ART IN THE CITY
CELEBRATE THE ARTS!
Discover the visual and performing arts experience in downtown Dayton at Art in the City, presented by AES Ohio, on Saturday, August 2, from 1 to 7 p.m.!
Art in the City's full day of offerings will include a variety of Dayton's best artistic talent - from painting and drawing to spoken word, poetry and dance - all together filling the streets of downtown Dayton and multiple stages with:
- Live performances (dance, theater, music & more)
- Live demonstrations (painting, sculpting, and other art-making)
- Hands-on & interactive activities
- Art Full Circle: A Fine Arts Showcase in the Dayton Arcade
- Patio performance parties
- Local art bazaars
- A Family Zone with art activities for kids and families
- NEW THIS YEAR: Block Party St. Clair (S. St. Clair St. between Third and Fourth sts.) including local Chalk Walk artists (see details below)
- NEW THIS YEAR: The Great Dayton Cake Off - Bakers show off their edible masterpieces and creative decorating skills at our first ever cake off! Vote for your favorite confectionery creation to help crown Dayton's Best Cake Artist
- A Juried Art Show
(sponsored by Dayton.com and the Dayton Society of Artists)
Find art everywhere!
Artists and performers of all kinds will be sharing their talent on stages and sidewalks throughout Art in the City. Stages operating throughout the event footprint will feature music, spoken word, dance, theatre, and more. Street performances and other activities are planned between each stage and active area so visitors can easily follow the entertainment from one of the following art hubs to another.
COMING SOON: Download the complete Art in the City event guide, map, and schedule when it's posted here to start making your plan to see as much as possible during the event!
Art Hubs & Hot Spots
The Dayton Arcade
Art Full Circle: A Fine Arts Showcase - Twelve rotating artists perform demonstrations of their respective mediums
Dayton Metro Library
Dance performances – See dancers of all kinds take the stage. Participate in a multitude of hands-on activities
Schuster Center Wintergarden
Interactive Dance Stage – Pick up some steps and learn a variety of dance styles, along with a sketching workshop from Urban Sketchers Dayton and an Instrument Petting Zoo
Levitt Pavilion Dayton
Family Zone – Activities for all ages including a bubble zone, face painting, hula hooping, music, and more!
Courthouse Square
Live music, food trucks galore, and grab a DORA beverage! Play giant games and get your face painted while you're here!
The International Peace Museum
Spoken word, poetry, healing and meditation with relaxing live performances
Oregon District
Art Bazaar on 5th – More than 40 local artists share their goods for sale and host live demonstrations. Participate in hands-on activities, too!
Dayton Convention Center
Juried Art Show, live music and art demos, free caricature art, a photo booth, and more!
Block Party on St. Clair Street
Featuring the Chalk Walk competition
Fire Blocks District and St. Clair Lofts Businesses
Art pop-ups and street entertainment – Live musicians fill the street with sound as you travel Art in the City
Make your own creative mark!
Aspiring artists and art lovers of all ages are invited to get involved with hands-on community projects. Projects selected and funded through the 2025 Experiential Grant Program were chosen with YOUR participation in mind!
Chalking Mural Panels with Ginny Baughman & Dayton Society of Artists
Chalk Walk Block Party on S. St. Clair St.
Don’t miss out on the Chalk Walk Block Party on S. St. Clair Street near Merchant’s Row! You’ll be able to see stunning chalk murals being created live on giant 8’x8’ cubes by talented local artists. While you’re there, vote for your favorite masterpiece! Ginny Baughman worked with the Dayton Society of Artists director Jo Bell and carpenter Nathanael Campbell to build the cubes. Ginny got the idea from years of creating chalk designs in various venues and suggested that Dayton try to add upright boards, like she had seen in other venues, for artists to use.
Playwright’s Race with The Human Race Theatre Company
Dayton Convention Center
30 creatives, 24 hours, 5 short plays! The Human Race Theatre Company brings you bite-sized theatre that is fast, funny and fresh! Join us as some new faces take on the Playwrights Race Challenge for 2025.
Rhythms in the City: An Interactive Belly Dance Experience with Belly Dance by Bronwen
Schuster Center Wintergarden Stage
Join Professional Belly Dancer Bronwen and her troupe for Rhythms In the City, an interactive dance celebration! Learn fun and fabulous moves to some of the most popular rhythms in Middle Eastern Dance, try on a hip scarf, and shimmy! All are welcome to dance, take photos, and enjoy!
Who Wants to Be a Dancer? with Dayton Performing Arts Alliance
Schuster Center Wintergarden Stage
Experience dance differently. Who Wants to be a Dancer? is an interactive, fun, and engaging game show format that allows the audience to explore the world of dance through balletic movements, vocabulary, audience participation, question-answers, and mini-performance variations led and presented by Dayton Ballet Studio Company dancers.
Put Me in Your Painting Photo Op with Tiffany Clark
Outside the Schuster Center
Ever have the dream you could step inside of a painting? Well today, you can. Come witness a living model being painted into a free-standing mural and choose to become part of the painting yourself. Wear painted costumes, pose with the painted model, and become a living work of art. Take a photo to share this memorable experience with friends and family!
Harmony and Thriving: Ink and Wash Brush Painting Workshop with Yufeng Wang
Dayton Metro Library Opportunity Space
Learn the ancient art of East Asian brush painting techniques with live demonstration and workshops led by Yufeng Wang, Ph.D. Limited space available. Schedule TBD.
