As you walk around Nashville, you have likely come across Little Free Libraries, a book-sharing program where community members take or leave books in standing boxes.
Looking at the success of these communal libraries, Professor of Communication Studies Claire Sisco King wondered if there was a way to use that same approach to encourage people to engage with art.
With support from Vanderbilt’s Community Engagement Collaboration Fund, which fosters partnerships between the university and local community organizations, Sisco King partnered with the North Nashville Arts Coalition (NNAC) to create two Free Little Art Galleries (FLAGs). Similar to Little Free Libraries, FLAGs offer free access to small-scale works of art, which visitors may view and take.
“Typically located in residential communities and in high-traffic areas, FLAGs offer valuable opportunities to make art visible and to encourage passersby to discover diverse creative modalities,” Sisco King said. “While art galleries and museums can feel inaccessible or intimidating for some, FLAGs are designed to be easily accessible, encouraging tactile and intimate forms of engagement.”
The Vanderbilt FLAG has been installed in Fleming Yard, between Rand and Alumni Lawn, and a North Nashville FLAG will be installed soon, with plans for both to remain open indefinitely. Sisco King will be curating the art for the galleries, which will involve monitoring if new art needs to be added, assessing if pieces need to be removed, adding her own works and event-related materials to get the galleries started, and rearranging the displays to ensure optimal visibility.
Sisco King encourages community members to actively engage with these little art galleries—whether that means submitting their own art or taking work from the gallery that resonates. If a viewer doesn’t have traditional art to submit, she said they could leave art supplies for others to use or provide a link to their digital work through QR codes and mini posters for arts-related events.
“I would like people to imagine the possibilities of the FLAG broadly,” Sisco King said. “Within just days of the Vandy FLAG’s installation, Vanderbilt community members had already begun adding their own art. I have since added other materials and will be consistently curating the gallery to make sure there are new pieces to display. Visitors to the FLAG are invited to leave art, take art, and/or simply enjoy what they see; and I hope in the future I will be able to collaborate with faculty, students, and staff to create more elaborate installations.”
As part of her collaboration with NNAC, Sisco King also plans to offer educational workshops where participants can create their own small-scale art, which could then be displayed in the FLAGs. She also plans to partner with the Elephant Gallery in Nashville to curate the North Nashville FLAG as a tie-in to the current exhibition on display, acting as a miniature version of the full-scale exhibition.
Community members are encouraged to leave their art in either FLAG location. For more information or to discuss collaborations, please email Claire Sisco King at claire.s.king@Vanderbilt.Edu or reach out to the Vanderbilt FLAG Instagram, @vandyflag.