September 2025
We have compiled a list of First Friday participants to allow you to experience the art of downtown! Please remember to follow each individual gallery's in-person policies & be sure to use #LNKFF when you post pictures to share your night!
101 N 14TH ST. | 6:30 PM
Join us for another celebration of local artist, makers, and creators!We will be joining by all kinds of makers and creators this First Friday.
Vendors:
Shine Services - Energy and reiki healing, inner child healing, and card readings
Mayed by Rey- clothing made from secondhand material
Moon & Hare Shop- Loose leaf teas
Lacie Dougherty Tarot Card readings
Nykky Little Crystal- Wire wrap and crayon jewelry
Cats Eye Apothecary- Homemade foods and desserts
Lotus Duds- A variety of head adornment, necklaces, and whimsical decor
Black Rose Arts- witchy Resin Art
Ghost Guide Archives
Amelia Soul Speaks
All ages | Free to attend
118 N 14TH ST. | 12 PM - 7:30 PM
Benefit for Lincoln's Little Free Libraries
All day: support us and put great books into the community
- Get 30% off all books you purchase to donate to our Little Free Library Bin
- Donate cash that the librarians will use to shop for books at the discount
5pm-7:30pm: celebrate with us
- FREE bookmarks, stickers and treats
- Chat with Little Free Librarians
- Check out photos of some of the most unique LFL's
- Find out how to start your own LFL
Burkholder Art Studio & Galleries
719 P ST. | 5 PM - 8 PM
September 5-27
Join us for our newest shows, including Dale Minter and Sharon Ohmberger in the Main Gallery. Susan Hart in the Outback Gallery. Janette Amberg will be on display in the Skylight Gallery. We have guest artist Ramon Guzman in the Special Exhibit Space.
Main Gallery
‘A Closer Look’ by Dale Minter
“I was always drawn to surrealism and visuals that evoke my mind to explore. I particularly liked real objects that presented themselves as abstracts. Through the years, that journey brought me to my current images, I refer to as realistic abstract photography. I begin by photographing individual images and layer them on top of each other in a transformative manner.”
‘Sharon Ohmberger, Handbuilt Earthenware Ceramics’
“She’s a potter, but she doesn’t use a potter’s wheel. Sharon’s work is drawn from her experience with plants, animals, the earth and her fascination with design elements. Somehow it all comes together.”
Outback Gallery
‘Sanctuary in Motion’ by Susan Hart
“Sanctuary in Motion is a mixed media abstract art exhibit that invites visitors into a space of calm, warmth, and soulful reflection. Each work balances stillness and movement, creating a rhythm that feels both grounding and expansive. Through layered textures, harmonious color palettes and subtle gestures, the pieces embody a sense of home—safe, welcoming, and deeply human—while honoring the divine with reverence.”
Skylight Gallery
‘My Circular Adventure’ by Janette Amberg
“I didn’t stick to any specific theme; from my heart and soul the pieces simply emerged. On four similarly styled pieces, I started out with simple ink blots and transformed them until they were unrecognizable; which is what I love about letting go of creating boundaries.”
Special Exhibit Space
‘The Many Faces Of…’ by Ramon Guzman
“My art is fueled by a desire to spark joy and laughter, offering moments of lightness that lift people out of life’s stress, even if just for a second. Inspired by the bold colors and playful energy of 90s cartoons like Rocko’s Modern Life and Animaniacs, I use vibrant hues and whimsical forms to create movement and connection. By stripping away boundaries of race or identity, the faces I create become universal, reflecting our shared humanity and celebrating the joy we all deserve.”
119 S. 9TH ST. | 5 PM - 8:30 PM
September Focus Room "Inspired by Nature" curated by Sondi Bankson
Three Clements Noyes Art Gallery artists and five guest artists who draw their inspiration from the natural world will present their latest work. Live music by Brush Creek Revival and treats by The Rabbit Hole Bakery.
Featuring: Sondi Bankson, Dale Grooms, Joni Jaros, Emmy Johnson, Kris Mieczko, Daniel Rowan, Jana Trauernicht, Chuck Warner
2055 O ST. | 6 PM - 8 PM
August 26 - October 25
Pass the Tree-line
Prints by Keith Buswell
Keith Buswell is a Lincoln artist who creates intricate and mysterious etchings of trees – the roots, branches, deformities, knots, growths, and all. His fascination is based on the graphic etching lines drawn as an interconnected system of branches and root structures as a metaphor for lineage, connections, chance intersections and stages of life. He has generated such a variety of tree images that his work creates a taxonomy of inventive, visionary obsessions with this significant life force. This is the show to put his tree prints all together and for us to all “take a look”, as he is ready to create new work soon, is directions that “Pass the Tree-line”.
