Dumbo Announces The Return Of First Thursday Gallery Walk + A Brand New Projection Walk On October 1

Photo Courtesy of Art in DUMBO and Team Dumbo

The new season will kick off with the first-ever DUMBO Projection Walk, bringing large-scale projections, exhibitions, performances, and an afterparty to the Brooklyn waterfront.

Art in DUMBO and Team DUMBO today announced the return of its First Thursday Gallery Walks on October 1, 2026, beginning at 6:00pm. The evening will kick off the 2026–2027 season with gallery openings, artist talks, live programming, and the first-ever DUMBO Projection Walk, followed by an afterparty in the DUMBO Archway.

Held on the first Thursday of every month from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, DUMBO’s galleries stay open late for a free evening of art, conversation and community. Visitors can explore exhibitions throughout the neighborhood, moving between galleries along DUMBO’s waterfront and historic cobblestone streets, with views of the East River and the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. Neighborhood favorite Superfine also offers drink specials for First Thursdays.

To commemorate the start of the new season, Team DUMBO will present the first-ever DUMBO Projection Walk. Projections will grace buildings, bridges and other surfaces – taking participants on a visual journey through DUMBO, with stops at more than a dozen locations from Jane’s Carousel to Jay Street. The Dumbo Archway Plaza will have projections and a party with drinks from Smorgasburg and an all-vinyl DJ set by Nickodemus accompanied by guest percussion and saxophone. The first 100 guests to arrive at the 8:00pm afterparty will receive a complimentary drink. Projections begin at dusk and will be on view until 10pm.

A guided tour of the projections will begin at Smack Mellon (92 Plymouth Street) at 6:30pm and The walk will conclude near the galleries on Jay Street at approximately 7:30pm Advance registration is requested through Eventbrite, linked here.

“First Thursdays celebrate the artists, galleries and creative organizations that have made DUMBO one of New York City’s most dynamic cultural neighborhoods,” said Ariel Willmott, Cultural Affairs Program Director for Two Trees Management and the Walentas Family Foundation. 

“The DUMBO Projection Walk will transform the neighborhood’s waterfront, streets and public spaces into a shared creative experience – a chance to take in the old world charm of our cobblestones and historic architecture in a modern, art fueled way. It’s quintessentially DUMBO,” said Alexandria Sica, President of Team Dumbo.

Highlights from the October 1 Gallery Walk include:

• An opening reception and artist talk for Atmospheric at 11.25 project/space, highlighting large-scale paintings by Noémie Kirscher and Odette Steinert that explore memory, place, and the relationship between internal and external worlds.
• Three exhibitions at A.I.R. Gallery, including Mae Howard’s Between the skin and flesh, a thing, Romina Chuls’ La Cosecha (The Harvest), and the group exhibition Inevitable, Inveterate, curated by Taylor Bluestine and Audrey Min.
• An exhibition talk for Andrea Modica’s Catholic Girl at AMR Art DUMBO, highlighting the first exhibition of Modica’s 1984 series alongside select works from Italian Story.
• NOTES FROM DAUGHTERS at Baci Studio, a group exhibition curated by Leah Kogen Elimeliah that brings together 19 national and international women artists exploring the relationship between fathers and daughters.
• Open studios at BRIC Arts Media, providing a look at new projects by the incoming 2026–2027 BRIClab Contemporary Arts Residency cohort.
• An artist talk for Leonard Ursachi’s Rise and Shine at Canton Projects, centered on a sculptural interpretation of Ada Kaleh, an island in the Danube River that was submerged as part of a hydroelectric project.
• An opening reception for Life in Cuba: Works by the Island’s Best Self-Taught Artists at Cuban Art Space, presenting works that explore everyday life, folklore and resilience in contemporary Cuba.
• Diné artist Dakota Mace’s Sǫʼ Baa Hane’ 2023–2025 at Higher Pictures, bringing together nine works from the artist’s Sǫʼ and Distorted Landscapes series.
• An opening reception for Ako Gabbeh’s KNOTTING with Ako Gabbeh x Arts & Crafts Village – Japanese Craftswomen Knotting Life and Art at Loop of the Loom, marking the first presentation outside Japan of hand-knotted Gabbeh and Dantsu works by the Ako Gabbeh weavers.
• An opening reception for Amelia Briggs’ Meadows at Main Window, highlighting the artist’s interdisciplinary practice across fiber, painting and installation.
• A closing reception for Olivia Janna Genereaux’s The Dance of Color at Mazlish | Wright Contemporary, the artist’s first solo exhibition at the gallery.
• An opening reception for Irit Baniel and Alexis Granwell’s PLUMB LINE at Medium Rare Project Space, bringing together scroll-like paintings and handmade paper sculptures.
• Open studios with multidisciplinary artist Maiko Kikuchi at NowHere, offering a look inside the artist’s year-long DUMBO residency.
• The inaugural exhibition at POOL, a new women’s collective created to pool labor, resources, and space in support of multidisciplinary artists.
• How We Work: Smack Mellon at 30 at Smack Mellon, a group exhibition celebrating the organization’s 30th anniversary through work by program alumni, current and former employees, and archival materials.
• EYE-CATCH!: Fashion Beyond the Attention Economy at the Strother School of Radical Attention, highlighting experimental fashion inspired by the aesthetics and counter-aesthetics of the attention economy.
• An activation for Errant Grammars at Stump Gallery, a collaborative exhibition with Nigeria-based DADA Gallery exploring memory, displacement, misrecognition and the instability of categories.
• A group presentation of furniture, lighting, sculpture, objects and artwork at ZAROLAT as part of the DUMBO Design District.
• Mori Marina’s Kawaii Icons at Usagi New York, pairing paintings with Japanese calligraphy to explore the relationship between language, mythology and contemporary aesthetics.

