Find a Micro Gallery Near You

Wondering where you can find a micro gallery near you? Here’s a list of the American micro galleries that I’ve been able to find so far.

List of Micro Galleries in the United States

Small Albany Gallery in New York
https://www.instagram.com/smallbanygallery

Nicholas Quarry Gallery in Wisconsin
https://www.instagram.com/nicholas_quarry_gallery

Proxy Gallery in Los Angeles, CA
https://www.instagram.com/proxygallery

Black Box Gallery in Long Beach, CA
https://www.instagram.com/black_box_microgallery

Creal Micro Gallery in Ann Arbor, MI. (outdoors)
https://www.instagram.com/creal_microgallery

Shelter in Place Gallery in Boston, MA
https://www.instagram.com/shelterinplacegallery

(Mine) Angelica Kauffman Gallery in the Greater Chicago Metro Area, aka Chicagoland
https://www.instagram.com/angelicakauffmangallery

List of Micro Galleries in the UK and Europe

The Open Dresser Gallery
https://www.instagram.com/the.open.dresser.gallery

The Small House Gallery in London
https://www.instagram.com/small_house_gallery

The House of Smalls
https://www.instagram.com/small_house_gallery

A Cardboard Monkey
https://www.instagram.com/acardboardmonkey

Tiny Cat Gallery
https://www.instagram.com/tiny.cat.gallery

The Doll’s House Art Gallery
https://www.instagram.com/thedollshouseartgallery

For more, see the list of members of the international Guild of Micro Galleries.

Members of the Guild of Micro Galleries

https://www.lisa-cole.co.uk/the-guild-of-micro-galleries

What’s the difference between a Micro Gallery and a Free Little Art Gallery?

Free Little Art Galleries (FLAG) are generally outdoors and like a Little Free Library, are a place to exchange art work. The motto of many a FLAG is, “Make Art, Take Art, Love Art.” The selection of art is somewhat random, as the art is given by whoever chooses to participate.

A micro gallery is a display only space, usually indoors, but it can also be outdoors, and run by a curator. Micro galleries may have public calls for art to request work on specific themes. Micro galleries often live only online, and may or may not be available to be seen in person. Many, though not all of them, sprung up in response to the isolation and limited opportunities of the pandemic.

Of the U.S. micro galleries listed above, only the Creal Gallery is outdoors, as far as I know. My own string of micro galleries, the Angelica Kauffman Galleries, are indoor galleries: 4 white boxes, one wine crate, two dollhouses, a number of mint tins, and an oversized lunch box in progress. My galleries often travel to be put on public display. Since April 2021, they’ve been displayed at The Glass Case Gallery at The Waste Shed in Chicago; in the window at Calypso Moon Studios in Oak Park, IL; in the boutique The Seed in Riverside, IL; more to come!

In October 2021, I’ll unveil my first outdoor micro gallery, which will be part of the Terrain Biennial. Subscribe to the newsletter and follow on Instagram to get the address of the house where the outdoor micro gallery will be installed!

In general, the U.K. has more micro galleries and the U.S. has more FLAGs. How to find a Free Little Art Gallery near you? Watch your local paper for a story! And head over to Instagram and search on #flag and other related terms. There are so very many of them, and there are more each day, there may be one near you!