P.E.I.'s cutest and tiniest art gallery

By Gomathi Sridevi Radhakrishnan

Oct. 26, 2023.

Teresa Quo is explaining her artwork to the people who participated in the ‘Artist Talk and Walk’ event on Oct.5, 2023. Gomathi Sridevi Radhakrishnan photo.

As I strolled down the sidewalk between Felling and Edward streets, something caught my attention.

I paused to study the tiny dark red box that had been positioned on Fitzroy Street. I kept walking to get a better view.

A smile crept over my face when I noticed multiple watercolor sketches inside the locked box.

"The Fitzroy St. Tiny Art Gallery" was written on the box.

I was intrigued.

The curator of the little art gallery is Monica Lacey. She was inspired by the tiny libraries in Charlottetown.

A tiny library is a small box full of books where anyone may stop by and pick up a book (or two) and bring back another book to share.

Monica Lacey runs the Fitzroy tiny art gallery which supports local artists by exhibiting their artwork. Gomathi Sridevi Radhakrishnan photo.

“I watched a talk online about alternative gallery spaces... and I loved the idea of creating a space that’s public.”

Lacey had heard from lot of artists about the lack of places to exhibit their artworks. So, she created this open space where people can leave some art and also take some art.

She started with one gallery on her front lawn in 2022. Later she partnered with Upstreet Craft Brewing to bring two new tiny art galleries to Charlottetown.

Last year, the gallery exhibited five artists’ works and five this year.

Lacey also received a small grant of $2,500 from the city of Charlottetown to do an event called “Artist talk and walk”.

She guides the participants through the city to her galleries while having the artists talk about their art pieces.

“I wanted to do an artist talk series that felt casual and easy...where everyone can be themselves and feel very welcome. It’s like active transportation and seeing the city and experiencing the art.”

The group will walk from the Upstreet Brewery down the Confederation Trail to Fitzroy Street, and end at Craft Beer Corner, covering approximately two kilometres.

Teresa Quo, was one of the artists included in the ‘artist talk and walk’ event that happened on Oct. 5, 2023.

Teresa Quo, a local island artist exhibited her watercolor illustrations at the Fitzroy Tiny Art Gallery. She works primarily with traditional watercolor and 2D animation, transporting the viewer into another moment in time and fantasy. Gomathi Sridevi Radhakrishnan photo.

She produced watercolour illustrations.

“Lot of my themes will always center around nostalgia, childhood, intimate moments and small moments in time.”

Quo is a local artist on the island and works as an animator. She gets her inspiration from Hayao Miyazaki, Director of Studio Ghibli.

The theme of the exhibit is “Moment in time.”

“My most comfortable medium to work with is watercolours because there’s softness to it and are very easy to work with,” she said.

This is her first time exhibiting her artworks in the tiny art gallery and doing an artist talk and walk event.

“That was really fun and having a casual talk with people and getting to see different perspectives to interpret my artworks was quite interesting,” she said.

Quo has exhibited her artworks in three tiny art galleries with different themes.

At the Upstreet Craft Brewing, the gallery theme is more on landscape and cityscapes.

On Fitzroy Street, the theme is nature and animals.

At the Craft Beer Corner, the theme is colour with bright pastel, neon, magenta, turquoise and bright yellow. Lot of images and paintings are portraits like closeups of people.

As an artist, Quo has faced many challenges, but she is thankful that her day job includes her passion for art.

“Probably paving your own path, especially on the island, is a challenge. As an animator, there are not too many of us.”

Whether one is an artist or art appreciators, Lacey invites everyone to visit this little gallery.

“One of my favorite things about this project is seeing my neighbors enjoying the tiny art gallery. I think it’s the beauty of making things accessible for everyone,” she said.

The tiny art galleries are free.

The gallery will close for the winter and reopen with a spring exhibition featuring the creations of different artists.