PROVO, Utah — A unique downtown Provo art exhibit is asking the community for help after it was forced to leave its gallery space.
The "Tiny Art Show," curated by artist McKay Lenker Bayer, has amassed an Instagram following that’s greater than 50,000 people — but it’s now without a home.
Lenker Bayer’s love of the arts started at a young age.
“My playground growing up — my mom painted all the walls, and did like a beanstalk in one corner with a castle,” said Lenker Bayer.
It can be the inspiration for a lifetime of creativity.
“I can be kind of shy and introverted,” Lenker Bayer said. “But in the art room, time went by really fast, I liked working on projects and I liked all my art teachers.”
Lenker Bayer felt that calling as she went off to college — but she wasn’t yet confident in her capabilities.
“I don’t have that natural talent,” said Lenker Bayer. “I still want to be creative, so I’ll just do it as an art teacher.”
It was in 2016 that Lenker Bayer realized she didn’t need life-size materials — that her biggest ideas could be laid out on the smallest of spaces.
“When you see something tiny — especially if it’s functional — it’s kind of bending that line between reality and this magical tiny world,” Lenker Bayer said.
What started as a project at BYU blossomed into her very own Tiny Art Show idea.
“I’ll be the curator and I’ll host like a different artist each show,” said Lenker Bayer.
Every show features a new local artist and visitors can buy their own miniature art from the gallery. Lenker Bayer says each purchase even comes with its own tiny certificate of authenticity.
Lenker Bayer spent years doing pop-up shows around the country, from LA to Orlando. All the while, she was preparing small foods served on hand-pressed paper plates.
“I’d make like 150 of these for each opening,” Lenker Bayer said about the tiny plates.
“One of my dreams with Tiny Art Show was to have a permanent gallery space,” said Lenker Bayer, noting the road trips grew exhausting with time.
So in November of 2024, she finally found that space in downtown Provo. But just a few months later, her new tiny home was plucked away from her. The gallery’s owner made her leave and forced her into a difficult headspace.
“This has been so stressful, this has been really sad,” Lenker Bayer said. “Maybe I should just stop.”
But Lenker Bayer isn’t giving up hope yet. She’s found a new space — this time, within a closed stairwell. She says it’s the spot she envisioned in her dreams.
“Yes, it is actually,” Lenker Bayer confirmed with a chuckle.
She’s started a fundraiser to help pay for renovations and she hopes the community will show a little love to this passion project of hers so it can become, “like a tiny landmark for downtown Provo.”
With the community’s help, Lenker Bayer hopes to start up new shows as soon as next month.
