According to the adage, great things come in small packages. That’s especially true for the Tiny Doors project that has taken root in Atlanta. Tiny Doors is a nonprofit organization that wants to create art that people can enjoy without having to pay for it. Currently, the project consists of six tiny doors that are located all over the city in an installation style. The doors are only about six inches high and are intricately decorated. The project began in summer 2014, and recently the artists have started hosting ribbon cuttings for their Tiny Door artworks.
There are two artists who started Tiny Doors and continue to work on creating more doors. Karen Anderson, a Michigan native, is a cake artist and has experience working in small scale for cake decorations made of sugar. Sarah Meng is from Atlanta and works as a mental health counselor. She likes working with textiles and making modern pieces using embroidery. There are also Tiny Guardians, who are helpers who take care of the Tiny Doors and porches. Co-Conspirators also aid with the projects, offering help with the legal, grant-writing and technological aspects of Tiny Doors.
According to the Tiny Doors website: “Tiny Doors ATL is a small artist cooperative bringing big wonder to tiny spaces. Our constantly evolving installation pieces are an interactive part of their community. With the installation of a door, what was once a wall or the column of a bridge becomes an entrance to collective creativity and an invitation to whimsy.” The artists enjoy the fact that there is no cost for enjoying the art — it’s simply something that can be stumbled upon and admired.
Tiny Doors isn’t the only project about small doors out there. In an article from Atlanta InTown, Annie Kinnet Nichols writes: “Tiny doors have become popular around the world, including England where they are known as ‘fairy doors.’ The painstaking detail of the doors, figures and objects around them are intriguing to both children and adults.” The doors aim to inspire the imagination and bring the viewer to a new world, one that is created in their mind like a story. There are infinite possibilities that come from looking at these tiny doors and infinite fantasy worlds that can be devised.
Each Tiny Door is decorated in a different style and they are all located in different areas of Atlanta, including the BeltLine and Ponce deLeon Avenue. One of the doors is a pet shop, another features books and another is hidden on a tree trunk. These are just a few of the doors that are around the city, and the location of the seventh door is soon to be revealed. Typically, the doors are located in areas where pedestrians are sure to notice them and get to experience them as a surprise.
Tiny Doors ATL brings art to pedestrians, giving them a little something to brighten their day. So keep your eyes open next time you’re walking around the city. You never know what you might find!
