Dayton Art Galleries, Museums, Supplies & More

Best art galleries Dayton museums supplies classes your area

Over the next few minutes we will be breaking down everything we know about art in Dayton in full detail and our first section will fully cover the best art galleries and museums near you.

After that we will get into a variety of other topics like art supply stores, events, festivals, dealers, appraisers, walking tours, local sculptures and statues, art classes, studios for rent, and the top frame shops in your area.

You can jump straight to any section that interests you most by using the table of contents on the left and we are also including a Dayton art map with all of the spots we mention throughout the post pinned on it.

We have written quite a few other posts on Midwestern cities that you can check out if interested.

Best Art Galleries & Museums In Dayton

If you want to check out the best art galleries and museums in Dayton you can head to:

The Dayton Art Institute began as the Museum of Arts in 1919 and was originally located downtown at the intersection of Monument Avenue and St. Clair Street situated in the majestic Kemper mansion which was demolished in 1945. The museum started off as a modest art school with a little art collection but the name was changed to the Dayton Art Institute in 1927 to reflect the art school’s expanding status in your area. The institute also hosts Oktoberfest each September which is their biggest fundraiser, just don’t show up on Monday or Tuesday because they will be closed.

The Contemporary Dayton is open from 11am to 6pm Wednesday through Saturday and 11am to 4pm on Sunday andwas formed in 1991 by a group of local-area artists, art lovers, and visual professionals who perceived a need for increased public connection with regional creatives.

For an emerging gallery that was founded in 2018 by two artists with no gallery experience with the aim that their efforts will benefit art and the community check out Dana L. Wiley Gallery.

The Edward A. Dixon Gallery is open from noon to 8pm Thursday through Saturday specializing in international fine art display, education, appreciation, and sale while the art in the gallery can be modern, contemporary, experimental, temporary, or any other kind of that has yet to be named.

Dutoit Gallery is a co-op art gallery that exhibits engaging relevant work in the fields of painting, photography, sculpture, installation, and fiber art that was founded on February 11th, 2016.

K12 Gallery & Tejas is a regional visual arts center that is open from 9:30am to 6pm Monday through Friday and 10am to 2pm on Saturday focusing on innovative visual arts programs for people of all ages. Art lessons, in-school and after-school hands-on making programs, summer art camps, field excursions, professional exhibitions, public displays, workshops, community outreach, and parties for all ages are among the programs offered while you can visit their current exhibitions, sales gallery, and studios to see them at work.

There are six gallery spaces in the Robert and Elaine Stein Galleries which are open Tuesday through Saturday. On the main floor of the Creative Arts Center you will find The Stein Collection Gallery and the Lower Gallery while on the second floor you can check out the Eugene and Jean Cantelupe Gallery, Project Space, and a video gallery.

Watercolor, acrylic, oil painting, digital art, photography, mixed media, printing, pottery, jewelry, fiber, and sculpture are all represented by 16 artists at the ARTery gallery which is open from 8:30am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday and 11am to 4pm on weekends.

The Orphanage Gallery is open from 10am to 4pm Sunday through Friday and 11am to 5pm on Saturday and is distinct in that they use a “Pop-Up” approach for all gallery exhibits. The Orphanage Gallery is located in the Front Street Buildings providing a platform for recognized and emerging artists to exhibit their work.

The Art Galleries at Sinclair actively promotes student learning and enriches the cultural environment of the Miami Valley by holding gallery exhibits highlighting the work of professional artists, staff, and students.

Founded in 1986 Rosewood Gallery is a program of Rosewood Arts Centre which is a component of the City of Kettering’s Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Department. The gallery opens at 10am every day but Sunday with a focus on displaying modern art by local, regional, and national artists at their over 1,800 square feet of exhibition space where they also host four group exhibitions and eight solo shows each year.

Welker Studio was built in 2017 and is inspired by the Water Lilies by Monet in the Art Institute, the ‘fractalized’ Chimu Mummy Mask, and the city’s river heritage.

Materials & Supplies Near You

These art stores are good places to buy new supplies or materials:

United Art and Education has outlets in Indiana and Ohio and their wide dynamic product offering comprises a variety of art, learning, and creative things that appeal to individuals of all ages.

For almost 40 years Cornell Studio Supply has provided ceramic equipment, pottery materials, excellent service, and free delivery.

You probably already know what chain stores like the Joann and Dollar Tree have to offer but if not Dollar Tree is a great place to buy basic cheap art supplies near you.

Shows & Events

There are also some fun creative shows, events, and festivals in your area:

The Blues Festival brings together people of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy free high-quality music and celebrate a common sense of community.

The Springboro Arts Council established ARTFest on Main in 2018 to promote and enhance the growth of the Historic Downtown Springboro District as a focus of economic, social, and cultural activity. ARTFest on Main includes exquisite art from 80-100 creators, music and entertainment, a children’s tent with activities for all ages, food, beer, and wine vendors, and the 2nd annual Dinner on Main fundraiser event.

Bringing together diverse people to celebrate the richness of the African American experience via art, education, and health-related activities is the goal of The African American Cultural Festival (DAACF).

