A Wilmette high schooler’s free mini art gallery has an unconventional model and an even more unorthodox name.
New Trier High School sophomore Clara Swibel opened a smaller version of Thee Old Fishbowl Art Gallery on the corner of Dempster Street and Chicago Avenue in May. Passersby can donate their art and take pieces from the box housing the gallery for free.
Swibel said her gallery is based on the Little Free Library movement, which is a series of small bookcases with a take-one-and-leave-one model in cities across the U.S. Swibel started the gallery because she wanted to make art accessible, she said.
“You can already find free books at the library, but art isn’t something that you can just find for free,” she said. “This way, everyone is able to get art, make art and share art. It just spreads that joy.”
Swibel said she hangs out with her friends by making art for the gallery. The gallery has also received donations from many artists, ranging from a 2-year-old to the elderly, she added.
On Instagram, Swibel’s operation is known as the Windy City Little Free Art Gallery. After she opened a second branch at The Wilmette Theatre, the Wilmette Public Library asked her to lead a “Tiny Art Party” for young children to paint and make crafts in September, she said.
“I didn’t think anything like that would ever happen,” she said. “I thought it would be strictly the gallery itself and whatever happens with that. But, I was so excited.”
The gallery is named after 3rd Ward resident Coco Colin’s Thee Old Fishbowl Gallery, located on the same corner. Swibel said she wanted to open her miniature exhibit next to the original Fishbowl Gallery because Colin’s mission to uplift local artists aligned with her passion for democratizing art.
Colin said her nonprofit gallery functions as a space for any local artists who want to show their work, so Swibel’s project made total sense to her. When Colin suggested the box’s current name, though, she said its significance eluded her younger, out-of-town counterpart.
“She actually said something like, ‘Oh, why would I name it that?’” Colin recalled.
The name comes from a pet store named Thee Fish Bowl that occupied the street corner for 50 years before Colin opened her interior design studio six years ago.
As an Evanston resident of 18 years, Colin recounted old memories of watching Betty, a tortoise with painted nails, and other pets in the shop window with her young children. She opened Thee Old Fishbowl Gallery, next to her studio in 2022.
Colin said she couldn’t believe the impact Swibel has had on her community at her age. Some artists donate pottery, which Colin said could otherwise be worth over $40, and other local creatives showcase their pieces in the box to advertise their work.
Swibel’s mother, Ruthie Swibel, said passersby ask her and her daughter if they’re involved with the mini gallery whenever they’re nearby. The gallery honors local artists, and its name pays homage to a place that was near and dear to many Evanstonians, she added.
“My greatest hope as a parent is that my kids will find something that speaks to their heart, and then share that with the greater community in some way that will have a positive impact on others,” she said. “From my perspective, that’s exactly what Clara is doing.”
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