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Four people at an art exhibit, chatting and looking at the various framed artworks hanging on a white wall.
Four people at an art exhibit, chatting and looking at the various framed artworks hanging on a white wall.

Explore local artists' work Explore local artists' work

in studios, galleries, shops & cafés throughout downtown Peterborough, Ontario.

Home Events Art First Friday Peterborough

First Friday Peterborough

The first Friday of every month, First Friday Peterborough presents their monthly art crawl event around downtown Peterborough. A self-guided tour of downtown galleries, studios, shops and cafés, each month’s event offers something new to experience.

Where art meets community: a joyful, volunteer-run – and sometimes spontaneous and messy – happening

Showcasing local artists at participating venues, the First Friday art crawl provides a welcoming energy and encourages everyone to come and enjoy the multifaceted, creative culture of downtown Peterborough. Each of the gallery, studio and shop owners go out of their way to ensure the vibe is light, friendly and completely unpretentious.

“We celebrate inclusivity, support for local artists, the diversity of artistic expression, and accessibility in every event.”

– First Friday Peterborough

The best way to experience the art crawl is to set out on foot and explore. Specific venues participate each month, curated from submissions – so every month is different and you never know what you’ll stumble across.

Downtown Peterborough’s monthly art crawl

Largely volunteer-run, First Friday Peterborough (FFPTBO) is a monthly, coordinated art crawl event showcasing local artists at downtown galleries, studios, shops and cafés. It welcomes and encourages members of the public to engage with Peterborough’s arts and culture scene by presenting arts events for free. It is a community-centred, joyful, inclusive, and sometimes spontaneous and messy happening. Check out their FAQ page for more info.

A small group of people at an art exhibit. Various artworks depicting sunflowers hang on the white wall. There is a small circular table with sunflowers in a vase and a small canvas on a stand, plus flyers/pamphlets.

(Photo credits: First Friday Peterborough.)

Close-up of a display of ceramic cups and containers, painted in pale salmon and blue, set on a pale blue purple table cloth.

(Photo credits: First Friday Peterborough.)

Abstract painting of two orange animal creatures, with black stripes and illustrations of hands in their mid-section, in curved positions above and below a pink house. Plants, flowers and strawberries reach up from the bottom.

(Photo credits: First Friday Peterborough.)

 

Event details

Hosted by: First Friday Peterborough (FFPTBO), with support from the Downtown Business Improvement Area, & local landlords & businesses

Type of event: monthly art crawl event

Participating locations: Please see the Schedule to view the participants & map for the month

Artist submissions: Find submission info here 

Date: The first Friday of every month (e.g., the event for August, 2025 will be on August 1)

Start time: 6:00 PM ET

Duration: 5 hours

Location: Downtown Peterborough, ON, Canada – please see the Schedule to view the participants & map

Video: Watch the video

Contact details: First Friday Peterborough, Info@FirstFridayPtbo.com, firstfridayptbo.com

 

Accessibility: They strive to make the event as accessible and inclusive as possible. While not all venues or artists can control the accessibility of their locations, over half of the consistent venues are accessible every month. They do their best to accurately list the accessible locations on their monthly event map. Please refer to the individual shop, gallery and restaurant venues.