Displayed in a sleek white box outside of The Fralin Museum of Art, The Little Museum of Art holds small-scale works of art by University students, faculty and members of the greater Charlottesville community. Subdivided into six sections, the Little Museum showcases a range of media in miniature — from tiny canvases and sculptures to diorama-sized theatrical sets — with regularly rotating exhibitions that provide a unique display opportunity for new and seasoned artists alike.
Lisa Jevack, community relations manager at the Fralin Museum, devised the concept for The Little Museum in 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic and a major renovation project forced the Fralin to temporarily shut its doors. The Little Museum gave museum visitors an opportunity to engage with art in a COVID-safe, outdoor setting.
“I happened to come across an article about this artist in Seattle who, during the pandemic, created a little free art gallery in front of her sidewalk,” Jevack said. “She started by putting her own artwork in it, and then inviting people to come [and] take a piece of art if they wanted, and [leave] art. I thought that was such a great idea.”
With financial support from the Fralin’s Volunteer Board — a group of dedicated museum patrons who organize various Fralin events throughout the year — Jevack created the Little Museum and its partner project, the Free Little Museum Store. Like the Little Museum, this tiny shop sits just outside the Fralin’s main building. As the Little Museum rotates the art on display, Jevack moves pieces from the outgoing exhibition to the Free Little Museum Store, where visitors can exchange the art with art pieces of their own.
Jevack said the first invitation for artist submissions received an overwhelming response.
“With the first call I did, I had enough submissions for three exhibitions,” she said. “There was just this massive interest.”
As the project grew, Jevack sought opportunities to expand the Little Museum’s community outreach. She puts on several shows each academic year, each united by a common theme or shared medium. Jevack said that artists are often encouraged to submit pieces that are inspired by the Fralin’s current full-sized exhibits.
The museum also features two recurring exhibitions — a University faculty exhibition in October and a student exhibition in April — that showcase selected art from the submissions that complement the given theme.
Jevack said she hopes the Little Museum will expand and evolve with time, continuing to garner excitement amongst the University arts community through the intriguing exhibits it showcases. She said she also has plans to keep increasing the variety of artforms displayed in the museum, particularly by including video projects.
In the past, the museum has included a QR code that takes viewers to an online video display. In this way, the possibilities for diversifying the media that can be featured in the museum — and, in turn, the pool of artists who submit their work — are endless.
The Little Museum’s application process involves a submission box on the Fralin website, in which the work of both seasoned artists and newer creators are submitted. Work is accepted if it corresponds with the museum’s current theme, and, most importantly, if it can fit into the space.
Fourth-year College student Carly Ault, a studio art major at the University, said she became aware of the Little Museum — and ultimately decided to apply — through the student artists she knows whose work has been featured in the display. Ault said that the ease of this application process combined with the Little Museum’s small scale and casual setting are what make the museum less daunting than staging a full show.
Ault selected six of her own prints from “the other end of the line,” a nineteen-print exhibit Ault presented in a show for a photography class. Ault created a collection of photos taken in her father’s workshop as an homage to her relationship to her father, who Ault says has influenced her artistic endeavors.
“It’s nice to have what seems to be a lower-stakes place to show stuff,” Ault said, who showcased six black-and-white prints in the Little Museum’s most recent past exhibition.
Ault primarily works in black-and-white photography, which she says more closely captures its subjects than photography in color. She explained she appreciates projects like the Little Museum that offer arts-involved University students an opportunity to get involved in the Fralin.
“I think the Fralin does a really good job of collaborating with the Studio and the Art History department, and making sure that all their events and opportunities are well advertised to people in the art sphere at U.Va.,” Ault said.
The Fralin also compensates artists in the Little Museum for their work, which becomes the property of the Fralin after being accepted. Jevack said that compensating artists helps fill a need for gallery space for students and hobbyists.
“We pay the artists for their work since they're not selling it themselves, and since they're not getting it back,” Jevack said. “We don't want to just ask them to hand over their work for nothing. So we compensate them for each piece.”
Jevack said that by giving an opportunity for emerging artists a novel, more relaxed way to showcase their work, the Little Museum has helped bring together the arts communities at the University and elsewhere in Charlottesville.
“It's really been a great way for us to connect with the community in a unique way that we haven't been able to do before,” Jevack said. “It provides an opportunity for local artists to show their work at the museum, which otherwise wouldn't happen … It's also a great opportunity for students who maybe this might be their first show.”
The Little Museum has submission calls on its website every few months for its rotating exhibits. Ault encourages artists to try their hand at submitting to the Little Museum themselves.
“Everybody should apply,” Ault said. “They pay you. I was gonna do it for free!”
Rain or shine, the Fralin’s Little Museum of Art offers museum visitors an accessible arts viewing experience in a visible outdoor location. While the Fralin Museum of Art operates during set hours, the Little Museum is always open for community members to visit and enjoy at any time of day.
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