The first-ever projection walk will feature:

• “Explorers” by Gabriel Barcia-Colombo at St. Ann’s Warehouse
• Live DJ Set by DJ Adapta at Empire Stores Courtyard
• A work by Barnstormers at Smack Mellon
• “Untitled Work #1” by  Dave Shelley at 135 Plymouth Street
• A group show highlighting Motion Design Awards at Baci Studios
• “The Noctarium” by Yidan Hu, Josh Sun, Julia Xu and Kyrie Yang and “Writing on the Wall” by DJ Kim, Timothy Wang, Yilin Ye and Jessie Zhai, presented in partnership with NYU ITP, at Manhattan Bridge Anchorage (Dumbo Archway Plaza)
• “Resonautica” by Glowing Bulbs at Dumbo Archway (underside of the bridge) 
• Motomichi at the Dumbo Archway Plaza
• An artwork installation at Hudson Wilder
• ”Resonance of the Beyond” by Tomoko Amaki Abe at A.I.R Gallery
• “SubWave” by Ryan Webber, Gwen Goins, RaFia Santana and “Shadow Puppet Theater” by Yiyun Jiang, Haoren Zhong, Zongshuai Zhang, Xiaoxu Han, presented in partnership with NYU ITP, at Dr. Susan Smith McKinney Steward Park

The First Thursday celebration coincides with the 15th anniversary of Jane’s Carousel, the century-old artifact which Jane Walentas spent more than 20 years restoring as a gift to the Brooklyn waterfront neighborhood. Walentas was fundamental in building and maintaining DUMBO’s art community and helped transform the neighborhood into the vibrant cultural destination it is today.

First Thursday Gallery Walks are free and open to the public and will continue on the first Thursday of every month throughout the 2026–2027 season. For a gallery map, event highlights, and complete exhibition listings, visit artindumbo.com.

Art in DUMBO

Art in DUMBO is an online resource for learning about the art galleries, artist residencies, and arts advocacy groups in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Art in DUMBO acts as a community coalition of these art organizations, uniting the individual organizations and raising the profile of the arts in DUMBO. Through artindumbo.com and Art in DUMBO social media platforms, each arts institution located in DUMBO is profiled, and events are featured. (Learn more: artindumbo.com) 

Team Dumbo

Team Dumbo is the Business Improvement District for Dumbo, responsible for beautification and the public realm. Team Dumbo has commissioned hundreds of projection works for the exterior of the Manhattan Bridge and the wall of the BQE. The Projection Walk scales that program to create a full, one night only experience. @dumbo_brooklyn. www.dumbo.nyc