Pictured here are free bundles of art supplies available in the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts’ Little Free Art Pantry. Each bundle is themed and includes instructions. Themes include “Paint Night,” “Watercolor,” “Visual Journaling” and “Collage.” Photo by Shauna Caldwell
BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University’s Turchin Center for the Visual Arts (TCVA) recently created a Little Free Art Pantry with free art supply bundles for the community. The art pantry is located near TCVA’s front entrance, in a large metal cabinet. To date, 30 bundles have been taken and another 50 bundles are ready to be placed in the pantry.
Christy Chenausky and Shauna Caldwell, director and assistant director, respectively, of arts education and outreach at TCVA, developed the idea as a twist on the national Little Free Library movement — a book-sharing initiative in which community members build enclosed bookcases filled with free books in public and residential spaces.
Chenausky and Caldwell gathered gently used materials, including paint, brushes, canvases, glue and journals, and created themed bundles with instructions for use. The themes — which include “Paint Night,” “Watercolor,” “Visual Journaling” and “Collage” — are modeled after the workshop series TCVA typically offers each semester to Appalachian students and community members.
Appalachian State University’s Turchin Center for the Visual Arts (TCVA) created a Little Free Art Pantry, pictured here, located near TCVA’s front entrance. To date, community members have taken 30 art bundles from the pantry. Photo by Shauna Caldwell
The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts’ Little Free Art Pantry, pictured here, features free bundles of art supplies for the community. To address sanitation concerns related to COVID-19, the pantry includes disposable gloves and disinfectant, pictured on the top shelf, to allow patrons to clean the bundles before taking them. The bundles do not have to be returned. Photo by Shauna Caldwell
The bundles do not have to be returned. To address sanitation concerns related to COVID-19, the pantry includes disposable gloves and disinfectant to allow patrons to clean the bundles before they take them, and the pantry itself is regularly sanitized and re-stocked.
What do you think?
Share your feedback on this story.
About the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts
Located at 423 W. King St., at the crossroads of campus and community, the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts at Appalachian State University engages visitors in dynamic and accessible exhibition, education, outreach and collection programs. These programs inspire and support a lifelong engagement with the visual arts and create opportunities for participants to learn more about themselves and the world around them. Admission to the center is free. Learn more about the Turchin Center for Visual Arts at https://tcva.appstate.edu/about/visit.
About Appalachian State University
As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.
![NC universities ranked by free-speech advocacy group [faculty and staff featured]](/_images/_posts/2026/09/free-speech-advocacy-600x400.jpg)
![Nepal’s Hydropower Industry Was Booming. Now 900 Workers Are Missing. [faculty featured]](/_images/_posts/2026/08/hydropower-industry-600x400.jpg)
