Downtown Dayton Partnership

Sandra Aska, Andy Holliday, & Paul Rienzo Exhibits
2026-02-19, 2026-02-18 | Galleries at Sinclair College, 444 W. Third St., Bldg. 13, Dayton, OH, 45402
The Sinclair Community College Art Department is pleased to present works by Sandra Aska, Andy Holliday, and Paul Rienzo in the Burnell R. Roberts Triangle Gallery and Works on Paper Gallery. Capturing moments of perplexity, quirkiness, thoughtfulness, and beauty, Aska gives clay life through her figurative sculptures. Toolmarks and fingerprints left in the works imbue an expressionistic looseness to the forms. She works intuitively by allowing each form to emerge from the clay and invites the viewer to offer their own interpretation. Holliday’s non-representational prints stem from images that are observed, recorded, and repeatedly reprocessed through systems to alter them. Exploring the idea of attention as a measure of value, he gathers an archive of media to process, builds complexity, and subsequently creates the final work through traditional printmaking techniques. Rienzo’s photorealistic still life paintings explore archetypal themes found across cultures and historical periods. The depicted objects are laden with symbolic power and when combined with others from differing cultures and eras, explore the idea of untold myths and interconnectivity. There will be a virtual artist talk via Zoom on February 20, 2026, at 12pm. Visit www.sinclair.edu/artgalleries for details. The exhibitions will be on display from February 10 – March 13, 2026. Galleries are located on the fourth floor of building 13 (located at West Fifth and Perry Streets). The galleries are free and open to the public from 8am–6pm Monday–Friday and 9am–12pm Saturdays. Free and accessible parking is located in Parking Lot K.

RESILIENCE
2026-02-19 | Edward A. Dixon Gallery, 222 N. St. Clair St., Dayton, OH, 45402
Resilience opens at the Edward A. Dixon Gallery on February 5th featuring several local artists ranging from a University Student to 30 year career artists. This exhibition is the gallery’s response to Black History month and features images that are powerful, regal and positive. Please, mark your calendars for the Opening Reception on Thursday, February 5th from 5pm-8pm. The exhibition dates are February 5th through March 15th.

Ice Skating
2026-02-19, 2026-02-18 | RiverScape MetroPark, 237 E Monument Ave, Dayton, OH, 45402, United States
Sheltered under the covered pavilion, the MetroParks Ice Rink sets the scene as a perfect winter wonderland in downtown Dayton. While the rink is open, you can enjoy delicious treats from the concession area, including a cup of hot chocolate. Take advantage of fun skating activities, such as lessons, themed skating nights and more. Visit metroparks.org/ice-rink to learn more, find daily open hours, and see a schedule of events. Admission: $7 daily, ice skate rental: $3 daily. Season passes available. Ages 3 and under are free with a paying adult. 278-2607.

Polar Bear Express
2026-02-19, 2026-02-18 | Downtown Dayton
Book a ride on the abominably decorated Pedal Wagon for a 2-hour pedaling adventure through the fest streets of Dayton and to the best bars and restaurants. Reservations required. pedalwagon.com/dayton

Jimpa
2026-02-18 19:30, 2026-02-18 17:00, 2026-02-18 14:30, 2026-02-17 19:30, 2026-02-17 17:00, 2026-02-17 14:30 (America/New_York) | THE NEON, United States
Overview
“As she works on a film about her family, a filmmaker (Olivia Colman) is forced to reckon when her teenager (Aud Mason-Hyde) declares they want to move abroad to live with their gay granfather “Jimpa” (John Lithgow).”
THE WRAP writes, “Incisive and compassionate… earns every emotion and then some, breaking the heart open with such breathtaking truthfulness that you get bowled over just before you land softly in its final frames.”
We’re delighted to bring this new, lovely film from filmmaker Sophie Hyde (director of GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE) – opening Feb. 13.
Director
Sophie Hyde
Producer
Sophie Hyde, Marleen Slot, Liam Heyen, Bryan Mason
Cast
Olivia Colman, John Lithgow, Aud Mason-Hyde

Wu-Tang Wednesdays
2026-02-18 19:00 - 23:00 | The Barrel House, 417 E. Third St., Dayton, OH, 45402, United States
Dayton’s legendary Ike B spins old school hip hop and whateva else he wants.

