Several pint-sized galleries across Long Beach are reshaping how art is experienced and appreciated in the community. Step into the whimsical world of micro-galleries this Saturday, when front yards will be transformed into tiny havens of art during this first-of-its-kind art crawl.
The public is invited to tour seven of Long Beach’s littlest art galleries during the art crawl on Saturday, all located in front of the homes of local residents and displaying a wide variety of work by different artists: including paintings, 3D art, collages, multi-media art and more.
Micro-galleries are similar in size and shape to the Little Free Libraries that have grown in popularity throughout Long Beach. The first micro-gallery in Long Beach, The Monarch Gallery, splits its time between functioning as a Little Free Library filled with books and a gallery displaying the work of independent artists.
“I think we sort of proved the concept worked, which was to create a tiny opportunity, but a consistent opportunity, for artists to show their work and people to get involved,” said Sean Cully, creator and curator of The Mantel Gallery. Sean and his wife Nicole, who runs the Little Free Library, started planning the art crawl months ago after remarking on the spread of micro-galleries in the area.
During the art crawl, The Mantel Gallery will be displaying work by Los Angeles-based multidisciplinary Xiaoxiao Wu. Her work will be on display in the micro-gallery through June 30.
“We noticed that there are all these other little galleries like ours that have popped up, and we know we’ve been to other art crawls for larger galleries and it seems like those always get better turnout […],” Sean told the Signal Tribune. “It felt like a fun way to highlight the work that we’re all doing and to create buzz around our gallery and other galleries that are doing the same thing.”
One of the artists that exhibited at The Mantel Gallery, Dave Clark, and his wife Carol were inspired to create their own micro-gallery in front of their home.
“My favorite thing is when I’m sitting in the kitchen, and I look out and see people come across it and are totally blown away by it […] You can tell by the way they are responding,” said Carol Clark. “That’s what means the most to me.”
Dave built the couple’s micro-gallery, and organized an inaugural exhibit by local artist Cody Lusby in June 2023, during which one of the Clark’s neighbors expressed his desire to have his own gallery in front of his house. Dave obliged, and began offering to build a micro-gallery for anyone in the area who wanted one.
He charges $450 for materials, and said he doesn’t want to make a profit or turn it into a business. So far he’s created six micro-galleries throughout Long Beach, as well as two others in San Pedro and Lomita.
Four of the micro-galleries included in Saturday’s art crawl were built by Dave: Gallery 17 (2483 Eucalyptus Ave.), Gallery 23 (2489 Eucalyptus Ave.), Gallery 30 (2543 Eucalyptus Ave.) and Gallery 99 (3461 Woodruff Ave.).
Gallery 17 is displaying an abstract painting by Amy Hernandes; Gallery 23 is displaying a 3D work of painted plexiglass by Stephanie Sherwood; Gallery 30 is displaying a colorful collage by Kellie Crackle; and Gallery 99 will be displaying a mixed media work on wood by Kevin Sarabia.
The Black Box Microgallery and the Tiny Art Gallery have not yet publicly announced which artist’s work will be on display during the art crawl.
“Our goal was to build an alternative venue for artists to show in that allows the public to see it without having to worry about, you know, business hours or whatever,” Dave told the Signal Tribune.
The art crawl will be held on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Artwork will be displayed at Gallery 17 (2483 Eucalyptus Ave.), Gallery 23 (2489 Eucalyptus Ave.), Gallery 30 (2543 Eucalyptus Ave.), Gallery 99 (3461 Woodruff Ave.), The Mantel Gallery (3539 Fanwood Ave.), the Tiny Art Gallery (5140 E Brockwood St.) and Black Box Micro-gallery (7119 E Metz St.).
