"The Free Gallery" preview starts today at Pro Arts in downtown Oakland, at 10 am., including 3 of my Little Free Art Gallery pieces, everything to be given away for free when the show opens March 1

"The Free Gallery" preview starts today at Pro Arts in downtown Oakland, at 10 am. I've got 3 Little Free Art Gallery pieces on exhibit, to be given away free. I'm not sure yet how it's all going to work, I guess on March 1 when the show opens officially, an "Artists Reception and Free Art Launch" will take place from 6-8 p.m., maybe that is when people will be able to take the art and other gallery items for free, I have no idea how it will work then or afterwards, maybe I will find out more before then. At any rate, it will be interesting to see how people respond to the whole thing.

http://www.proartsgallery.org/exhibitions/2013_exhibitioncall_freegallery.php 

"The Hilary Box", "Boss Joss", and "Big Joss Man, Can't You Hear Me When I Call" are 3 Little Free Art Gallery confections by Doug Millison, to be exhibited and given away for free at "The Free Gallery", Pro Arts, Oakland, California, March 1-29; show preview starts February 26, 2013

Little Free Art Gallery Bumper Stickers

HONK IF YOU LOVE FREE ART

I BRAKE FOR FREE ART

WILL ART 4 FREE

I (HEART) FREE ART

Coming soon to Little Free Art Gallery No. 1: "Garage Collage"

Family Group by Morris Armstrong, Jr. proudly a.k.a. "Little Mo" with help from the Nonhuman Crew including Doug Millison; from the Garage Collage series. Details of public exhibit and items to be given away for free at Little Free Art Gallery No. 1 in El Cerrito, California, to be announced.

"The Hilary Box", "Boss Joss" and "Big Joss Man, Can't You Hear Me When I Call?" delivered to Pro Arts, Oakland, California, today for "The Free Gallery" extravaganza

The Hilary Box, Boss Joss and Big Joss Man, Can't You Hear Me When I Call? constitute a new series of Little Free Art Gallery installations by Doug Millison, all created especially to give away for FREE at "The Free Gallery" starting later this month and running through March 2013 at Pro Arts, Oakland, California.

BOSS JOSS is an XXS "Single-Serving Size" Little Free Art Gallery to be given away for free at "The Free Gallery", Pro Arts, Oakland, Ca., March 1, 2013

BOSS JOSS by Doug Millison, an XXS “Single-Serving Size” Little Free Art Gallery
created to be given away for free at “The Free Gallery”, Pro Arts, Oakland, California
February 26 - March 29, 2013. Made of authentic joss paper HELLBANK notes, HELLBANK golden  ingots, red and gold metallic joss paper, and hong bao red money gift envelopes all purchased at 99 Ranch Market in Richmond, California, plus newspaper clip, rubber stamp. More about “The Free Gallery” at http://www.proartsgallery.org/exhibitions/2013_exhibitioncall_freegallery.php

“BOSS JOSS” by Doug Millison; front door; XXS “Single-Serving Size” Little Free Art Gallery
created to be given away for free at “The Free Gallery” – Pro Arts, Oakland, California
February 26 - March 29, 2013

“BOSS JOSS” by Doug Millison interior, inside front cover decorated with joss paper; hong bao envelope tag pulls it from the box and pulls a surprise card from the envelope. XXS “Single-Serving Size” Little Free Art Gallery created to be given away for free at “The Free Gallery” – Pro Arts, Oakland, California, February 26 - March 29, 2013

 “BOSS JOSS” by Doug Millison. interior, surprise card removed from hong bao envelope; HELLBANK gold ingots in box. XXS “Single-Serving Size” Little Free Art Gallery created to be given away for free at
“The Free Gallery” – Pro Arts, Oakland, California February 26 - March 29, 2013

Dear Little Free Art Gallery,

If "everybody is an artist" as Joseph Beuys said, and people like you repeat ad nauseum then why aren't we all making art all the time?

Sincerely,
An Art Collector & Investor

Dear Art Collector & Investor,

People do…but, we don't call it Art.

Growing up we have learned the lesson well: Art is something only special people with special insight and privileges, called Artists, get to spend their time doing.

Meanwhile, the rest of us pursue our "crafts" and "creativity" from day to day in countless beautiful, useful, and life-affirming ways, and leave the "Artists" to themselves.