Live Trivia
2026-02-18 18:30 - 20:30 | Yellow Cab Tavern, 700 E 4th St, Dayton, OH, 45402, United States
We are excited to host live trivia every Wednesday at The Yellow Cab Tavern! Since there are a limited number of indoor tables, so please reserve as soon as possible.
Pepper Sprout Productions will be doing 3 rounds of general trivia from 6:30 – 8:30! Win prizes and gift cards! Watch their page on the day of for a clue about the bonus round theme!
You can enjoy pizza from The Pizza Bandit and beverages from The Yellow Cab Tavern!Pizza Bandit’s standard carryout, delivery, and onsite dining will be available from 4-9pm!

Adult Weekday Classes
2026-02-18 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-02-18 14:00 - 16:00, 2026-02-18 13:00 - 15:00, 2026-02-17 15:30 - 17:30, 2026-02-17 15:00 - 17:00 | K12 Gallery & TEJAS, 341 S. Jefferson St., Dayton, OH, 45402
Tuesday and Wednesday weekday classes: Tuesdays (September-May) Stained Glass Classes: 1:00pm-3:00pm Ceramics/Clay Classes: 3:00pm-5:00pm Glassblowing Classes: 3:30pm-5:30pm Wednesdays (September-May) Still Life Oil Painting Classes: 1:00pm-3:00pm Glassblowing Classes: 2:00pm-4:00pm or 6:00pm-8:00pm. Call for Costs.

Ash Wednesday Taizé Service of Prayer and Meditation
2026-02-18 18:00 - 18:40 | Westminster Presbyterian Church, 125 N. Wilkinson St., Dayton, OH, 45402
February 18 – 6:00-6:40 p.m. Ash Wednesday Taizé Service of Prayer and Meditation – Westminster Presbyterian Church, 125 N. Wilkinson St., Downtown Dayton – a light supper follows the service.

A Private Life
2026-02-18 16:50, 2026-02-17 19:20 | THE NEON, United States
Overview
Following the death of Paula, one of her long-time patients, psychiatrist Lilian Steiner becomes convinced that her supposed death by suicide is actually an unsolved murder.
Director
Rebecca Zlotowski
Producer
Frédéric Jouve
Cast
Jodie Foster, Daniel Auteuil, Virginie Efira

Artist in Training (AIT) Program
2026-02-18 15:00 - 18:00, 2026-02-17 15:00 - 18:00 | K12 Gallery & TEJAS, 341 S. Jefferson St., Dayton, OH, 45402
After school Artist in Training program geared for grades 3rd-12th grades. Classes are Monday-Wednesdays from 3:00pm-6:00pm. Open Studio time to explore different types of mediums such as Drawing, Painting, Clay, Digital Art. 20.00 per session for Members/40.00 per session for Non-Members.

Resume Rescue with Clothes That Work
2026-02-18 10:00 - 11:00 | Dayton Metro Library – Main Library, 215 E. Third Street, Dayton, OH, 45402
Dayton Metro Library, through its Workforce Education Program Initiative, continues its partnership with Clothes That Work to provide valuable career development opportunities.
Resume Rescue with Clothes That Work

Wednesday, January 21, 10-11 am, Main Library, Opportunity Center
Wednesday, February 18, 10-11 am, Main Library, Opportunity Center

Learn to create a standout resume by crafting strong summaries, highlighting key skills, optimizing for applicant tracking systems, and marketing effectively. Registration required.
Interviewing 101 with Clothes That Work:

Wednesday, January 28, 10-11 am, Main Library, Opportunity Center
Thursday, February 12, 12-1 pm, Electra C. Doren Branch
Wednesday, February 25, 10-11 am, Main Library, Opportunity Center

Gain confidence in answering questions, develop a winning elevator pitch, and master online interviews. Registration required.
How to Stand Out in a Competitive Job Market

Wednesday, February 18, 2-4 pm, West Branch

Learn how to showcase skills, optimize resumes and cover letters, ace interviews, and leverage networking opportunities. Registration required.
Clothes that Work is a grassroots nonprofit organization that provides professional workplace clothing, confidence-building resources, and soft skills training for job seekers in the Miami Valley. Its Workforce Education Initiative curriculum was designed by area professionals specializing in workforce development and education. For additional information about this organization, visit clothesthatwork.org.
For more information about these programs and to register, visit DaytonMetroLibrary.org or call the Library’s Ask Me Line at 937.463.2665.

