Used to be you could count the number of art galleries in downtown Roanoke on a finger or two. Suddenly, you need three hands.

"There is an explosion of galleries in downtown, and the energy is palpable," said Yvonne Olson, an unofficial coordinator to the monthly after-hours gallery walk Art By Night. "It is such an exciting time for the cultural community in Roanoke."

The exact number of galleries is hard to pin down. Some artists have opened working studios that aren’t technically galleries, though they may have art in the window. Numerous restaurants and coffee shops exhibit art as well.

But even excluding restaurant/galleries and studios, the number of downtown galleries was at least a dozen or so as of fall 2008.

Some credit the new $66 million Taubman Museum of Art for giving the local arts community a shot in the arm. Some artists and galleries have been spurred by the new museum "to stretch themselves and to offer art lovers opportunities not previously found in Roanoke," Olson said.

There may be other explanations.

"I think it must be a lot of things," said Vera Dickerson, a longtime area artist who belongs to Roanoke's Signature 9 Gallery. Dickerson said the artists associated with the region's many colleges and universities play a role. "It's not a group that stays within that local academic community. They get involved with promoting the local arts scene."

The following is a list of downtown galleries recently compiled by Art by Night.

• Gallery 108, 108 Market St. (540) 982-4278.
• Roanoke Valley Printworks , 108 Salem Ave. S.E. (540) 343-0296.
• Pamela Jean Gallery, 115 Salem Ave. S.E. (540) 904-7797.
• Z Studio Framing , 7 Church Ave. S.E. (540) 312-1827.
• Fleda A. Ring Artworks, 7a E. Church Ave. (540) 520-8191.
• Roanoke Public Library, 706 S. Jefferson St. (540) 853-1057.
• Signature 9 Gallery, 301 S. Jefferson St. (540) 342-0703.
• Cheshire Gallery, 118 W. Campbell Ave. (540) 400-8037.
• Patton-Phillips Gallery, 110 W. Campbell Ave. (540) 520-1340; (540) 355-8447.
• Wilson Hughes Gallery, 117 W. Campbell Ave. (540) 529-8455.
• Gala Studio, 139 W. Campbell Ave. (540) 816-9097.
• The Market Gallery, 23 E. Salem Ave. (540) 342-1177.