Keith is originally from Council Bluffs and attended University of Nebraska Lincoln earning his BFA degree in printmaking. He has shown extensively in regional art and craft festivals regularly winning awards for his work; his shows include the Lincoln Summer Art Festival, Omaha Arts Festival, Sioux City, Iowa, Printers Row Art Festival Chicago, Minnehaha Falls Art Fair, Minneapolis. He is a 2025 recipient of the Lincoln Arts Award for Artistic Achievement in Visual Arts. He also attended residencies at The Kimmel Harding Nelson Center in Nebraska City, Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Hyattsville, Maryland, Zootown Arts Community Center in Missoula, Montana, and the Chicken Coup Artist Residency in rural Nebraska. Keith is also a member of the Society of American Graphic Artists since 2023. He is the new owner of Gomez Art Supply Store, in Lincoln, and a member of Constellation Studios where he prints his etchings.
140 N. 8TH ST. | 7 PM - 9 PM
First Friday: Chloe Ekberg and Levi Beutler // Music with Chris Sayre
Chloe Ekberg: My art feels like a life diary- quick, raw and without edits. I work in paint, glass, raw materials and photographs. All subjects that create imperfect, layered moments of life. Not planned, just moments caught.
Lincoln native Chris Sayre has been performing music professionally for over 40 years. He has dedicated much of that time to the promotion and preservation of traditional folk music from Western Europe and North America. His awards include three time Folk Artist of the Year, Entertainer of the Year and Hall of Fame recipient, as well as several first-place finishes in contests throughout the Midwest. Presenting on Button Accordion, Concertina, Dulcimer, Guitar, Mandolin and saw, Chris endeavors to leave his audience with a greater appreciation of who we are and where we came from.
1100 E O ST. | 5 PM - 9 PM
More details to come.
STADIUM DR. & T ST. | 5 PM - 7 PM
More details to come.
The Eloise Kruger Gallery of Miniatures
RM 831 of Oldfather Hall on UNL City Campus | 3 PM - 6 PM
The Eloise Kruger Collection of Miniature Furnishings and Decorative Arts comprises about 20,000 pieces of 1:12 scale furniture and accessories of historically accurate American, English, French, and Asian designs make up this collection, and about 2,500 pieces are on display. The handmade miniatures were collected and commissioned by Eloise Kruger and made by renowned model artists.
130 S 13TH ST | 5:30 PM - 7 PM
More details to come.
124 S. 9TH ST. | 5 PM - 9 PM
September 3-28
Join us in September for ROCK, PAPER, GLITTER with mixed media by Mark Coyle and Carol Devall, jewelry by Rose Kotwas, and stained glass by Bonnie Vodehnal. On display Sept 3-28 with an opening reception on Friday, Sept 5 from 5-9pm.
1300 P Street | 5 PM - 8:30 PM
Meet local artists & makers, support small businesses, enjoy hand-baked goods, with live music by Micah Leamer.
Vendors:
Gilded Gecko | Jennifer Moon Artist | Daisy Fae's Crystals | Ken Caples Wood Sculptor | Artisan Ways | Cat's Eye Apothecary | Madison Chase Art | Luxe Links | Spindle Records | Bradley Bonbons | RP Prints | Rural Wandering Photography | SK's Crochet | Ape's Forgotten Treasure | Holistically Grateful Apothecary | Three Hounds Leather | Daily Rise Bakery | Frog Steel Forge | Hey You McCue Photography | Samantha Wicht Art | Shelly Belly Bakery | Refined & Co | Crafty Recreations | Legacy Glass | Tulip Lane Salts & Scrubbies
1155 Q ST. | 5 PM - 7 PM
The Great Plains Art Museum is open late on First Friday, Sept. 5, 5-7 p.m. with three exhibitions and light refreshments.
On View:
“Reflections of Our People, Our Ways, Our Land”
First-Floor Galleries
September 5–December 20, 2025
Twenty-five Otoe-Missouria artists, ranging from traditional to contemporary and working in any medium, were selected to co-create an art exhibition reflecting on healing, reconciliation, and reconnecting to the land. "Reflections of Our People" is a key part of the new Mellon-funded initiative “Walking in the Footsteps of our Ancestors: Re-Indigenizing Southeast Nebraska.” The initiative, a partnership between the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Oklahoma and the Center for Great Plains Studies, aims to promote healing and reconciliation in our region by reconnecting the Otoe-Missouria Tribe to one of their homelands in southeast Nebraska and educating non-Native people about the history and ongoing presence of the Otoe-Missouria and other Indigenous peoples in our region.
This will be the first exhibition to center Otoe-Missouria artists and their creative work. Jessica Moore Harjo, Ph.D. (Otoe-Missouria/Osage/Pawnee), is the curatorial director for this exhibition.
“Big Blue Reservation: Struggles and Hope of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe”
September 5–December 20, 2025
Mezzanine Gallery
One hundred seventy years ago, the Treaty of 1854 was passed by Congress, authorizing the move of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe to the Big Blue Reservation in Gage County, Nebraska. The Tribe watched as acre by acre of their land was sold off by the government and treaties were broken. In 1881, the Tribe was moved from this reservation to Red Rock, Oklahoma.
