Call for Artists: Project: “FREE ART”

Front view of XXXS Little Free Art Gallery prototype made from an upcycled gift box approximately 3 inches wide, 5 inches tall, 1 inch wide  with prototype "FREE ART" signed original art work installed. This XXXS  Gallery prototype is designed for indoor distribution; it is not weatherproof.

XXXS Little Free Art Gallery prototype, verso, made from an upcycled gift box approximately 3 inches wide, 5 inches tall, 1 inch wide  with prototype "FREE ART" signed original art work installed on the opposite side of the box, not visible in this photo.

XXS "Single-Serving Size" Little Free Art Gallery Milk Carton Prototype for Project "FREE ART"

Call for Participation:  Project FREE ART

We invite artists of all ages and skill levels, amateurs and professionals, to participate in Little Free Art Gallery's inaugural activity, Project “FREE ART”.

We also seek and invite Web developers and people with finish carpentry and crafts skills to help build the Full-Size Little Free Art Gallery kiosks that will form the project spine.

(We will soon begin promoting a series of workshops where people will gather to make their own Little Free Art Galleries of all sizes, for deployment indoors and outdoors as part of Project "FREE ART" in Fall 2012.)

Participating artists are invited to contribute art works to distribute to the public for free from existing Little Free Art Gallery installations.

Artists are also invited to build and install their own Little Free Art Gallery and XXS "Single-Serving Size" Little Free Art Gallery and put them on the project map in this blog at http://littlefreeartgallery.blogspot.com/p/find-gallery.html


The public will be invited to participate in Project "FREE ART"  by gathering clues at participating partner locations, using social media online check-ins on smartphones & tablets and QR code scanning to connect to the project Web site. Clues lead participants to Little Free Art Gallery installations.

Each full-size Little Free Art Gallery distributes miniature XXS "Single-Serving Size" Little Free Art Galleries each created and contributed by a participating artist, and other small, original, signed works of art. 

A full-size Little Free Art Gallery might look something like this Little Free Library (image from http://www.littlefreelibrary.org), designed to distribute small works of art instead of books. They can be installed in a variety of public and open-to-the-public locations including art studios, galleries, museums, stores that sell art supplies and tools or which cater to art-lovers, schools, hospitals, etc. – anywhere that art-lovers might enjoy encountering them and helping themselves to an original work of art for FREE.

Little Free Art Gallery kiosks and the art works they distribute, are made of recycled/upcycled materials; the project encourages the development of green, sustainable art studio, installation, manufacturing, distribution, and presentation practices.

Little Free Art Gallery No.1 and others now under development at undisclosed locations in Emeryville and El Cerrito, California and elsewhere. No 1. is 3’ wide, 2’ high, 2’ deep,  capable of distributing multiple smaller works of art including XXS "Single-Serving Size" Little Free Art Galleries for the full, recursive art experience.

Full-size Little Free Art Galleries designed to be weatherproof and to withstand the rigors of a public existence may seem daunting to build, but even a young child with proper supervision can craft an XS "Single-Serving Size" 1-gallon Milk Carton or XXS 1/2 gallon Milk Carton which are moderately weatherproof and can last outdoors long enough for an activity like Project "FREE ART".  

If the kiosks are to be used indoors where weather and security are not a problem, children can make even a Full-size Little Free Art Gallery, as well as smaller "Single-Serving" size units from cardboard boxes, foam, and other common craft materials.



http://LittleFreeArtGallery.com/ will curate and publish a directory to Project "FREE ART" installations and artists, at http://Little/ Free Art Gallery.com, as an ebook, and as a printed book via print-on-demand.

XXS "Single-Serving Size" Little Free Art Gallery prototypes have been made from a half-gallon milk carton, an 8-inch USPS shipping box, and a 3" X 5" X 1" upcycled gift box. Project artists are free to experiment with original designs for full-size and XXS galleries.

Each XXS "Single-Serving Size" Little Free Art Gallery presents a small, original, framed work of art (painting, drawing, calligraphy, sculpture, collage, etc.), signed by the artist.

The art work may also include a digital component (DVD, USB drive, etc.) that delivers digital art, but not to substitute for the physical art work. 

The art work must include the 2-word phrase:

"FREE ART"

On the back of the little work of art, a Free Art Exchange Mini-Manifesto proclaims:

You need art. Artists need you.
Art = Creativity + Community.

QR codes link full-size and XXS Little Free Art Galleries and individual “FREE ART” pieces to online landing pages that explain the project, provide information about and links to the participating artists, and let the recipient pin the art work to the online map and take part in the discussion and other activities there.

When scanned with a smartphone or tablet app this QR code
links to the Little Free Art Gallery QR Scanners Welcome Page