indian Market, held annually on the weekend of the third Saturday of August on the historic Santa Fe Plaza, is the largest and most prestigious Native American art market in the world. More than 1,000 Native artists from 220+ tribes exhibit work across every medium - pottery, jewelry, weaving, painting, sculpture, and fashion. The weekend draws over 100,000 visitors and is the single most important event in the Native American art market calendar.
Georgia O'Keeffe Museum Research Center Lecture Series
Santa Fe, New Mexico
The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum presents an annual lecture series at its Research Center in Santa Fe, bringing together scholars, artists, and critics for conversations about O'Keeffe's work, the history of American Modernism, and the continuing influence of the Southwest on visual art. Lectures are held throughout the year and often coincide with the opening of temporary exhibitions at the museum.
Taos Fall Arts Festival
Taos, New Mexico
The Taos Fall Arts Festival, held each September, is the town's premier annual gallery event - a two-week celebration of Taos's living arts community that includes studio tours, gallery openings, artist talks, and the Taos Art Auction. The festival spans the gallery district, surrounding studios, and Taos Pueblo itself, with a programming calendar that connects collectors directly with the artists who make Taos one of the most important art communities in the Southwest.
Chinati Foundation Open House
Marfa, Texas
The Chinati Foundation Open House, held each October in Marfa, Texas, is the one weekend each year when the Foundation opens all of its permanent installations to the public simultaneously - including the 100 untitled aluminum works by Donald Judd that are normally accessible only via scheduled tour. The weekend includes artist talks, music, and social events that bring together an international community of artists, curators, and collectors in the remote West Texas landscape.
Boulder Open Studios
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder Open Studios, held each October, gives the public direct access to working artist studios across the city - over 200 artists open their spaces over two weekends. It's one of the largest open studio events in Colorado and an unparalleled opportunity to see work in progress, buy directly from makers, and have real conversations with artists about their practice. Boulder's strong arts and craft community makes this an exceptionally broad survey.
Sedona Arts Festival
Sedona, Arizona
The Sedona Arts Festival, held each October in Sedona Heritage Park, draws over 60 juried artists to one of the most visually dramatic settings of any art fair in the country. The red rock backdrop of Cathedral Rock and Bell Rock creates a viewing environment that amplifies the impact of landscape painting and sculpture in particular. A two-day event with live music and food that consistently attracts serious collectors from across the region.
Tucson Meet Yourself
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson Meet Yourself is an annual folk and traditional arts festival held each October on the University of Arizona Mall - free, three days, and one of the most genuinely multicultural public events in the Southwest. The festival celebrates the living folk art traditions of Tucson's diverse communities: Tohono O'odham, Mexican, Chinese, African American, and beyond. Visual art exhibitions, craft demonstrations, and folk performance make it essential viewing for anyone interested in the living traditions that feed into the broader Southwest art scene.
Sedona Plein Air Festival
Sedona, Arizona
The Sedona Plein Air Festival gathers landscape painters from across the country each October to paint the red rock country en plein air - directly in front of the subject. The week-long event includes painting demonstrations, quick draw competitions (where artists have two hours to complete and sell a painting), gallery exhibitions, and a culminating Quick Draw & Sale. For collectors interested in traditional landscape painting, it's one of the most exciting events of the year.
Arizona Fine Art Expo
Scottsdale, Arizona
The Arizona Fine Art Expo, held annually from January through March in Scottsdale, is the Southwest's largest juried fine art show - operating for 10 weeks in a purpose-built tent structure. Over 100 artists exhibit work in painting, sculpture, glass, and mixed media, with work available for direct purchase. The extended format makes it a destination for repeat visits as new work rotates in throughout the run.
Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market
Phoenix, Arizona
Held annually in early March at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market is the second-largest and among the most prestigious Native American art markets in the country. The juried exhibition brings together hundreds of Native artists, with strict quality standards that make it a reliable source for museum-quality work. The event includes cultural demonstrations, food, and live music alongside the market.
Scottsdale Arts Festival
Scottsdale, Arizona
The Scottsdale Arts Festival, held annually in March at Scottsdale Civic Center Mall, is one of the top-ranked juried outdoor art festivals in the United States. More than 170 artists from across the country exhibit paintings, sculpture, photography, ceramics, jewelry, and glass - all juried for quality. The festival draws over 50,000 visitors over three days and is a significant collecting opportunity for work priced from under $100 to well over $10,000.
Dallas Art Fair
Dallas, Texas
The Dallas Art Fair is an internationally recognized contemporary art fair held annually each April in the Fashion Industry Gallery in downtown Dallas. Galleries from across North America and Europe present painting, sculpture, photography, and new media, with a strong emphasis on emerging and mid-career artists. The fair coincides with a citywide arts week that includes museum openings at the Nasher Sculpture Center and the Dallas Museum of Art, collector dinners, and satellite exhibitions across the Dallas Arts District. It has become one of the most important collecting events in the American South.
Carmel Art Festival
Carmel, California
The Carmel Art Festival is one of California's most celebrated plein air painting events, bringing together distinguished artists to paint the Carmel-by-the-Sea landscape over five days each May. Visitors can watch artists work en plein air at designated sites throughout the village, attend evening gallery exhibitions at Mission Ranch and other venues, and bid on original works at the live auction. Founded in 1994, the festival has become a destination event for collectors of California impressionism and plein air painting, and continues to support arts education through its scholarship programs.
Art Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Art Santa Fe is one of the premier art fairs in the American Southwest, bringing together galleries and collectors for a three-day showcase of contemporary and modern art at the Santa Fe Convention Center. The fair features painting, sculpture, photography, and works on paper from galleries across the United States and internationally, making it one of the most concentrated opportunities to acquire significant contemporary work in the region.
Taos Artist Organization Studio Tour
Taos, New Mexico
The Taos Artist Organization (TAO) Annual Studio Tour opens more than 30 working studios across Taos and the surrounding area to the public over Labor Day weekend. The tour gives visitors rare direct access to artists in their creative environments - painting studios, ceramics workshops, jewelry studios, and sculpture yards - and the opportunity to purchase work directly from the artists who made it. One of the most authentic art experiences the region offers.
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