You’ve heard of Little Free Libraries — the public bookshelves located in neighborhoods across the country operating on the “take a book, leave a book” model. Now, meet the Little Free Art Gallery, located at 1285 North Locust Street.
The project is the work of local teenager Liberty Peterson and her family. A senior at Country Christian School in Molalla, Peterson said she got the idea from seeing a similar concept in Seattle while visiting her older sister at college.
“I thought it was so creative and so amazing,” Peterson recalled. “I loved that so many people could come together to create something so cute and nice and fun, and I wanted to share something like that with my community, too.”
Much like Little Free Libraries, the diminutive art gallery offers pocket-sized pieces (their dimensions vary but most are approximately the size of a postcard). Anyone is welcome to take home their favorite — provided they replace it with a masterwork of their own.
For those who are less than artistically inclined, the gallery is always open for viewing.
Peterson built the gallery with the help of her dad, a professional contractor, and painted it herself. It comes complete with tiny plastic figures, which Peterson found on Etsy, enjoying the — from their perspectives — life-sized artwork.
Since the Peterson homestead is far out in the country, the gallery was planted outside the grandparents’ house in central Canby.
“We knew no one was going to come all the way out to our place to see it,” Peterson said with a laugh.
The pieces currently on display were all painted by Peterson and her family and friends, but she hopes Canby embraces it and makes it their own.
“I’m just really excited to be able to share this with my community,” she said. “I’m really excited to see what art people make and what comes of it.”
The art gallery opened this week. Keep up with the latest by following @littleartgalleryofcanby on Instagram.
