Finders keepers
Rome residents can collect local art thanks to Free Art Friday.
Rome residents now have a way to get free art and see a little bit more of their town.
Thanks to a project called Free Art Friday, people all over town are seeking and stumbling upon free paintings, pottery, jewelry and other work produced by local artists.
Here’s how it works. Rome residents can join a Facebook group called Free Art Friday. On any day of the week, but usually on Fridays, local artists will post a photo of something they’ve created that’s hidden somewhere in Rome. The photo will give a clue as to where the object is hidden and anyone can go out, find it and keep it.
“When I moved to Rome in 2014 from Atlanta, I decided to try this with a few of my friends,” said Melissa Rutledge, an artist herself and founder of Rome Knitterati. “I started a Facebook group back in December and at the time it was a closed group with members hearing about us through word of mouth.”
But recently, Rutledge decided to make the group public which has quadrupled its numbers and opened up the project to anyone.
“It’s open to all local artists who’d like to get their work out there and of course to anyone who want try to find it all over town,” Rutledge said. “We only ask that artists be respectful so that their work doesn’t include any nudity or profanity and to make sure they hide it in a place that’s safe for people to go and find.”
One of the biggest motivators for Rutledge was when her Knitterati group hid crocheted items all over downtown Rome on Black Friday in an attempt to get people together downtown. It was such a success she knew she had to go public with Free Art Friday and now the group has more than 400 members and that number is growing daily.
“So far we’ve had artists hiding photos, pottery, jewelry and crocheted items,” Rutledge said. “This week I’ll put out Millie Maloney (below) is the first to find this unique piece created by artist Andi Beyer and then posted a selfie of her find to the Free Art Friday Facebook group. mini canvases. And they can be anywhere. Downtown is always a good place since there are so many people and so many cool hiding places but our artists have hidden items all over including Maplewood and Summerville Park.”
Photographer Ryan Smith Contributed photos
Photos, like this one by Ryan Smith, are posted to the Free Art Friday Facebook page showing a piece of art hidden somewhere in Rome (in this case, Myrtle Hill Cemetery). Local artists post similar photos to the page and group members try to figure out the location and hope to be the first to get there.
placed one of his photos at Myrtle Hill Cemetery last week where it was soon picked up.
“Free Art Friday is a great way for local artists to get their work out there and it’s a fun way for people to get some free art while exploring Rome,” Smith said. “The Rome community has been very supportive of my photography and I think this is a great way to give back.”
Rutledge said people can set their Facebook notifications to alert them whenever someone posts to the group so they don’t miss an artist’s photo or they can just regularly check the page for any updates. Artists can hide items on any day and at any time, although Friday seems to be the most popular day. From there it’s every man for himself as group members who see the photos first try to figure out where it was taken and get to that location before anyone else does.
“We ask artists to update their photo if they know that someone has found the item,” Rutledge said. “And if the person who found it can take a selfie with the item that would be great just so people know it’s been found.”
The group has a hashtag, #fafromega, that they’re using with all their posts related to the project. On May 12 the Free Art Friday group and the Convention and Visitors Bureau will be hiding art throughout Rome. Check the Facebook page, “free art friday - rome ga” for more information.