Over the next few minutes we will be breaking down everything we know about art in Omaha 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 an Omaha art map with all of the spots we mention throughout the post pinned on it.
Click here to read more of our posts on the Midwest.
Best Art Galleries & Museums In Omaha
If you want to check out the best art galleries and museums in Omaha you can head to:
Sarah H. Joslyn generously donated the Joslyn Art Museum to the citizens of Omaha in memory of her husband, George A. Joslyn. Since 1931 the museum has been presenting art and creative experiences to visitors of all ages and today they keep regular hours of 10am to 4pm Wednesday through Sunday.
Lewis Art Gallery is open from 9am to 6pm on weekdays but they are closed on Sunday and close at 3pm on Saturday celebrating and it is one of the most established galleries near you recently celebrating its 50th year in existence. Carolyn Lewis founded this thriving business and it is still family owned and run today by Carolyn’s daughter and son-in-law Julie and Joe Wynn.
Modern Arts Midtown (MAM) is open from 11am to 6pm Tuesday through Saturday and was formed to showcase renowned artists near you who are experimenting with controversial subject matter in a variety of mediums.
Dedicated to enhancing the greater metro area’s creative culture, The Union for Contemporary Art gives direct assistance to local artists and raising the exposure of contemporary art genres in the community.
Split Gallery has toured galleries in your area, talked to artists and enthusiasts, and considered how a gallery may better serve artists during the previous several years.
Original works in oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, pencil, photography, sculpture, pottery, wood, paper, and jewelry including silversmith, lampwork, and fused glass may be found at the Passageway Gallery.
The Hillmer Art Gallery opens at 9am on weekdays and 8:30am on Saturday and can be found on the campus of the College of Saint Mary and it is well-known for its displays of national and local works including those of students. Paintings, drawings, sculpture and ceramic works, folk art, photography, and other media have been exhibited in gallery shows.
Maple St. Construct is a place where people can make things as they are a diverse community of artists, architects, and a grassroots movement. Maple St. Construct is an experimental studio, residence, and gallery established, produced, and managed by a creative-run nonprofit corporation.
The Old Omaha Association maintains and makes the Garden of the Zodiac Gallery open to the public from noon to 8pm Tuesday through Saturday and until 6pm on Sunday. The theoretical location of the earth in respect to the other celestial bodies is represented by the center of the little pool in the garden which is filled with numerous flowers and plants in the summer.
Gallery 1516 is open from 11am to 5pm Wednesday through Sunday described as the region’s single most impressive gallery space by The Reader in 2019 after having originally built in 1883 as a two-story livery stable. Stalls for horses were on the ground floor while tack, feed, and buggies were on the second. International Harvester Company purchased the stable in 1925 and modified it to sell and repair farm equipment.
Through an international residency program, exhibits, and educational activities the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts promotes the development, presentation, and understanding of contemporary art.
Jun Kaneko, Tony Hepburn, Lorne Falk, and Ree Schonlau founded Alternative Worksite in 1981 as an Artist-in-Industry initiative that put artists at industrial locations.
Curtis Dall’s creative interests have varied from naval scenes, foreign landscapes and seascapes, portraits and still life, to his present oil and pastel paintings of American landscapes, Western Art themes, and wildlife.
Materials & Supplies Near You
These local art stores should have all of the materials and supplies you need:
Mangelsen’s provides the community with a delightful and sometimes strange location to shop for interesting and unusual goods. Discover something new in their several sections, which include crafts, art supplies, home décor, candles, a year-round Christmas store, giftware, bridal, textiles, gourmet foods, the prop room, and party items.
Blick has a wide selection of art materials, craft tools, and one-of-a-kind gift products providing the best variety for professional artists, instructors, and students alike.
We bet you already know what chain stores like Michaels, Joann, and Hobby Lobby have to offer in your area.
Shows & Events
Some of the top art shows and events in Omaha would be:
Amplify Arts presents Artist INC Omaha which has serviced approximately 90 artists of many disciplines for over 5 years. The Artist INC seminar may eventually be traced back to the 1990’s Culture Wars and the ensuing government funding cuts for American artists.
Rockbrook Village Art Fair has become a neighborhood fixture for creatives to display their one-of-a-kind ability and art.
Gloria Mathews organized the inaugural Rockbrook Village Art Fair in 1971 which included 15 local artists.
The Omaha Summer Arts Festival features 135 of the country’s best visual artists with a lineup of national, regional, and local multicultural music acts, a hands-on children’s section with an exclusive kids-only art-buying experience, a young artist exhibition, a film festival, and much more.
Art Dealers & Appraisers
When you want to find some new unique works or figure out the true value of something visit art dealers and appraisers like:
Anderson O’Brien Fine Art is committed to promoting local and national visual artists while providing project design, delivery, installation, and consultancy services for both business and residential clients. Their gallery near you features a diverse selection of modern and contemporary art, sculpture, fine art, and photography.
Norma Hilt founded the ARTicles Gallery in 1982 and today every one of their staff has at least 40 years of expertise in the art, frame, and/or restoration industries. They are involved with the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce and are also a member of the IFMA Midlands Chapter.
