A shuttered 7-Eleven in downtown Seattle has reopened as an art gallery disguised as a convenience store, complete with a checkout counter, a refrigerator case and a hot bar, except every item on the shelves is handmade art with a price tag.
The exhibition, called Inconvenience Store, quietly opened Aug. 28 at 1524 Third Avenue during a neighborhood art walk, then held an official launch Sept. 19 timed to the city's Walk Don't Run arts marathon. More than 70 mostly local artists contributed pieces ranging from $1 trinkets to a $10,000 centerpiece, all arranged like retail merchandise rather than displayed on white gallery walls.
The shelves include pre-tangled USB cords, shoulder bags sewn from Cheetos and Lay's bags, beeswax candles shaped like eggs, a candle that doubles as a functioning yardstick, and a rotary "landline iPhone" that plays only U2's "Vertigo" when answered. Textile artist Shiloh Davies contributed oversized bobby pins and snack-shaped keychains, while Emma Kates-Shaw's hand-encrusted lighter cases, built from resin, shells and beads, sell for around $65 each.
The project comes from artists Lilia Deering and Mary Anne Carter, who previously turned heads with STÖR, a 2024 spoof of an IKEA showroom that drew more than 10,000 visitors and generated over $50,000 in sales across roughly 800 households during its three-month run. The pair said the retail format is meant to strip away the intimidation factor of traditional galleries, where prices are often hidden and unfamiliar visitors can feel unwelcome.
"Art is inherently inconvenient. In a society that rewards efficiency and mass production, artists do things the hard way."
Inconvenience Store organizers
By pricing everything visibly and letting visitors browse the way they would at an actual corner store, Deering and Carter said they hope to reach people who would never otherwise set foot in a gallery, while still paying working artists real money for their time. The exhibit is free and open Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m., and is scheduled to run through mid-2027, giving Seattle more than a year to wander the aisles of a convenience store that sells absolutely nothing convenient.