Saint Paul's studios, galleries and artist lofts throw their doors open this weekend for the 2026 Fall Art Crawl, a free, self-guided tour running from Friday through Sunday, Oct. 16 to 18. Visitors can wander through working studios, chat with painters and sculptors, watch live demonstrations and pick up original art straight from the people who made it, with no ticket required.
According to twincities.com, this season's crawl showcases the entire city's art scene across the three-day run. twincities.com reports 31 total venues.
Galleries, Lofts and Breweries All Open Their Doors
The event is free and open to the public, according to communityreporter.org. Participating venues include traditional artist lofts and galleries alongside museums, libraries, restaurants, breweries and other community spaces, the outlet notes, with locations confirmed in all seven of Saint Paul's city wards this fall. That marks an expansion from the 2025 fall crawl, which stpaulpublishing.com reported featured more than 30 venues across six of the city's seven wards.
Two stops are drawing particular attention this year. More than 80 resident and guest artists are expected to fill the historic Schmidt Brewhouse at Schmidt Artist Lofts, per the same community reporter account. Over on the East Side, Solidarity Street Gallery is transforming six blocks of Payne Avenue into an art walk stretching across roughly 20 storefronts and an indoor gallery, the same report states.
A New Poster and a Nearly 50-Year Tradition
Artist Marlena Myles was selected to create the official 2026 Fall Art Crawl poster, according to the St. Paul Art Collective, which organizes the event. The Collective's own guide invites visitors to explore studios and galleries, meet artists, watch live demos, and discover original work across Saint Paul — language that lines up with the seed announcement's description of visitors finding one-of-a-kind art to take home.
The crawl has deep roots in the city. Per visitsaintpaul.com, it dates back to 1977, when founding artists of the St. Paul Art Collective held their first group exhibition at Union Depot, and the event now runs biannually every spring and fall throughout Saint Paul. The same guide describes a mix of local food, live music and dance woven through the galleries, shared spaces and artists' lofts that make up each crawl.
How This Fall Compares to Recent Years
The fall 2025 crawl ran Oct. 10 to 12 and featured more than 30 venues with artist studios, live music, food, demonstrations and other community activities, according to stpaulpublishing.com's earlier reporting.
