The long diagonal stretch of W. 7th Street in St. Paul’s W. 7th neighborhood houses tons of small businesses. There’s quirky Friedli Gallery and Studio, two vintage stores with colorful, retro signs, and the weird Center for Lost Objects, filled with one-of-a-kind items and antiques. The trendy White Squirrel Bar, a pizza joint, a pawn shop and the Schmidt Artist Lofts all make up this quiet, historic neighborhood.

This Friday, the Spring 2025 St. Paul Art Crawl will shake things up, starting with Ward 2 neighborhoods of W. 7th, the West Side and Lowertown.

St. Paul Art Collective Executive Director Mariusz Kujawski emphasized that the St. Paul Art Crawl “is a free event… the dance performances are free, the music is free. The goal is to come and bring your family out

and get inspired together by art.”

More than 350 artists will participate in the crawl across 42 locations. Metro Transit is offering free rides on transit for the first weekend of the crawl in Ward 2.

Heather Friedli founder and owner of Friedli Gallery in the W. 7th neighborhood, sat at a paint-spackled table in the middle of her gallery, which is hosting a book art show. A navy blue book about skiing had the cover carved into, with paper prints of skiers piled onto each other, as if in flight.

In the backroom, former St. Paul City Councilman Dave Thune’s studio/office was filled with an old jukebox and various vinyl cutouts. There was a set of drums in the back, too.

Friedli, a painter, often works at this table.

“I love meeting new artists and sharing my space with other artists, but also I really love bringing people together in community to support the arts,” she said.

She and her family originally moved from Minneapolis to St. Paul to live in the Schmidt Artist Lofts down the street. Now they own a home.

“We really like the kind of quieter family atmosphere of St. Paul,” she said. “That is the vibe.”

She hopes the art crawl will bring in sales, which she said have been shaky since President Donald Trump took office.

In Lowertown, Owl’s Eye Art Collective founder Michelle Fuller will be participating in her first art crawl. She opened her quaint ground-level gallery last fall after quitting her corporate tech job. Here, she’s been getting back to her roots in printmaking and offering workshops, craft nights and more in this cozy space down the street from hip coffee shop Lost Fox. Her sister and twin Alyssa, a graphic designer, made the owl logo. Michelle believes the bird’s eyes are a portal to the afterlife.

“Life is short but community is a big thing,” Fuller said. “Being 38 and after COVID, I really realized that a lot of us are stuck in our houses, and we might be doing crafts but in front of TV,” she said. “I’m missing the part, other than the bar scene, to connect with people around my age.”

For the art crawl, they’ll sell work by nine artists. The first 40 visitors will get a free bandana with the Owl’s Eye Art Collective logo. People also are welcome to come browse the space, filled with ceramics, original prints of cutesy animals, glasses with Minnesota-inspired paintings on them, and scenic photos of the state.

“In Lowertown, it’s basically the No. 1 art event of the year,” she said. “I wanted to connect with more artists.”