The Gage County Historical Society, along with the Otoe-Missouria Tribe, arranged a summer exhibit in 2024 to educate the public about this important part of American history. The Otoe-Missouria Tribe once called Southeast Nebraska home. Through the displacement of the people during the 1800s, they lost sacred traditions. This exhibit includes their voices of how that loss affected them into the present.
The Tribe and the Society wanted this exhibit to travel to other institutions to provide a cultural history of Nebraska, utilizing the Tribe’s perspective. As a result of this hard work, the Gage County Historical Society’s traveling exhibit will open in the Great Plains Art Museum’s mezzanine gallery on Sept. 5, 2025. This exhibit is on view in conjunction with “Reflections of Our People, Our Ways, Our Land.”
“Watershed: Elizabeth Rubendall Artist-in-Residence Amanda Maciuba”
April 4–September 20, 2025
Lower-Level Gallery
Maciuba’s work is an exploration of the visible and invisible marks of human hands on the landscape. Her practice investigates human relationships with the environment over time, forefronting the impacts of human-driven climate change. She exposes and reconsiders the layered histories of specific locations: from the geologic forces that shaped the land, to impacts of Western colonialism, to the current practices of development, destruction, and restoration by the local communities she interacts with every day. Bodies of water often act as anchors for Maciuba’s creative investigation. “Watershed” is an exhibition of prints, artist’s books, and installations that consider how water shapes human life and how our actions impact river environments in return.
1208 O ST. | 7 PM
More details to come.
Lincoln Marriott Cornhusker Hotel
333 S. 13th St. | 6 PM - 9 PM
More details to come.
701 P St SUITE 102 | 5 PM - 8 PM
More details to come.
Psychedelia Backlog, First Friday featured artist Rick Petty
131 CENTENNIAL MALL N | 5 PM - 7 PM
More details to come.
More details to come.
325 S 11th St. | 6 PM - 8 PM
Mark your calendars! Our very own @mr.drawthings is having an art show 🖤
1410 O St. | 7 PM - 10:30 PM
Check out their website and view all of their different studios for more details.
More details to come.
Saint Paul United Methodist Church
More details to come.
University of Nebraska students are invited to Sheldon to celebrate the beginning of the fall semester and Sheldon's new exhibitions through a special partnership with Campus Nightlife. Screen print a tote bag, decorate a terracotta pot, listen to live music and enjoy complimentary refreshments while supplies last.
5–7 PM, outdoors: Screen print a tote bag or paint a terracotta pot to hold a plant provided courtesy of UNL Horticulture Club. Enjoy live music and free Kona Ice.
7–8 PM, indoors: DJ Cayleen performs in Sheldon’s Great Hall. The galleries stay open an extra hour for students.
This event is free to University of Nebraska students with EventPass. Admission to Sheldon is free to all.
Tote bags, terra cotta pots, art supplies, and plants will be provided on a first come, first served basis until they are gone.
In case of inclement weather, Sheldon will still be open and DJ Cayleen will perform until 8 PM. Outdoor activities will be canceled.
Hosted by Sheldon Museum of Art and Campus Nightlife.
140 N 8TH ST | 6 PM - 8 PM
Community craft: Paper Portraits
1122 P ST | 5 PM - 7 PM
We’re keeping the fun going tonight at Threads 🎶🛍️
🚶♀️Stop in from 5–7pm for live music by @thejonathanleach and @malcolmpurp , sip on a drink while you shop, and don’t forget—our end of season sale is still happening! 🎉
We’ll be open until 7, see you soon!
"Loose Ends"
@anneburtonart
@matelrokkephotography
First Friday, September 5th from 7-10 with DJ ol' moanin'
210 Architecture Hall (HDR Pavilion Lobby) | 5 PM - 7 PM
More details to come.
First Friday Reception: Bob Hall Retrospective
Noted artist Bob Hall will offer a retrospective of abstracts and portraits September 5-28 at WallSpace-LNK. A First Friday reception honoring the artist is open to the public from 5-8 p.m. on September 5.
Hall has worked for decades in visual and dramatic arts. “I define my work as gestural abstraction,” Hall notes. “I seek to create landscapes of the mind, encouraging viewers to take a figurative walk through a field of abstract imagery, And I have done extensive portraiture.”
Starting September 6, viewers are invited to observe the artist's creative process first-hand, Wednesday-Sunday, 12:00-5
After a long artistic career Bob returned to UNL to pursue an MFA in 2014. His distinguished teaching award is part of a roster that includes both Mayor’s and Governor’s Arts Awards. Hall has shown work in New York and various museums and galleries across the region. He continues to be an active participant in Comic Conventions.
Have an art show in downtown Lincoln you'd like added to our monthly list?
Email Maia at maia@downtownlincoln.org.