At 3539 Fanwood Ave. in Long Beach sits a tiny oasis for art and literature.
With only about 14 by 16 inches of space, the elevated wooden cubby functions as either The Mantel Gallery or The Monarch Little Free Library for alternating periods of two weeks at a time.
“The goal really is to meet our neighbors and to give artists whose work we admire the ability to try new things out and explore and experiment,” Sean Cully said. “That’s why art is cool—because you get to try out things and you get to tell a little about things that you’re excited about and passionate about.”
Long Beach couple Sean and Nicole Cully were inspired to build The Mantel and Monarch in front of their home after seeing Little Free Libraries throughout Long Beach.
Little Free Libraries usually consist of a small shelved cubby on a front lawn where community members can freely drop off or pick up used books. There are over four dozen throughout Long Beach.
“I always thought they were really cute and it seemed like a fun thing,” Sean said. “And it felt like the opportunity was right—I had a little bit more time since the pandemic, I was at home more and so I thought it’d be fun to build one.”
While Nicole curates The Monarch’s book selection, Sean organizes the rotating art exhibits for The Mantel Gallery.
“I have a lot of artist friends who are always looking for opportunities to show their art work off and [it’s] a really cool way to provide the opportunity and bring art to our neighborhood,” Sean told the Signal Tribune.
The Mantel Gallery is supported by a mini-grant awarded by the Arts Council for Long Beach to the Cullys.
“I feel like they’re noticing the work we’re doing,” Sean said “Which is, you know, very flattering.”
The Mantel Gallery is currently involved in a year-long project titled “12,” which invites a new artist every month of the year to show their work in the miniature space.
“I will see people because it’s right in front of my house walking their dogs by and they’ll be like, ‘what’s this?’ and then I’ll just chit chat with them about what the show is,” Sean said. “And so I’ve ended up meeting quite a few neighbors this way which has been nice.”
Three artists have already exhibited their work at The Mantel Gallery for “12,” beginning with Andrew K. Currey in October.
Currey’s installation “Suburban Sepulcher” utilized drawings of skulls on the inner walls of The Mantel while faux candles lined the bottom, with a mirrored background duplicating the scene.
In November, painter and conceptual artist Emily Babette was invited to showcase her work. Her installation “American Utopia” exploring concepts of home and intimacy featured a small golden house sitting atop a sphere of vegetation in the center of a white picket fence on a square of real grass.
The installation “Steve Biko Body Politic” by Los Angeles-based artist Joshua Oduga was on display at The Mantel Gallery from Dec. 11 to Dec. 19. Oduga’s installation at The Mantel Gallery used images held by metal clips to explore “globally inspired narratives found within and shaped by popular culture and music.”
The next artist to be featured at The Mantel in Jan. 2022 is Melany Meza-Dierks, a painter, muralist and tattoo artist.
The opening of Meza-Dierks’ exhibit will be held on Jan. 15 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., with both Sean and the artist available to answer questions about the gallery and artwork.
“She mostly does really large murals like 35 feet by like 20 feet,” Sean said. “So it’ll be fun to see how she tackles working on such a much smaller canvas.”