If the Big Expensive Art Gallery doesn't want my creations, I build a Little Free Art Gallery and use it to give away freely the things that I make as I try to make my life and world a more beautiful and satisfying place.

Fine-tuning the Little Free Art Gallery Mission Statement

Little Free Art Gallery Project  Mission Statement

Recognizing that most people rarely if ever engage directly with living artists and new, original works of art due to economic and class barriers and other factors, and seeing how we often fail to realize our own artistic abilities for the same reasons, the Little Free Art Gallery Project seeks to deepen our understanding of art and how to use it to enhance our lives through the practice of making art and giving it away for free.

We create, and encourage others to create, art galleries and their digital media counterparts in a variety of configurations and sizes, deployed across a spectrum of public and private locations. We invite and organize artists to use the Little Free Art Gallery installations to give away free, original works of art, and to document their gifts in the project's online and printed publications.

We use this free art exchange to create communities and online networks where we engage each other and deepen our understanding of the world as we inspire and help each other to make and share art. Together in person, in digital media, and in print, we discuss art, its "value" and uses, our relationship with original art works and their creators, and related topics.

By making and sharing free art, we seek to liberate our thinking and open more fully to the world and to each other.

"When art is free, so are we."
  –Doug Millison, co-founder

"When art is free, so are we" photo by Doug Millison, co-founder Little Free Art Gallery

Doug Millison is donating an altered book collage created for The Concrete Jungle Book project to be given away in a "single-serving size" Little Free Art Gallery, at "The Free Show" on March 1 at Pro Arts in downtown Oakland, CA

Three of Doug Millison's works, Junkyard Knife 2011, Madrone Studios, San Francisco, October 2011. One of this altered-book scrapbook collage series (although not one of these 3 works) will be included in a free "single-serving size" Little Free Art Gallery display box to be given away at "The Free Show" March 1, 2013 at Pro Arts, Oakland, CA [photo: Michael Sun]

Project co-founder, Doug Millison (http://DougMillison.com; https://www.facebook.com/dougmillison) is donating one of the original collage works created for The Concrete Jungle Book project to be given away in one of the Little Free Art Gallery "single-serving size" gallery boxes distributed at "The Free Show" on March 1 at Pro Arts in downtown Oakland. These works have been exhibited at AJS Gallery in Brussels, Belgium, and at Madrone Studios, San Francisco (some of the collages shown in photo from the SF show in October 2010; photo by Michael Sun). "The Free Show" details at http://www.proartsgallery.org/exhibitions/2013_exhibitioncall_freegallery.php

How does Little Free Art Gallery fit within the growing community of organizations and events that explore "free" alternatives?

How does Little Free Art Gallery fit within the growing community of organizations and events that explore "free" alternatives?

A: Little Free Art Gallery grows out of work by Doug Millison in 2011, when he developed a plan for a membership-based creative community and production facility in the San Francisco Bay Area, formalized in a project called FreeArtExchange.com and evolving in 2012 to include the Little Free Art Gallery.

The project focuses on creating communities centered on making and sharing original works of art for free, celebrating the process: Art Making → Curating → Exhibiting → Receiving → Giving

Online, the Little Free Art Gallery Project gives artists a way to document the original works that they give away for free, in a Free Art Exchange directory/app -- available for free, naturally.

Little Free Art Gallery Project encourages artists, art teachers, curators, and others to establish their own Little Free Art Gallery installations in art studios, classrooms, museums, and community locations where art lovers can encounter them and help themselves to free original art works.

Little Free Art Gallery installations range in size from "single-serving size" gallery boxes that include one original work of art, to booth-sized units that provide an immersive gallery experience for one or a small group of art lovers. We also plan community deployments involving multiple artists who each create "single-serving size" Little Free Art Gallery boxes and place them in public places where art lovers can find them and take appropriate actions as a result.

In development: Web-connected Little Free Art Gallery kiosks and app that can distribute original works of digital art for download by art-lovers on the Web at LittleFreeArtGallery.com, via smartphone app, or from Little Free Art Gallery digital, Web-connected kiosks.

We welcome all interested parties to help move this exciting project forward.

