Burlington to Launch Pop-Up Art Gallery on Wheels to Showcase Local Creativity

In a fusion of creativity and community, one Burlington artist is transforming a humble cargo trailer into a solar-powered mobile art gallery—bringing pop-up exhibits and local talent to all of Burlington.

This $55,000 project – which has added windows, hardwood flooring and lighting to the trailer – is largely financed by state funding that covers other initiatives, such as the Burlington Town Center Mural on the exterior wall of 202 Cambridge St., said Melisa Tintocalis, Burlington’s Economic Development Director. 

“We’re trying to tap in more to the artistic, creative veins of Burlington, and so we were looking at trying to do more public art,” Tintocalis said. 

Catherine LeComte-Lecce, a local photographer and mixed media artist, is overseeing the town-owned project. She said she came up with the idea for a mobile art space in graduate school and pitched the idea to Tintocalis a year and a half later. 

LeComte-Lecce said she bought the trailer for $13,000 last October and met with the contractor, Andrew Magera from Modern Edge Contracting, almost every week during the renovation. She said she also worked with Jesse Graver from Graver Electric and designed the 16-by-2-foot solar powered sign made by FastSigns, a Woburn company. 

Solar panels were installed on the trailer so it can be powered by renewable energy and be “off the grid,” Tintocalis said. Three large windows on one side of the trailer allow visitors to see the art inside even when the gallery is closed, LeComte-Lecce said.

LeComte-Lecce, who grew up in a low-income household, said it is important to her that everyone has access to art. The first time she was able to enter a museum was on a school-funded trip in high school. 

“That was my first time in a museum, and I absolutely loved it, but I felt pretty out of place coming from the economic background that I did,” LeComte-Lecce said. “I guess I had a mindset that the arts weren't for me because I couldn't afford them.”

LeComte-Lecce said she is planning the next six months of programming and is in the process of getting artwork from a popular local artist to exhibit. She said she is also planning a collaboration with the Burlington High School art teachers to feature student work. 

“I’m going to switch between showcasing local artists, [including] some Burlington artists,” LeComte-Lecce said. “And then I'm going to expand it to also include more regional artists because I'd like to really establish the space as like a professional gallery setting but still also have community projects and community involvement.”

The artist, whose name has not yet been released, said she is excited about this gallery especially in a community that does not have much of an art scene. Her art consists of  soft-form paintings that use stuffed canvas frames instead of traditional frames; she said people have described her artwork as “blur[ring] the boundaries of painting, sculpture and installation.” 

Because of the delicate nature of her artwork, the artist said she is happy to get the chance to be involved in a public art project that is indoors where she does not have to worry about using weatherproof materials. She said she thinks it is wonderful that the town of Burlington is supporting this project and hopes that it will inspire surrounding towns to replicate it.

“Art enriches lives, and it’s also a universal language,” said the artist.

For LeComte-Lecce, art is not only a tool for change and empowerment but also an outlet for emotional regulation and creative exploration. 

After the sudden death of her father when she was 14, LeComte-Lecce said she developed depression and ended up dropping out of high school. However, after a call from a guidance counselor, LeComte-Lecce said she enrolled in a mail-in photography class, used her father’s camera, and earned enough credits to return to high school and graduate. 

“So in a way, and with the help of the counselor, art sort of saved my life,” LeComte-Lecce said. “I don’t know what would have happened to me if I didn’t re-enter school through the arts and have that opportunity to be able to express myself in a new way where I feel like I didn’t fit into a traditional environment.”

The gallery-on-wheels is more than a physical space—it’s a symbol of accessibility, resilience, and hope. As it rolls into local businesses and schools, it carries not just local art, but a reminder that creativity belongs to everyone. For LeComte-Lecce, this project is not just a dream realized—it’s a chance to pay forward the life-changing power of art.

The Micro Gallery is expected to open with its first exhibit in the coming weeks.

This story is part of a partnership between Burlington Buzz and the Boston University Department of Journalism.