Gretchen Durst Jacobs: What the Body Carries
2026-02-18 | The Contemporary Dayton, 25 W. Fourth St., Dayton, OH, 45402, United States
Gretchen Durst Jacobs: What the Body Carries
February 4 – 28, 2026
Opening Reception: February 4, 6 – 8 pm
Closing Reception: February 28, 4 – 6 pm

Gretchen Durst Jacobs: What the Body Carries features new work from the Dayton-based artist. These encaustic monotypes, which merge painting with printmaking, emanate from the body, using gesture, scale, and repetition to explore how experience is physically and emotionally carried. Her abstract compositions balance intuition and structure, with grids often acting as quiet frameworks that hold movement, memory, and sensation in tension. Each encaustic monotype, created through a process that uses hot wax and pigment transferred onto a surface, is unique, and invites viewers to contemplate how feeling takes shape through mark, color, and rhythm.
Artist Statement
My paintings and prints begin with the body. Rooted in somatic experience and attentive to the inner life, the work explores how feeling is carried, processed, and transformed through physical gesture. I often work at a scale that matches my full reach—fingertip to fingertip—so each mark records movement, presence, and intuition. At times a grid enters the work as a quiet stabilizing force, allowing chaos, memory, and motion to coexist within a shared structure.
Although abstract, the work is grounded in more than twenty-five years of painting from direct observation. What has long drawn me to the landscape is how closely it mirrors human experience—its resilience and adaptation, its tenderness, and its moments of tension. Through color, gesture, and layered marks, I move through lived experience as a continuum, allowing feeling to take shape. Each work is an attempt to reconcile emotion with form, to honor what we carry, and to give shape to what cannot always be spoken.
All artworks in this exhibition are available for purchase. Please visit the reception desk or speak to a Staff member to purchase. Proceeds support both the artist and The Contemporary Dayton’s mission to connect artists and audiences through accessible, engaging contemporary art experiences.

About the Artist

Gretchen Durst Jacobs creates abstract paintings and prints, often utilizing a grid and bold, gestural marks to explore our relationship with the self and the natural world. She received her MFA from the University of Cincinnati in 2008 and her BFA from Wright State University in 2000. She attended the New York Studio School for Drawing and Painting Marathons and Summer Sessions in 2000 and 2003. In 2024, she received the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District Individual Artist Grant.
Her work has been exhibited extensively throughout the United States and Internationally. Regional exhibitions include the Dayton Museum of Art; Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH; Dana L. Wiley Gallery, Dayton, OH; University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH; the Morgan Conservatory, Cleveland, OH; and Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH. Her international exhibitions include the Lambton Heritage Museum, Ontario, Canada; Alten Feuerwache Loschwitz and Grafikwerkstatt, Dresden, Germany; and the Dayton/Kyoto Print Exchange, Kyoto, Japan. She has permanent public art installations on view at the Dayton Metro Library and the Kettering Government Center.
She is represented by the Dana L. Wiley Gallery. Durst Jacobs works full time in her studio in Dayton, Ohio, and also maintains a studio in Ontario, Canada. Since 2017, she has served as the President of the Dayton Printmakers Cooperative.

Karaoke with Zane
2026-02-17 20:00 - 23:00 | Yellow Cab Tavern, 700 E 4th St, Dayton, OH, 45402, United States
Yellow Cab Tavern Karaoke is BACK every Tuesday at 8pm with MC Zane Gerlach!
Entry is always free!
With a catalog of over 60,000 songs, we have your favorites to sing…and if we don’t, we’ll do everything we can to get it for you!
Get your friends and family together and we’ll see you on Tuesday nights at The Yellow Cab Tavern!

Karaoke
2026-02-17 19:00 - 23:00 | The Barrel House, 417 E. Third St., Dayton, OH, 45402, United States
Tuesdays – Karaoke with @raineyday.entertainment – $5 off full draft flights until 9 p.m.

Teens (Learn to) Chill Out!
2026-02-17 16:00 - 17:00 | Dayton Metro Library – Main Library, 215 E. Third Street, Dayton, OH, 45402
Teens (Learn to) Chill Out!, Tuesday, February 17, 4-5 pm, Main Library, Conference Room 1B: Learn how to handle stress and anxiety, manage time, practice self-care, and boost self-esteem using resources provided by the Teen Librarian. The session will begin with a journaling prompt: “What does self-care really look like?” Registration required.
