When I was in college at RISD, I learned one of the most important lessons of my creative life—not in a classroom, but in a boiler room.
Yes, a boiler room.
I had this wild idea: What if we students opened our own art galleries? Not someday. Not after graduation. Not when we had “real money” or “real space.” What if we did it right then, with whatever we had?
So I walked into Dean Mandle’s office—nervous, hopeful, totally unqualified—and asked for funding to open three small galleries on campus. To my surprise, he said yes.
One space was literally a boiler room. We scrubbed it clean, painted every questionable inch of it white, and gave it a bright red door. Suddenly, it wasn’t a boiler room anymore. It was the Red Door Gallery.
Another popped up inside a coffee shop. The third took shape in a student lounge. None of them were fancy. None followed any rulebook of “how to start a gallery.” But month after month, we hosted exhibitions that gave students a chance to show their work, build their portfolios, and experience the joy—and chaos—of putting on a real show.
Looking back, those DIY galleries were more than experiments. They were training grounds. By the time my wife and I were in our early twenties, the idea of opening a “real” gallery didn’t feel intimidating anymore. I had already done it—just in a scrappy, unpolished, passionate way.
And that’s what I want young artists to know:
You don’t need permission to create a space for art.
You don’t need a perfect white-cube gallery. You don’t need money. You don’t need credentials.
You need:
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A wall
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A vision
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And the courage to ask or try
Turn your garage into a gallery for a night. Ask a local coffee shop if you can display your work for a month. Look around your community and see the unexpected spaces that could become portals for creativity.
When you build your own space, no matter how small or makeshift, you learn how to curate, promote, collaborate, and create opportunities—for yourself and for others. You build confidence. You build community. And you realize that art can transform any space, as long as you’re willing to claim it.
Start where you are. Use what you have. Make your own gallery.
You never know what doors—red or otherwise—it might open.
