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Free Little Art Galleries bring inspirations, whimsy and community to your block. How to start yours
The Free Little Art Gallery named "Museum of Free Art" in South Pasadena is at Montrose Avenue and Mission Street.
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Brian De Los Santos
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LAist
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It is said that art is subjective, or something to that effect. But at its best, art also inspires community.
And that’s the aim for Free Little Art Galleries, or FLAGs as some fans call them.
What are they?
FLAGs have been around (unofficially) since 2020. They’re very much like little libraries or other small displays that house items for free or are donation-based. Some allow you to donate/leave art and/or take it home for yourself, in effect creating a community exchange.
I’ve browsed through several Instagram pages and some of the artwork is dope. Even the very amateur endeavors are inspiring. I’m amazed at how folks can paint, draw or create in smaller formats that’s not your usual gallery piece. Most accounts tag the artist, some of whom are professional, and you can follow them or maybe even pay for a larger piece. There are so many possibilities in the interaction with these homespun galleries (also the element of surprise is pretty sweet).
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Many are found outside homes on sidewalks, but there are also community centers, museums and schools that have set them up.
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Seattle-based artist Stacy Milrany is credited with having started the first free little museum, according to FreeLittleGalleries.Art, a website dedicated to sharing what the hobby is about. There are hundreds of them all over the world now (that have been mapped), including several in Southern California cities and neighborhoods like Long Beach, South Pasadena and North Hollywood.
“It’s great to have this movement that’s democratizing art,” Tyler Tork, founder of the website, told me. Everybody can have something to contribute, “and it might mean something to them.”
(P.S.: There is no official FLAG organization, so curating information for the website has been voluntary.)
From novice to FLAG pro
Tork isn’t a professional artist, but that didn’t stop him from getting involved with FLAGs — and ultimately being the person behind an online encyclopedia about them.
He says a friend introduced him to the concept in 2022 when she asked for some art for her own FLAG in Baton Rouge, La. Tork was so intrigued he created his own FLAG outside his Lafayette home. It has housed different samples of art; paintings, graffiti, ceramics and other items.
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When Tork started his FLAG journey, he relied on information culled from Facebook Groups and other social media sites to find everything from specs about sizes, to gallery blueprints to answers for the many questions he had.
Tork, who has supported other organizations by building their websites, decided to create “a headquarters for all things FLAG,” he says, and so FreeLittleGalleries.Art was born. He volunteers his time to update the site with information sent to him (there’s a button to add your own FLAG to his map) and create what ultimately is a curated list these unique endeavors.
“The FLAG movement is special because it encourages people not only to share, but to create,” Tork says. “Generally, the contributors to a Little Free Library didn't write the books themselves, for instance, but most art in a FLAG comes from the heart and soul of the person who contributed it, which is a whole other level of awesome.”
Starting your own FLAG
- For the residents who don’t have space
I currently don’t have plans to start my own FLAG, but Tork and the website had many resources to share.
At first, I thought that living in an apartment building could be complicated.
Tork had a suggestion:
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Not everyone is in a situation where it makes sense to start a gallery at their own house or place of business. But people who want to operate a FLAG, can often partner with an organization that has a better site for it. If you want to do it, you can usually find someone who's interested enough to let you set up in their space and come in periodically to manage it. Or you can request permission from your local government to install one in a public area — along a walking path in a park, for instance.
You also don't have to start a miniature space yourself — you can just make the art, and mail pieces to different FLAGs around the world via this listing on the website.
- Making the gallery: buying or constructing
The popularity of these hobbies has crafty folks creating and selling some of these sidewalk galleries already — check seller's websites like Etsy. Here’s a guide if you’ve rather buy one. Many have the specs to hold books, so they may differ.
There’s also a step-by-step guide on creating your own on the website.
- How to display the art
Get creative or as straightforward as you want. People have added solar lighting, different levels/tiers, mini easels, magnets to hang up arts — you know, the works. Maybe your gallery is devoted to one medium, or several.
The inside of the Free Museum in South Pasadena.
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Brian De Los Santos
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LAist
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- Ideas
Create your gallery with a theme, or not! I saw folks honoring Pride Month and Black History Month with their art exhibitions during those celebrations.
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Tork also sent over a list of Facebook Group that can inspire you.
- Map it
Part of the essence of this community is sharing what you have created — both the gallery and the art inside of it. Make sure you add the location of your little art gallery to the website’s map locator tool here. Tork says that there are also more regional websites/maps that you can look into.
“I love it when people take on the job of mapping all this fun stuff local to where they live, and if people send me links to the ‘sidewalk joy maps’ of their city, I have a section for these on the website,” he says.
- Other types of galleries
We love art and little libraries, but there’s a whole universe of sidewalk projects. The following list, sent over by Tork, might inspire you to build other things or just be an observer of the world’s wonders.
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Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
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