Front Street’s monthly Art Hops give Daytonians a chance to explore their city

For 60 years, Front Street has been at the helm of the Dayton art scene—though you may not know it.

Almost every Dayton artist worth their salt has shown or does show art at Front Street, Dayton’s largest collective of artists, artisans and small businesses. Housed in a complex of three 1800s-era buildings, Front Street is home to over 150 artists. These artists all have different schedules, some preferring to work in the middle afternoon or some late into the night.

The twice-a-month Front Street Art Hop events, though, serve as an “open house vehicle” for most of the artists to be open at the same time and show their latest work.

Richard Lundin, managing partner of Front Street, says that some attendees weren’t aware of Front Street’s efforts.

“I get a lot of people [who say], ‘I haven’t been down here in 30 years, I can’t believe this is all going on down here,’” he says. “I hope they see what the art scene is around Front Street and Dayton in general and realize that we’re not just people doing arts and crafts. We have some serious artists here.”

This year, Front Street is celebrating 60 years of business. In the 10 years since Lundin joined the team, he has seen it change dramatically. “The community didn’t know who their neighbors were,” he says. “One of the things I try to do is bring that community together.”

The Front Street Art Hop events started around the time Lundin joined the team. Jeffrey Cortland Jones, professor of Art at the University of Dayton and founder and director of Divisible Projects, was the one who truly started the event, though.

“He’d have an open house on a First Friday…when I got here, we continued it,” Lundin says. “We did a little more promotion, and it’s grown to what we have now.”

Now, the Front Street Art Hop occurs on the First Friday and Saturday of each month now through December.

Some of the Front Street artists include Hadley Rodebeck, who works with painting, sculpture, alternative photography and drawing. Another artist, Scott D.U. Gibbs, was a studio assistant for Keith Haring and Julian Schnable and has been the recipient of two Montgomery County Art and Cultural District Grants.

This year, Front Street is celebrating 60 years. In 1965, it was founded as an “incubator for entrepreneurs and artists” and will be toasting this legacy in September.

For the anniversary, Front Street will host Ohio Brass & Electric, a Dayton-based band with a six-piece horn section, multiple vocalists and rhythm section, in addition to food trucks and giveaways.

Until then, Front Street is open daily, although artists maintain varying hours. Many artists hold special shopping hours every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Front Street Art Hops happen every First Friday and Saturday of the month (Friday 5-9 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m.-4 p.m.).