BENSON CREATIVE DISTRICT
ART & EXHIBITIONS
Printed Memoria: Prints and Sculptures
Printed Memoria brings together prints by Oria Simonini, Víctor López, Heczar Gómez, Mari Mariel, and David Manzanares, alongside sculptures by Manzanares.
Benson First Friday: September 4
Soak up the last stretch of summer with one more big night of art, music and community in Benson!
September First Friday features the final SUMMER OF PETFEST outdoor concert and our last outdoor BFF Artist Market of the season, plus visual art, live performances, gallery openings and more throughout the Benson Creative District.
Plan your night and learn more at bensoncreativedistrict.org/firstfriday
Check back Thursday before First Friday for the FINAL event lineup!
The Art of Hope
Curated by Sarah J. Bird, founder of the Omaha art initiative Moments with Purpose, join BFF Gallery for a powerful exhibition featuring artworks and creations made by participants from Heartland Family Service.
SORT OUT
SORT OUT is an exhibition of mixed-media works created using paper materials collected from the streets of Manchester, England and the East Village, New York City. The acts and decisions involved-what to select or discard, what to cut out or leave behind—reflect the daily behaviors of those of us living in a world of information overload
The materials gathered from the streets express the difficulty of navigating the overwhelming flood/influx of information. Meanwhile, the abstract paintings convey the preciousness and transience of our finite time.
These works invite reflection on whether one spends life actively or passively.
Family Sundays: Kids Artist Showcase
Children are invited to display their drawings, paintings, crafts, sculptures, and other creations for the community to enjoy.
Would You Just LOOOK At It? by Electricradbolt
Walk with us through the valley of Electricradbolt‘s wonderfully wicked whimsical creations. A 3D tapestry of fibers, clays, papers, and other mixed media hand crafted into magical life forms from Electricradbolt’s universe. Would you just LOOOOK at it?!
Would You Just LOOOK At It? by Electricradbolt
Walk with us through the valley of Electricradbolt‘s wonderfully wicked whimsical creations. A 3D tapestry of fibers, clays, papers, and other mixed media hand crafted into magical life forms from Electricradbolt’s universe. Would you just LOOOOK at it?!
Would You Just LOOOK At It? by Electricradbolt
Walk with us through the valley of Electricradbolt‘s wonderfully wicked whimsical creations. A 3D tapestry of fibers, clays, papers, and other mixed media hand crafted into magical life forms from Electricradbolt’s universe. Would you just LOOOOK at it?!
Family Sundays: Kids Artist Showcase
Children are invited to display their drawings, paintings, crafts, sculptures, and other creations for the community to enjoy.
Would You Just LOOOK At It? by Electricradbolt
Walk with us through the valley of Electricradbolt‘s wonderfully wicked whimsical creations. A 3D tapestry of fibers, clays, papers, and other mixed media hand crafted into magical life forms from Electricradbolt’s universe. Would you just LOOOOK at it?!
For What It's Worth
August First Friday come take a look at a lifetimes worth of photographs taken by Cecilia Saldana and celebrate her first solo show!
Benson First Friday: August 7
Benson First Friday returns for the 13th Annual New American Arts Festival, a celebration of immigrant, migrant and refugee communities!
Plan your night and learn more at bensoncreativedistrict.org/firstfriday
Check back Thursday before First Friday for the FINAL event lineup!
Sunday Artist Pop-Up Series
A weekly showcase of local artists, makers, and creators at Edge of the Universe.
Sunday Artist Pop-Up Series
A weekly showcase of local artists, makers, and creators at Edge of the Universe.
Family Sundays: Kids Artist Showcase
Children are invited to display their drawings, paintings, crafts, sculptures, and other creations for the community to enjoy.
Sunday Artist Pop-Up Series
A weekly showcase of local artists, makers, and creators at Edge of the Universe.
Sunday Artist Pop-Up Series
A weekly showcase of local artists, makers, and creators at Edge of the Universe.
Who do you think you are?
