Artist Noah Scalin hosting “Secret Art Show” pop-up at six local businesses

Acclaimed Richmond artist Noah Scalin’s latest exhibition is a scavenger hunt through local businesses.

When Shelf Life Books employee Athena Palmer spotted a piece of Noah Scalin’s art on display at Tiger’s Eye Hair Studio when she was getting a haircut, a casual question – “Why isn’t your art in our bookstore?” – turned into a city-spanning project.

Noah’s paintings and mixed-media pieces now hang in six different businesses across Richmond and form a “secret” art show that can be discovered as each new location is revealed on Noah’s social media accounts (Instagram/TikTok).

“I really had no plan for this,” Scalin said. “Usually my work is in storage in my studio until I have an exhibition, but after the positive response to hanging my work up at Shelf Life Books I realized the new paintings I was making would fit well in some of my other favorite stores around town. I started asking the store owners if I could hang them up and things just took off from there. I love that people can see them in person right away and I can support my favorite local businesses in the process.”

Thea Brown, owner of World of Mirth, immediately found the idea intriguing, saying she loved “introducing shoppers to art they may not have otherwise seen.”

The project developed organically over the course of January. After the first few locations Noah began getting requests for his art from additional stores and the title came spontaneously when he made his first official post about the show. Now both recent and older works are on display, each chosen specifically to relate to its new temporary home.

There’s no end date or defined scale to the show. The stores can display the pieces for as long as they like (or until they sell) and Noah is happy to continue hanging up art at more locations as the opportunity arises.

Noah Scalin’s Secret Art Show: 10 Works at Six Locations (so far):

1. World of Mirth – 3005 W Cary St (2 vintage toy paintings)

2. Shelf Life Books – 2913 W Cary St (2 book themed sticker & paint pieces)

3. Velocity Comics – 819 W Broad St (2 comic book paintings)

4. Charged Up Flagship Store – 106 W Broad St (2 sticker & paint portraits)

5. Little Nomad – 104 W Broad St (1 match-burn painting portrait)

6. Toy Lair – 3222 W. Cary St. (1 vintage toy painting)

Map of Locations