Front Street | Photo by Christian Peters | The Wright State Guardian
Front Street, a community of artists, artisans and small business owners in Dayton, strives to connect with the general public.
Front Street holds First Friday and Third Sunday to welcome the general public and allow artists to display their work.
What Front Street offers
A family and pet-friendly location, Front Street offers free parking, food trucks and live music during warmer months. They have approximately 150 studios and small businesses, with ten different gallery spaces that rotate on a monthly basis.
Front Street artists range from glass blowers, fabric artists, jewelry makers and sculptors. It also has The ARTery, a co-op gallery space of 16 artists. Each person has their own space and contributes to maintaining it. Some of the artists include Rosalie Campbell, Jo Anne Vincent and Bob Farley, a weaver, jewelry maker and photographer respectively.
Along with its variety of artists, Front Street prides itself on its welcoming environment.
“You can always expect a really positive, high energy good feeling when you come here to Front Street. [My favorite part] is really the community. Any one person can come here and feel included… and that’s something that I’m really proud of,” Samantha Mang, Marketing Director and Event Coordinator, said.
Artists
With approximately 150 studios and small businesses, there is an artist for everyone. A full list of artists can be found on Front Street’s website.
Along with a range of art types, the artists are all different as well.
“Originally we were mostly older people like in our 70s plus and now we have people of all ages. We have some that are in their 20s and on up. They all do something different within their mediums,” Rosalie Campbell, the president of The ARTery, said.
Mang recommends visiting Mike Elsass’ art studio. Other popular artists include Kelly Ingerson, Mythic Silver, M.E. Creations and 1880 Candle Co.
“I really like the variety here. There are glass melters, there are fabric artists, there are woodworking artists with everything from furniture to Christmas ornaments. There’s just an incredible variety here. You can see a lot of different creativity going on,” Liane Wagner, owner of Fairy Godmother Creations, said.
Upcoming events
Front Street has two upcoming events.
The first is Christkindl Market on Nov. 27 and 28. There will be around 20 outside vendors and make-and-take workshops. Attendees can meet Santa Claus on Nov. 28 for free.
After that, the next event is First Friday on Dec. 3.
