Inside Crabbe Hall at the University of Northern Colorado, alumnus Shannon Hall opens up a birdhouse-shaped structure to reveal various artwork from pencil-drawn portraits to custom pins, and even hand-made earrings.
“My main motivations were community and accessibility honestly,” Hall said.
Hall happens to be the creator of the birdhouse, which isn’t just a birdhouse at all. It’s actually a Free Little Art Gallery, or FLAG, for short. These FLAGs offer artists and art enthusiasts a way to share their work with their communities in a unique way.
“I think it’s a really accessible option," Hall said. "You don’t have to be face-to-face with anyone but it still gives you a chance to put your art in there. You can share your art with people."
She was inspired to bring Greeley its first Free Little Art Gallery after deciding to take a few art classes while studying at UNC to become an educator. From these classes, Hall developed a close relationship with professors Bri Murphy and Seojung Lee, who opened her eyes to the power of art.
“They really shared that getting your name out there and having people know your name and knowing other people’s names is one of the most important things you can do. Viewing other people’s work with your perspective is so powerful and other people viewing your work from their perspective is so powerful,” Hall said.
This knowledge left Hall yearning for a way to give her fellow students and Greeley residents a way to not only share their art, but to also understand the impact that sharing art can have on others.
“Sometimes you just need a little something that makes you happy," Hall said. "It’s nice when I can come in and get a little trinket. It makes me happy and I just want to make other people happy."
Hall also wants the FLAG to be a resource for artists who don’t necessarily have the funds to buy supplies. She personally restocks the FLAG with new supplies ranging from yarn to fabric scraps each week.
“When I was a little kid, I didn’t have a lot of money. My family didn’t have a lot of money, so I know that I couldn’t get cool diorama supplies so if I had a free little art gallery that I could come check for supplies, I would’ve loved that,” Hall said.
She doesn’t want to stop at just one FLAG in Greeley either. Hall is currently working on writing proposals for four more across the city: at Lincoln Park in downtown Greeley, the new LINC public library, one outside of UNC’s recreation center and at Aims Community College.
If you’d like to support Hall’s efforts to providing Greeley art enthusiasts a way to share their work, you can reach out to her on the Instagram page, flag_greeley, or drop by the FLAG currently in Crabbe Hall to share some of your own artwork.