It's official: Little Free Art Gallery taking part in "The Free Gallery" show at Pro Arts, Oakland, CA, February 26 - March 29, 2013

By Free Utopian Projects | Exhibition Call Selection 2013

Exhibition Dates: February 26 - March 29, 2013

Preview: Tuesday, February 26 - Friday, March 1

Artists' Reception and Free Art Launch: First Friday, March 1, 6-8pm

The Free Gallery, by Free Utopian Projects, is a new exhibition presenting free artwork, found objects and art ephemera to the public.
The Free Gallery is both an interactive experience of an alternative art economy, as well as a study of art as a consumer product. Who makes art? Who exhibits art? Who buys art? The Free Gallery explores the collapse of these distinctions by offering a subverted gallery experience where not only admission is free, the art is too.
Participating artists donate work to the exhibition to be presented salon-style in a continually evolving cycle of giving and taking art. A 'Preview' will be held from Tuesday, February 26 to Friday, March 1 to allow viewers an exclusive preview of items that will be available free to the public from the Artists' Reception onwards. A practice of taking one work per person will be encouraged. The project proprietor Jocelyn Meggait will be onsite most gallery hours to discuss the project with visitors, coordinate artwork, and document the selection experience.
The Free Gallery brings a distinctly Bay Area tradition of free community happenings - from The Digger's Free Shops in the 1960's to thriving First Friday's in Oakland - to an exhibition experience. By embracing the potential for visual chaos and participatory mayhem, The Free Gallery seeks to highlight alternative routes for accessing, valuing and experiencing art.

CALLING ALL ARTISTS TO PARTICIPATE! To have your work included in The Free Gallery drop it off to Pro Arts' gallery on Saturday, February 16 between 11am and 4pm. View Pro Arts' Standards of Exhibited Work before making your donation.

Participating Artists: Gwynessa Balvanz, Evan Barbour, Jennifer Brandon, Kenna Kristen Cabral, Sohyung Choi, Susanna Corcoran, Madelyn Covey, Alix Critchley, Veva Edelson, Peter Foucault, Hilary Galian, Matthew Gottschalk, Michael Hall, Dana Hemenway, Sarah Herniesen, Amy M. Ho, Becky Johnson, Samuel Levi Jones, Michael Koehle, Matthew Kowalski, Barbara Laukat, Hung Liu, Keegan Luttrell, Lauren McDougald, Kath Irwin McGaughey, Michael Mersereau, Nadja Eulee Miller, Doug Millison (Little Free Art Gallery), Seth Minor, Camilla Newhagen, Sheri Leigh O'Connor, Tressa Pack, Meri Page, Chelsea Pegram, Simon Pyle, Kate Rhoades, Alex Rubio, Kent Rodriguez Segura, Jenny Sharaf, Sofia Sharpe, Kate Short, Kelsey Thorne, Chris Treggiari, Marilyn Treon, Katy Warner, MAP (Mobile Arts Platform)... more artists to be announced soon!
About Free Utopian Projects: Free Utopian Projects is an ongoing alternative art project exploring Utopian economic systems by creating free, socially active installations. Curator/proprietor/artist Jocelyn Meggait has installed Free Projects at Kala Art Institute, Mills College Art Museum, and most recently at the alternative art space A Temporary Offering in the Renoir Hotel, San Francisco.
About the Annual Call for Exhibition Proposals: The Annual Call for Exhibition Proposals establishes an open submission process for artists and curators to present and produce a curated exhibition in collaboration with Pro Arts. The program provides a platform for exceptional and unexpected presentations of work from a range of artists and curators.
http://www.proartsgallery.org/exhibitions/2013_exhibitioncall_freegallery.php

Little Free Art Gallery is participating in The Free Gallery organized by Free Utopian Projects, hosted by Pro Arts in downtown Oakland, CA, beginning later this month and running through March

It's official:  Little Free Art Gallery is participating in The Free Gallery organized by Free Utopian Projects, hosted by Pro Arts in downtown Oakland, CA, beginning later this month and running through March. We will give away for FREE a newly-created series of "single-serving size" Little Free Art Gallery boxes, hand-crafted and embellished, each containing an original work of art.

