‘Love art, take art, leave art’

East Kildonan

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This article was published 06/11/2024 (637 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One East Kildonan neighbourhood has been brightened by a splash of art in the last year.

Standing tall on a bend on Sawchuk Bay, near the intersection with Antrim Road, the Free Little Art Gallery (FLAG, for short) has made quite a mark on the area since it was launched in August 2023.

The project operates on a similar basis to the Little Free Libraries that can be found across the city. Instead of enabling people to pick up and donate books, the Free Little Art Gallery gives artists the opportunity to share their work and trade with others from all over Winnipeg. It’s sustained by a ‘take a piece, give a piece’ mentality, and artists and creators of all skill levels are welcome to lend a hand.

This FLAG isn’t the first of its kind, according to Heather Woods, who organized the project, but rather a local chapter based on the original in Seattle, Wash., which was created by FLAG founder Stacy Milnary COVID-19 lockdowns

Since then, the little Louvres have spread all over the U.S., Canada, and even parts of Europe.

“As an artist and miniature lover, I have always admired and adored the little house-looking libraries, especially in contrast to the full-scale houses,” Woods explained. “For me, the draw was the miniature and esthetics part, not so much the book exchange part, so when I saw Stacy’s (FLAG) on social media, I fell in love and immediately wanted my own.”

Woods, a professional photographer, credited her father for putting the stand together. It is decked out with a see-through front door, miniature gallery visitors, lighting, and teeny shelves to display the original art pieces. Her husband then put it in the ground.

“It’s an extra-special project,” she said, referring to the collaborative element.

This summer, to commemorate its first anniversary, the local FLAG was expanded to include a give-and-take keychain section, as well — called ‘Pinky and the Chain,’ a reference to the Pinky and the Brain cartoon segments from Animaniacs.

If you don’t have art to trade, Pinky and the Chain welcomes trinkets of any sort — think of figurines the size of classic Happy Meal toys — to be left on the bottom shelf so that they can be collected and transformed into keychains, which are then hung back up for people to come and collect. Pre-existing keychains are welcome, as well, for people to swap with what’s there.

The keychain idea was also inspired by a U.S.-based project, Woods said, this time in Portland, where the first keychain exchange was created by Mike Bennett. Portland has a number of “sidewalk joys,” she continued, such as puzzle, toy car and dinosaur libraries, for example.

“I really hope the sidewalk joy movement continues to grow here in Winnipeg,” Woods said. “And we start to see an influx of libraries throughout (the province) for people to enjoy.”

Although the FLAG is usually filled with donated art, it has been locked up for special miniature exhibits, such as a Sesame Street exhibit, ‘Sesame on Sawchuk,’ which had the classic Jim Henson puppets take over the box throughout the month of April. Besides the tiny, plastic versions of the characters which could be seen viewing the art, the paintings decorating the walls were parodies of classics, with puppet faces replacing the likes of Girl with a Pearl Earring, among others.

So far, Winnipeg’s FLAG has been successful both within the local community and beyond, Woods said, with mail-in donations coming from as far as England. The most recent mail-in donation came from Woodinville, Wash.

“Overall, my goal was to create something that would spread joy and encourage creativity,” Woods said. “Something I didn’t foresee was how good it would make me feel. Winnipeggers and the creative community have been very kind, supportive and generous. I feel very fortunate to be a small part of such a wonderful and inspirational community.”

To keep up with the FLAG, visit @freelittleartgallerywinnipeg on Instagram or @flag.wpg on TikTok.