Spray Your Way: A Tape & Spray Art Experience with Elexus Renner
Levitt Pavilion Family Zone
Get ready to spray, splash, and create! This vibrant watercolor spray art station lets you experiment with color, stencils, and motion to make your own one-of-a-kind masterpiece.
Coloring Book Cube with The Mosaic Institute of Greater Dayton
Chalk Walk Block Party on S. St. Clair Street
Join the Mosaic Institute to paint in your very own section of a giant coloring book mural. All ages and abilities are welcome to participate.
Glow in the Dark Painting Creativity Zone with Picture Perfect Paint Parties
Levitt Pavilion Family Zone
This immersive glow-in-the-dark art tent creates an unforgettable experience where creativity literally shines. Designed for kids, teens, and adults, our 10x20 blackout tent transforms daylight into a glowing creative zone using UV black lights, fluorescent paints, and fun, safe materials.
Small Succulent Terrarium of Small Closed Terrarium with Now & Zen
Now & Zen DIY Studio (121 E. Third St.)
Join Now & Zen for a free pop-up terrarium experience! You'll get to design your own mini succulent terrarium using a variety of fun embellishments—and take it home to enjoy. Everything is provided at no cost, thanks to the festival sponsors. Stop by, get creative, and dig into some hands-on fun!
Buttons & Baubles Make & Take with Dayton Sewing Collaborative
Dayton Metro Library
Stop by the Dayton Sewing Collaborative's booth to make & take a small textile art project using recycled/rescued textiles and supplies. Create pom-pom monsters! Make a bracelet or keychain! Show off your creativity making an art square! So many family-friendly projects to choose from, you're guaranteed to find a project to show your creativity!
Underwater, a Fiber Art Installation with Leesa Haapupuro
Dayton Metro Library Opportunity Space
Try your hand at wet felting! Add your efforts to a community fiber installation titled “Underwater.” Feeling overwhelmed? The process of meshing wool fibers can be a calming experience.
This Is Us 3D with Dayton Art Institute
Dayton Metro Library
Dayton isn't Dayton without YOU! Using 3D pens, visitors at this booth will create a minimalistic representation of themselves as we celebrate how unique individuals come together to create community.
Instrument Petting Zoo with Dayton Performing Arts Alliance
Schuster Center Wintergarden
The instrument petting zoo allows those that are curious a chance to explore, to touch, hold, and even try to play different instruments they might not normally encounter. There will be a variety of percussion, string , brass, and woodwind instruments with a focus on exploration and discovery rather than achieving a perfect sound.
Spin-Art T-Shirts with Front Street
Levitt Pavilion Family Zone
Front Street loves engaging with Art in the City guests at our FREE spin art t-shirt booth! Guests are invited to select up to three different colors to create their own unique design! T-shirts get spun on our handcrafted drum right in front of them! T-shirts dry in the sunny grass lot behind us while guests shop and explore other surrounding vendors.
Birds of a Feather Flock Together with Delora Buford Buchanan: Bags, Rags, & Brooms
Levitt Pavilion Family Zone
Come to the Levitt Family Zone to get creative and learn how to make a variety of birds, like penguins & parrots out of brown bags, plastic bags or water bottles. Here you can also make beautiful fabric wrapped bracelets with Peggathee Crutchfield and fold paper into bird themed wallets with Jacobee Buchanan. There will be a larger than life sized bird on site that Delora created from recycled objects, as well as murals of painted birds.
Block Party on St. Clair
Visit local artists as they create stunning, larger than life chalk murals on giant 8'x8' cubes at the Block Party on St. Clair. Vote for your favorite - The winning artists with the most votes will receive a grand prize of $150!
Guided Tours
Sign up for a walking tour of downtown history or architecture, held during Art in the City. The tours are free, but advance registration is required and space is limited. Sign up at the links below:
Architecture Tour
Join Alex Jackson from Dayton Architecture for a 60-minute walking tour of downtown architecture during Art in the City. The tour will begin inside the Victoria Theatre with a brief tour of the lobby and orchestra before heading out on the streets and ending at Deneau Tower.
REGISTER FOR THE ARCHITECTURE TOUR
History Tour
Andrew Walsh, author of Lost Dayton, Ohio and writer at Dayton Vistas, will lead a 60-minute-long walking tour highlighting downtown Dayton's exciting and interesting history. The tour will start at Deneau Tower and end at THE NEON movie theater before heading to the Oregon District. Read some of Andrew's writing at DaytonVistas.com.
Art in the City Juried Art Show
August 1-15
Starting on August 1, you can vote for your favorite piece of artwork submitted by local artists. These pieces will be displayed in the newly renovated Dayton Convention Center, as part of the AES Ohio Summer in the City - Art in the City event. Voting will be open until noon on Friday, Aug. 15 via Dayton.com.
Art in the City is a program of the Downtown Dayton Partnership, and the Juried Art Show is organized by the Dayton Society of Artists.
SUPPORT
Art in the City is a program of the Downtown Dayton Partnership, presented by AES Ohio and sponsored by Montgomery County, the Ohio Arts Council, PNC, and Dayton Live.
Supporting sponsors include the Dayton Daily News, Key-Ads, Bob Ross Auto Group, Grunder Landscaping Co., and the Jack W. & Sally D. Eichelberger Foundation.