Art will soon be popping up all over Highland Park thanks to an innovative concept created by The Art Center Highland Park.
Little Free Galleries will be installed in every neighborhood in the city. Inspired by the popular Little Free Libraries, the Galleries will give people the opportunity to borrow a piece of art or leave a piece of art of their own for someone else to borrow.
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Credit for the concept goes to James M. Lynch, Executive Director of The Art Center.
“It was really inspired by what happened during COVID,” Lynch explained. “We were shut down and we quickly converted to online classes. In the first two weeks, we had 80 classes up and running online.”
But Lynch said that he wanted something more concrete.
“I had this little box at home. I painted it red and I wrote, ‘Don’t panic.’ Inside it said, ‘If you need art. Here.’”
He filled the box with notebooks, multicolored pens, sidewalk chalk, and clay, and placed it outside the building, near the parking lot.
“I kept it stocked during COVID because you couldn’t come in and do art,” Lynch said.
The idea of creating Little Free Galleries arose because Lynch, an avid reader, said, “I survived COVID with the Little Free Libraries.”
Lynch noted that he has a list of projects he wants to undertake at The Art Center, and the time seems right for this one, as he has a “super capable” intern this summer.
“We can’t move our building,” he said. “We want to do outreach to as many people as we can.”
The plan is to have Little Free Galleries in each of Highland Park’s nine neighborhoods. They will be placed on private properties.
When The Art Center sent out a notice about the Galleries, “a bunch of people asked if we could make one for them,” Lynch said.
The project is still in the planning stage, but Lynch noted that there can be different types of Little Free Galleries, such as ones just for show, where people can come and view the art. There would be a QR Code directing people to an exhibit at The Art Center.
Other Galleries will be ever-changing. “We want people to take a piece of art and leave a piece of art,” Lynch said.
Lynch is creating a prototype for the Little Free Galleries at home and is currently negotiating with someone from one of the neighborhoods regarding installing one on their property.
In some cases, The Art Center will be using boxes that are the same size as the Little Free Libraries, which can be purchased ready-made.
“Engaging other artists in the project, the size and what they look like is going to vary according to the artist,” Lynch said. “And that’s going to be fun.”
The participating homeowners will be responsible for the Little Free Gallery on their property.
“We want everybody who has one to own them,” Lynch explained. “We’re not going to police them.”
He added that they are discussing making little scrolls of poetry with a local poetry club for the galleries. There may also be art supplies in the Galleries.
Students at The Art Center.will be creating some of the artwork placed in the Galleries.
Lynch concluded that, “A healthy community needs the influence of the arts. It’s one of the key ingredients of a healthy society.”
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The Little Free Galleries will help spread that message.
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.