Auma Art is a form of expression for the emotions and they want to transform the world one canvas at a time as they hope to offer joy and happiness to everyone who sees their art.
Passageway Gallery also sells art.
Walking Tours
These local art walking tours can be a lot of fun on a nice day:
During the summer of 2011 the National Trust for Historic Preservation performed a historic preservation evaluation in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. The outcomes of this effort served as the impetus for the formation of Restoration Exchange which offers art walks to both residents and visitors.
Benson First Friday began in June 2012 after months of preparation and study by organizers Alex Jochim and Jamie Hardy. Held the first Friday of each month from 6pm to 9pm this free event celebrates local creativity in the historic Old Market neighborhood where you can visit participating galleries to explore fresh perspectives, meet the artists, and perhaps take home a one-of-a-kind creation.
The Southwest Iowa Art Tour brings regional artists to the public’s attention and takes place during the third week of September.
Sculptures & Statues
You may also be interested in taking photos of these statues and sculptures:
Hammerjack at 4411 S 96th St
General George Crook at 5730 N 30th St
Imagine at 8200 Dodge St
Pioneer Courage Park at 1601 Dodge St
Tree of Life at 24th & L St
Black Angel Statue at 623 N 2nd St, Council Bluffs
Looking Up at 4250 River’s Edge Pkwy, Council Bluffs
In 2007 a bronze statue of General Crook was erected in the grounds of the General Crook House at Fort Omaha.
Pioneer Courage was designed by sculptors Blair Buswell of Highland, Utah, and Ed Fraughton of South Jordan, Utah, and was installed over a decade ago depicting four pioneer families and their covered wagons moving westward from Nebraska.
Greeting visitors to the city’s historic downtown The Tree of Life has emblems hung from the branches symbolizing cross-cultural elements that may be seen in the design motifs of four nationalities traditionally linked with South Omaha those being Czech, Polish, Croatian, and Mexican.
The Black Angel Statue in your area honors Ruth Anne Dodge, General Dodge’s widow, and recalls her death in 1916. Daniel Chester French who also created the famous seated Abraham Lincoln inside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. and the Minuteman in Concord, Massachusetts sculpted the Black Angel.
Omaha Art Classes
Whether you are trying to find private lessons or group classes for kids, teens, or adults the best Omaha art schools are:
Arts For All (AFA) is a non-profit arts education organization committed to making the arts accessible and affordable to everyone that was created by Judith Mallory in 2006 and their initial class facility in Omaha serviced just 40 students in its first year. AFA evolved to serve over 3,400 kids annually at 13 different locations around the metro region.
The University of Nebraska at Omaha’s (UNO) College of Communication, Fine Arts, and Media (CFAM) was reorganized in the spring of 2015 into three different schools: the School of the Arts, the School of Communication, and the School of Music after being originally founded in 2005 on a great liberal arts heritage.
The 402 Lesson Studio is a non-profit initiative made possible by the 402 Arts Collective whose members were enthusiastic in teaching others their skills and crafts and began collaborating to establish what is now known as the 402 Lesson Studio.
The centerpiece of the Hot Shops Art Center is comprised of four Hot Studios and each of them specialize in a variety of flaming disciplines to form their artistic creations which need thousands of degrees to create. These studios distinguish their organization as a one-of-a-kind learning environment for the most difficult visual arts.
Two Keys Creative Studios offers kids, teenagers, and adult’s one-of-a-kind meaningful and engaging artistic experiences.
Studios For Rent Near You
You can try to rent an art studio in your area at:
The Citylight Arts Project exists to make more place for the arts in Benson by enabling the next generation of creatives and art lovers to study and produce in a friendly inclusive environment.
Harvester Artspace Lofts first opened in 2010 and is a 36-unit complex with 5,320 square feet of commercial space for arts-friendly commercial use that also features a flourishing coffee shop, meeting space, and an award-winning florist.
Framing
Some of the top places for art framing in Omaha are:
The Frame Service in Midtown has been managed by owner Rebecca Boylan for over twenty-five years serving as a custom framing store as well as a gallery for locally created art, furniture, ceramics, glass, and more.
You can rely on the skilled personnel at Visions Custom Framing for superior construction, professional installation, and exceptional customer service.
Since 1986 Malibu Custom Framing has been locally owned and provides sophisticated, professional, and imaginative custom picture frame services while shadowboxes, jerseys, certificates, fabrics, canvas stretching, and other items are available.
For the past 40 plus years the Ginger’s Hang-Up custom frame and art gallery in your area has been a great option and today their third-generation company is well-known for producing bespoke frames that are beautifully designed and expertly manufactured.
You just learned about all of the best art galleries, museums, events, shows, supply stores, dealers, appraisers, walking tours, sculptures, classes, studios, and framers near you.
Anyone that made it this far probably knows a lot about the local art scene. Feel free to share your own tips, or to let us know if you noticed anything incorrect in the comments.
We hope you enjoy your time at the best Omaha art galleries, museums, supply stores, or doing whatever else you plan to do with the info.
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.