Oktoberfest has been an institution since 1971 and is the museum’s greatest annual fundraiser making essential to everything they do at the Dayton Art Institute. The annual three-day fall festival is held on the fourth full weekend in September.

Every month you can also check out the First Friday event at various galleries and creative spaces downtown.

Art Dealers & Appraisers

Local art dealers and appraisers are places to find new unique pieces or learn the value of something you already own:

Front Street encompasses three industrial-sized buildings and is brimming with inventiveness and vitality. Explore the local art studios, workshops, and creative spaces of their painters, sculptors, photographers, jewelers, woodworkers, and others.

Inlight Studios offers unique prints of any size from your own phone, Ipad, or any other medium as they print photos on canvas then stretch them to any size that is accessible.

Walking Tours

When the weather is nice walk around outside and see unique art on one of these tours in your area:

The local First Friday art crawl starts off each month and includes gallery exhibit openings as well as a range of entertainment alternatives such as street performances and roaming entertainers, arts demos, live music, dining and shopping specials, and more.

Sculptures & Statues

Framing art supply stores Dayton lessons near you studios

Another fun thing to do on a sunny day would be to check out some of these statues and sculptures:

  • Flyover at 143 S Main St
  • Fluid Dynamics Sculpture at E 5th St
  • The Common Good Sculpture at 284-298 E 2nd St
  • 1905 Wright Flyer III Sculpture at Monument Ave
  • Kennedy’s Eternal Flame at E Stewart St
  • Synchronicity III Sculpture at Moraine Ridge Ln, Kettering

The Flyover sculpture near you was made by artist David Black and is located on Main Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets downtown depicting the Wright Brothers’ initial 12-second flight.

Jon Barlow Hudson made the Fluid Dynamics Sculpture in 2013 on the idea of fluid dynamics due to the site’s history as a canal in the late 1800’s.

The Common Good Sculpture was created by Jon Barlow Hudson in 2017.

Depicting the third Flyer built by the Wright Brothers to continue their flying experiments at Huffman Prairie within the confines of what is now Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is what you get from The 1905 Wright Flyer III.

Kennedy’s Eternal Flame is a statue commemorating President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) as Bill Thompson’s original cement and marble sculpture was put up in 1964 and John Leon was able to recast it in bronze in 1998.

Jon Barlow Hudson built the Synchronicity III Sculpture in 2002.

Dayton Art Classes

Whether you are trying to find private lessons or group classes for kids, teens, or adults some of the best Dayton art schools can be found at:

Mike Elsass is a nationally acclaimed artist whose work can be found in over 2,000 private collections and he is well-known in the local art world as a creative force who spurred a creative renaissance movement.

The only grade 7-12 public school in the Dayton City School District is Stivers School for the Arts where students enter through auditions in the seventh grade and commit to the complete six-year program. Stivers offers a robust academic program that consistently delivers test scores that far outperform those of the district’s other schools.

Picture Perfect Paint Parties is a DIY studio for both social and corporate events that provides studio, mobile, take home paint & craft kits, zoom parties, events, and other services. It is fair to say these lessons might be a bit more casual than some of the others.

The largest company in the paint and sip industry is Painting with a Twist which was founded in 2007 and they host live painting events in their studio locations which are complemented by wine or drinks. If the wine and drinks didn’t fill you in these are going to be more casual than most.

Studios For Rent Near You

Willis Bing Davis Art Studio at 1135 W Third Street is a non-profit 501 organization that provides art education and workshops to at-risk youth and striving persons in the region. Willis “Bing” Davis who us a renowned artist and instructor in the African American creator scene formed it.

You can also try to rent out local art studios at K12 Gallery & Tejas or around Front Street.

Framing

When you need to find Dayton art framing head to:

Art Frame Gallery is a family-owned business that provides custom frames near you using environmentally friendly materials, art restoration by the owner, and sales of various types of artworks ranging from posters to genuine oil paintings.

The House of 10,000 Picture Frames has been serving your area for over 40 years as Robert Lehman founded the store in 1971 and his son Bill Heath took over in 1987 and continues to run it now.

For a full-service custom frame shop as well as print-on-demand services consider Framed Space.

Custom Frame Services provides innovative frame solutions ranging from simple to complicated.

In the gallery at Dayton Art Solutions you may browse over 10,000 art prints, canvas, and decorative wall decor.

In the past we have also written guides about:

Have Fun Enjoying The Dayton Art Scene

Hopefully we did a fair enough job of covering the full art scene near you. We listed the best galleries, museums, events, shows, supply stores, dealers, appraisers, walking tours, sculptures, classes, studios, and framers in your area that you may want to check out.

Those who are still reading this probably love the local art as much as we do. If so go ahead and use the comments to share your own tips or to let us know if you think we got anything wrong.

We hope you enjoy your time at the best Dayton art galleries, museums, supply stores, or doing whatever else you plan to do with the info.

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This post and all of the posts on our site are edited by Dan Soloman who has been a huge fan of art since he was a little kid. His mother was a good local artist, and she taught him the trade from a very early age. He studied art and its history in both high school and college, has worked at multiple galleries, and recently has begun creating and editing online content for this site and some other online media platforms.

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