A take-it-or-leave-it art gallery has popped up in a Seattle neighborhood

In March of 2019, Stacy Milrany’s mom began a four-month chemo treatment.

Unable to visit her due to distance, Milrany began mailing her mother a postcard-sized piece of art every single day. “By the end of her treatment, she had a stack of about 145 4″x 6″ pieces filled with beauty and color containing sentiments of optimism, and sometimes pure ridiculousness,” says Milrany.

When the world went into lockdown in March, Milrany revived her postcard-sized art pieces, mailing them via USPS to friends and family as well as her Instagram followers.

The little project of happiness blossomed and has become what it is now: the Free Little Art Gallery.

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Located on 1st Avenue North between Garfield and Galer in Seattle, the art gallery is for the community.

Anyone is welcome to take a piece, leave a piece, or just have a look around and enjoy what’s inside.

“Art is many things. Among them is simply proof of human existence. And when we’re cut off from one other, as we have been during this pandemic, it’s more important than ever,” she says. “It serves as another reminder that when we can’t be physically near each other, we’re still here together sharing this common human experience called life.”

Milrany documents as many art pieces as she can on her Instagram account and estimates that over 90 pieces have been exchanged so far.

Here are some of the pieces that have been dropped off:

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A post shared by Stacy Milrany (@free_little_art_gallery)

“No matter what year it is, I believe we can all benefit from more creativity and moments of joy in our lives. So I hope the Free Little Art Gallery can contribute to those things — even if only a small scale.”