It’s fine to hit the downtown First Friday Trolley Hop without a plan. Park, wander in and out of galleries, grab a drink or dinner with friends and hop a TARC trolley from one end of downtown to the next and back—you’re sure to find something to catch your eye or ears. But with so many events and gallery receptions happening at once, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, so every month we take a look at five don’t-miss art events happening during the hop. Garner Narrative Contemporary Fine Art: "A Word Is Worth a Thousand Pictures"—Just in time for election season to heat up, a show by Washington, D.C. artist Dana Ellyn, whose vivid paintings offer social and political commentary on the United States (including a delightful series on American presidents) and the world. 642 E. Market St. 2 1C Museum: " Blue: Matter, Mood, and Melancholy":—This multimedia exhibit is a tribute to the musical tradition of the blues, featuring work by more than 30 U.S. and international artists, from Iceland to Korea. While you're at 21C, check out " Convergence," a selection of highlights of the museum's recent acquisitions. Plan on arriving in time for chief curator Alice Gray Stites' guided tour at 6:30 p.m. 700 W. Main St. Green Building: "bewilderinger"— Douglas Miller's soulful animals are favorites around Louisville and beyond. He also has a fantastic artist's statement: "I work in the same way that an author revises text, constructs sentences, edits words, deconstructs sentences, and rubs out ideas. The objective of correction fascinates me." 732 E. Market St. Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft: David Morsman and Clark Smithy—KMAC highlights the two Kentucky artists in its gallery during August. Morsman works in large-scale abstract expressionist paintings, and his latest work is inspired by his deep appreciation of music. Smithy works with metal—wrought, non-ferrous (that's a lack of iron in a metal or alloy, for the uninitiated) and hollow forms. 715 W. Main St. Kentucky School of Art: "Louisville Landscapes"—Drawings and paintings by students at the Kentucky School of Art inspired by local landscapes. Show is located in the Whiskey Row Lofts. 131 W. Main St.
