The city of Lancaster, PA, has several unique streets and buildings downtown. One of the areas that have become quite popular in the past decade is Gallery Row, located on Prince Street. On this stretch, you will find some of the best galleries when it comes to the art scene in Lancaster County.
Celebrating art
To attract people to the area, the art community came up with the concept of First Friday. Every first Friday of the month, the city turns into a spectacular art scene. Over the years it has become a huge hit among locals, especially among millennials. First Friday is not limited to Gallery Row, but the entire city center of Lancaster becomes a place where art and culture are celebrated.
While walking through the streets of the city, you can find special exhibitions and performances along the way. Independent stores and eateries complement the art galleries, museums, performing groups, symphony orchestra, art college, and everyone that makes up the unique art community in Lancaster, PA.
Variety
On Gallery Row, you'll find everything from abstract to naturalistic. Some of the artworks you can find on this street is Liz Hess Gallery, featuring the fine art originals, prints, and notecards of local artist Liz Hess. You might have seen the red umbrella which shows up in most of her works. Every year the local artist travels to paint and be artistically inspired, creating collections from her trips.
There's also CityFolk Gallery. The name defines Karen Anderer’s love of both Fine Art and Folk Art and how they wonderfully co-exist. With several member artists and exhibits, this gallery is continuously changing.
Freiman Stoltzfus Gallery features the work of Freiman Stoltzfus, a well-traveled Lancaster native. He was born into an Amish-Mennonite family, being the youngest of six children. Early on, his artistic ability was recognized and encouraged, especially by his mother. He began depicting the people and landscapes of the Amish community. The local artist is inspired by his travels, music, nature, architecture, and the poetry of flowers. Freiman Stoltzfus Gallery has been voted the favorite art gallery by readers of the local newspaper for several years.
Christiane David Gallery is lively and colorful. With a personality as vibrant as her paintings, walking into the gallery of Christiane David is like stepping into and being mesmerized by a world of color. Her paintings are bold, and every single piece of art in this gallery is a dramatization of color, texture, and dimension.
Art with purpose
Perhaps the most beautiful of them all is Friendship Heart Gallery & Studio, located on North Water Street. This gallery is a creative arts studio for artists with developmental and intellectual disabilities and/or artists with autism. Here, they are celebrating personalities and talents through free expression and collaboration.
For over 13 years, artists have been encouraged to share their innermost thoughts, feelings, and dreams with the world through their creativity. Over seventy local and unique artists work with both professional instructors and volunteers, to create and sell artistic masterpieces while developing a sense of purpose, value, freedom, and joy.
The vision statement at Friendship Heart Gallery & Studio is Expressing Capabilities.
Walkable
Local or tourist, the art scene is Lancaster City in worth taking a look at. You are likely to get the most out of it if you come on the first Friday of each month when the downtown area turns into a lively gallery, with activities and performances, both for young and old. The city is walkable, so you will get the most out of the experience by parking the car and using your feet.