The show began over a drink. Living in the warehouse had been particularly tough that winter, and one random night we decided it was time to stop bitching there was nothing to do, & instead make something happen.

First Friday was a simple concept: We had a giant space with an ample amount of walls to hang art on. Drew would reach out to local artists on Instagram and we got the other artists in the warehouse involved. Everyone was told to bring any art they wanted, and the walls were available first-come, first serve.

The first few months were tough, with a few of us filling up as much space while word-of-mouth grew. But the event grew into an incredibly special gathering of spontaneous creativity, planned performances and impromptu musical collaborations. It lasted for 40 straight months, through a warehouse transition to Sellwood after our home in Southeast was shut down, and eventually had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

These were the greatest art experiences I’ve ever been a part of, and one of my favorite things was to design these posters, usually the day before the show, for Drew to frantically staple up and down Stark Street phone poles.