Cynthia Smith is a native Nebraskan, self-taught artist, and physician whose work explores themes of identity, duality, and change.
Rickrack or Champion
Come revel in the menagerie. The rodeo clown returns for a limited time with Rickrack or Champion, an exhibition and book release by Quentin Patrick Fortney.
Hello, Goodbye
Webb’s work examines the emotional complexities of rural life through themes of spiritual fear, memory, nostalgia, and environmental unease. Influenced by American Realism, Southern storytelling traditions, and years spent as a farm laborer in Mississippi, Webb creates dark, atmospheric landscapes with an acidic palette, exploring the psychological weight of place.
Benson First Friday: July 3rd
First Friday is back for a hot, sweaty holiday weekend in Benson! Come out for artist markets, gallery openings, live music, cold treats, local biz, and all the creative independent spirit that makes Benson an American Beauty. ✨
Plan your night and learn more at bensoncreativedistrict.org/firstfriday
Check back Thursday before First Friday for the FINAL event lineup!
Sunday Artist Pop-Up Series
A weekly showcase of local artists, makers, and creators at Edge of the Universe.
Sunday Artist Pop-Up Series
A weekly showcase of local artists, makers, and creators at Edge of the Universe.
Family Sundays: Kids Artist Showcase
Children are invited to display their drawings, paintings, crafts, sculptures, and other creations for the community to enjoy.
Sunday Artist Pop-Up Series
A weekly showcase of local artists, makers, and creators at Edge of the Universe.
Impotent Rage
“Impotent Rage” is defined as a state of anger, fury, or frustration paired with the inability to act effectively, change the situation, or exert control. Recognizing 250 years of the USA.
Omaha Power Poles | Thomas McLaughlin
Omaha Power Poles by Thomas McLaughlin highlights a decade-long unsanctioned public art project that placed more than 1,000 original artworks on power poles throughout Omaha, transforming everyday infrastructure into public message boards and alternative community space.
MiNMG (Money is Not My God)
MiNMG is a participatory art project that aims to strengthen Omaha’s economy and our bonds as a community by turning hundreds of one dollar bills into unspendable art pieces together!
Omaha For All
Omaha For All features artwork created through Omaha For Us’s artist residency with Nebraska Arts Council Artist-in-Residence Kim Darling. The exhibition explores collectivism as a creative practice within the ever-changing life of a community center.
Benson First Friday Pride: June 5th
Pride is back in Benson! First Friday is celebrating all the colors of the rainbow! Give it up for the L, the G, the B, the T, the Q, the + and everyone in between! It's also our birthday month! 14 years of building community through arts engagement. For everyone!
Start your Pride month in Benson.
Plan your night and learn more at bensoncreativedistrict.org/firstfriday
Check back Thursday before First Friday for the FINAL event lineup!
Gifts of the Spirit
Featuring more than 40 paintings installed throughout the gallery’s main floor and lower level, the exhibition explores emotion and spiritual reflection through geometric abstraction, color, and pattern.
underbelly
Petshop Gallery presents underbelly, a new body of ceramic work by Amelia Rosenberg. Her practice explores storytelling, lineage, and the natural world through detailed sculptural forms.
(Self)Portrait
Alayna Kustka’s (Self)Portrait explores identity, likeness, and difference through a series of photographs featuring the artist and her twin sister. Developed as part of her final portfolio work at Metropolitan Community College, the project reflects on sameness and individuality through portraiture, surreal composition, and digital manipulation.
Benson First Friday: May 1st
May is here, and Benson is waking all the way up. Join us for a First Friday filled with art, music, community, and the bright return of BFF’s summer season.
Celebrate May Day with a night of creativity across the district as we welcome back our summer artist markets, kick off the Summer of Petfest, and step into a new season of gathering, making, and exploring together. 🌸
For What It's Worth
For What It’s Worth features new work by Nebraska-based artist Ramon Guzman. With over a decade of experience and formal training from Metro Community College, Guzman creates artwork designed to offer viewers a lift — whether through a smile, a moment of curiosity, or a pause from the everyday.