We're delighted to take part in an experience that, as described by organizer Jocelyn Meggait in the Pro Arts press release published today, is "embracing the potential for visual chaos and participatory mayhem," and we look forward to helping The Free Gallery as it  "seeks to highlight alternative routes for accessing, valuing and experiencing art."
Here is the press release issued today by Pro Arts:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   February 7, 2013

The Free Gallery By Free Utopian Projects  |  Exhibition Call Selection 2013 Exhibition Dates: February 26 - March 29, 2013 Preview: Tuesday, February 26 - Friday, March 1 Artists' Reception and Free Art Launch: First Friday, March 1, 6-8pm Oakland, CA: Pro Arts is pleased to present The Free Gallery by Free Utopian Projects, a new exhibition presenting free artwork, found objects and art ephemera to the public. The Free Gallery is both an interactive experience of an alternative art economy, as well as a study of art as a consumer product. Who makes art? Who exhibits art? Who buys art? The Free Gallery explores the collapse of these distinctions by offering a subverted gallery experience where not only admission is free, the art is too. Participating artists donate work to the exhibition to be presented salon-style in a continually evolving cycle of giving and taking art. A 'Preview' will be held from Tuesday, February 26 to Friday, March 1 to allow viewers an exclusive preview of items that will be available free to the public from the Artists' Reception onwards. A practice of taking one work per person will be encouraged. The project proprietor Jocelyn Meggait will be onsite most gallery hours to discuss the project with visitors, coordinate artwork, and document the selection experience. The Free Gallery brings a distinctly Bay Area tradition of a free community happening - from The Digger's Free Shops in the 1960's to thriving First Friday's in Oakland - to an exhibition experience. By embracing the potential for visual chaos and participatory mayhem, The Free Gallery seeks to highlight alternative routes for accessing, valuing and experiencing art. Participating Artists: Gwynessa Balvanz, Evan Barbour, Jennifer Brandon, Kenna Kristen Cabral, Sohyung Choi, Susanna Corcoran, Madelyn Covey, Alix Critchley, Veva Edelson, Peter Foucault, Hilary Galian, Matthew Gottschalk, Michael Hall, Dana Hemenway, Sarah Herniesen, Amy M. Ho, Becky Johnson, Samuel Levi Jones, Michael Koehle, Matthew Kowalski, Barbara Laukat, Hung Liu, Keegan Luttrell, Lauren McDougald, Kath Irwin McGaughey, Michael Mersereau, Nadja Eulee Miller, Doug Millison (Little Free Art Gallery), Seth Minor, Camilla Newhagen, Sheri Leigh O'Connor, Tressa Pack, Meri Page, Chelsea Pegram, Simon Pyle, Kate Rhoades, Alex Rubio, Kent Rodriguez Segura, Jenny Sharaf, Sofia Sharpe, Kate Short, Kelsey Thorne, Chris Treggiari, Marilyn Treon, Katy Warner, MAP (Mobile Arts Platform)          ...more artists to be announced soon! The Free Gallery is the 2013 Exhibition Call Selection. The Artists' Reception and Free Art Launch, featuring Mobile Arts Platform, will be held on First Friday, March 1, 6-8pm. Exhibition and events are, of course, free. About Free Utopian Projects: Free Utopian Projects is an ongoing alternative art project exploring Utopian economic systems by creating free, socially active installations. Curator/proprietor/artist Jocelyn Meggait has installed Free Projects at Kala Art Institute, Mills College Art Museum, and most recently at the alternative art space A Temporary Offering in the Renoir Hotel, San Francisco. About the Annual Call for Exhibition Proposals: The Annual Call for Exhibition Proposals establishes an open submission process for artists and curators to present and produce a curated exhibition in collaboration with Pro Arts. The program provides a platform for exceptional and unexpected presentations of work from a range of artists and curators. For more information please contact:  Amy Spencer, Program Coordinator / Curator: amy@proartsgallery.org or 510-763-4361 Images: Sample works to be included in The Free Gallery. Courtesy of the artists   ###  Pro Arts 150 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland, CA 94612 (at Oakland Art Gallery) Phone: 510.763.4361 Fax 510.763.9470 info@proartsgallery.org www.proartsgallery.org Supporting the arts within communities by serving the ongoing needs of artists. Pro Arts provides critical access to contemporary art in the region and serves as a regional hub for arts activities, independent curated exhibitions, advocacy, arts education and capacity building artist services - fiscal sponsorship to artists and professional exhibition services matching artists with community partners. We produce 22 exhibitions annually, exhibit over 580 artists, and reach an annual audience over 72,000.

Little Free Art Gallery Project will make its first public art show appearance March 1 in Oakland, California; details TBA

We're making a batch of "single-serving" sized Little Free Art Galleries, using a variety of found containers that are being up-cycled, altered, decorated, and each one outfitted with a single work of original art -- to be given away for FREE at an art show opening March 1, in Oakland, California. Stay tuned for location and other details. A large number of artists are expected to give away free original art at this show.