Frequently Asked Questions

This is a project of Louisiana-based author Tyler Tork. You should read his books, which are excellent. He is also very modest.

We have a couple of anonymous volunteers helping with publicity.

We rely on you, the public, to spot FLAGs we should have on the map (or that are defunct and should be removed) and tell us about them.

Bless you. We have a page about what people can do to help with this project.

That isn’t technically a question, but I’ll allow it.

First, I’m assuming you already checked the map on this very site.

Here are other places to check (if you find one we missed, please let us know):

• If you’re in a city covered by a local Joy Map, they might list galleries we don’t know about (along with lots of other fun things).
• Check findafreelittleartgallery.com, which occasionally hears about a gallery before we do. But there are many neither site knows about, because people just start them up and don’t tell us. We also have poor coverage in non-English speaking countries because we don’t have a good way to find those without speaking every language — but we would love to hear about them!
• So, keep your eyes peeled, check community news sources, try searching Instagram hashtags like #NameOfYourTown or #NameOfYourTownArts.

If you want to participate but can’t find a gallery that’s convenient, many accept contributions of art by mail. And of course, we’d be ecstatic if you start your own! Be the first in your town, why not?

We have a page of galleries who like to receive art by mail.

The Facebook groups Free Little Art Gallery Stewards, Curators, and Managers and Art Abandonment are good place to solicit contributions from others in the FLAG community. However, if you put effort in building up community involvement, that’ll be more self-sustaining and more satisfying. Here are some things you can do:

• The Start Your Own page has a section with tips about doing outreach.
• Think about redoing your signage to be more clear that you expect people to contribute their work, not just take stuff.
• Is your gallery in the right location? To succeed, it needs repeat foot traffic or good community awareness, preferably both.
• Get onto social media and give people recognition for their contributions. This is very motivating.
• Hold events. Invite the neighborhood to an art party on your lawn, set up tents, supply art materials (you can solicit donations of these).
• Have a themed call for submissions. You could claim July is Alligator Month and ask for pictures of alligators. It doesn’t matter if you just made that up — if you say it’s Alligator Month, it is for your gallery, of which you are the boss.

Probably because nobody told us about it yet. We must be missing lots of FLAGs, because people can just set them up and not tell us anything. If you know of one we should add, please use our online form to tell us.

Also note, though, we’re not interested in display-only or completely curated spaces. With a few exceptions that are included just because they’re fun, this site is only about the take art/leave art type of gallery. In addition, the local “Joy Maps” can include whatever the people who create them feel like including.

Yes! We love to welcome a new FLAG on its official opening date (or later, if it’s already open). We’ll post to our feeds on Facebook and Instagram if you coordinate the date with us. Mention your opening date when you fill in the map update form to tell us about your gallery, and we’ll make an announcement on that date in our Facebook and Instagram feeds. If the listing is already correct and you just want to schedule an announcement, use the contact form instead.

If you’re doing an opening announcement on Instagram, you can also invite @mapofflags to join in on the announcement and we probably will. This function is available if you post from the Instagram app.

Please do! Use our FLAG story submission form and describe what you want to write about and we’ll get back to you pronto via email. Or, if you’ve already written the article, you can paste it right into the form.

Yes; the map update form lets you attach a photo. If you also want to remove an existing photo, say so in the comment field.

Please use the map update form to give us the details, including a date the change takes effect.

This is the paradox of all FAQ pages — if they are successful, the title “Frequently Asked Questions” is a lie. However, no — they don’t read the FAQ. Still, a more accurate title for this page might be, “We Hope You Will Look Here for Answers Before Asking Questions.” But that’s a bit long, don’t you think?

I will need you to be more specific.