Tom Thumb 1

Tom Thumb 1 came into being when Kjell Hahn and Jimmy Kuehnle became fed up with the lack of art venues in the small liberal arts college town of Kirksville, MO. The University possesed the only "gallery" in town so the solution seemed simple, start an alternative space. Kjell Hahn and Jimmy Kuehnle removed everything from a campus apartment, took art submissions, invited guests, and changed the art scene in Kirksville forever. They introduced concepts such as "improve the art" where guests could use provided art making supplies to "improve" an artwork deemed unworthy. The guest speaker, common to subsequent events, made its appearence.

Attendance as well as the submitted artwork left more to be desired but the events only grew into the utter chaos associated with Tom Thumb 6. Now students who do not know Kjell or Jimmy continue the tradition.