Marcie Alcorn had only three days to put together a display for the Tiny Art Show Gallery in Downtown Provo.
Alcorn is an art teacher at Ridgeline Elementary School in Highland, Utah.
When one of her students introduced her to the Tiny Art Show, she fell in love with the idea and incorporated tiny art into her curriculum.
While students were creating tiny art for class, Alcorn encouraged them to visit the Tiny Art Show, located in an empty stairwell on University Avenue just north of Center Street.
However, when Alcorn told her students to visit the exhibit, the Tiny Art Show had a problem: there was no art.
The art displayed almost every month at the Tiny Art Show comes from artists around the world, and the next exhibit was scheduled to arrive from Spain.
However, the shipment was delayed in customs in Europe, leaving McKay Lenker Bayer, the gallery’s owner, unsure how to fill the week between exhibits.
When Alcorn reached out to ask what would be on display for the students she planned to send, Bayer proposed that Alcorn fill the gallery instead.
Alcorn hesitated because of the tight timeline. She shared her doubts with her mother, Karen Nelson, who helped her brainstorm how to pull off the exhibit.
“We gotta do it,” Nelson said.
She knew how exciting the opportunity would be for the students.
Because the students had already created their own tiny art galleries in class, Alcorn selected pieces from fifth- and sixth-grade students to display in the official gallery.
“I wish I could have put the entire school's in,” Alcorn said.
She noted that although the younger students did not have art in the show, they still came to support their classmates.
“They were just excited to know that their fellow students had something,” Alcorn said.
The Tiny Art Show display featured student artwork inspired by well-known and contemporary professional artists.
Alcorn specializes in art history and designed her curriculum to help students learn about these artists at a young age.
“It’s been really successful,” Alcorn said.
She said some students told her about family vacations taken specifically to see famous works of art by certain artists.
“This was just like icing on the cake,” Alcorn said.
The gallery debuted March 6 during the First Friday Art Stroll and attracted many visitors, including students from Ridgeline and their families.
During a 30-minute span, the gallery was never empty. The students were proud of their work and excited to show it to friends and family.
Bayer also expressed enthusiasm for the show.
“Kids are probably my favorite visitors to the gallery,” Bayer said. “They actually get down and look. They’re always the ones to notice the gallery, too.”
Bayer said art galleries and museums can sometimes feel inaccessible to children, so she enjoys making the Tiny Art Show a fun experience for younger audiences.
She was excited to help Alcorn set up the exhibit, especially because she previously worked as an art teacher for several years.
“It’s just really crazy that while I was doing the unit, she needed something, and we were able to come together,” Alcorn said.
The collaboration with Ridgeline may have been tiny, but for everyone involved, the impact was huge.