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Culture

Coolest Partnership
The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts and Wash. U.’s Brown School of Social Work

Art lives in museums, and art-lovers visit it there…but that wasn’t good enough for the Pulitzer. When it mounted an exhibit about light, schoolkids built light installations in the community. When it exhibited “Old Masters,” convicted felons staged themes of betrayal and redemption, and people with Alzheimer’s talked about the memories that art burns into the soul. Art can make a difference. Let’s Look: Making Connections at The Pulitzer, 314-754-1861, letslook.pulitzerarts.org

Multipurpose Venue
Luminary Center for the Arts

Formerly a convent, the nuns’ quarters—tiny, well-lit, equipped with sinks—make perfect artists’ studios. The Luminary also curates art shows that generously invite audiences to participate; its monthly Elevator Music Series is marvelous. But its conscious merger of art and service sets it apart, with its “Blank Canvas” art classes for low-income kids serving as just one example. 4900 Reber, 314-807-5984, theluminaryarts.com

Exhibit
Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future

We think of the Arch, and Saarinen, as ours; this superlative national touring exhibit reminded us that both are part of a larger cultural conversation and demonstrated, in high style, how looking backward can sometimes propel us forward. Extra kudos to the Kemper for engaging St. Louisans directly with programs like the “1000 Arches” film competition. Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, 1 Brookings Drive, 314-935-7282, kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu

Poet
David Clewell

Regarding this local poet, one Amazon.com reviewer may have said it best: “Yes, David’s poems reference flying saucers, LSD conspiracy theories, and H.G. Wells…but that’s not why you should read him. Read these poems because you care about language as art.” Though Clewell is a Webster University professor, his poems are both earthy and fancifully fictional, revealing a man deeply invested in the everyday life of language—and eager to reveal the medium’s uncharted possibilities.

New Gallery
Good Citizen

The magic here is in the mix: street and academic, local and national, screen prints and installations. Oh, and large and small: from the 14- by 48-foot billboard on the gallery roof (which features work by the artist currently on exhibit) to sculptures like Kenny Gilbert’s Micronauts, which required a magnifying glass to view. 2247 Gravois, 314-348-4587, goodcitizenstl.com

Visual Artist
Craig Norton

White Flag Projects discovered him in 2007, but this is Norton’s breakthrough year, with a solo show at William Shearburn, a group show at Laumeier, a spot at the Vancouver Biennale, and his work registered with The Drawing Center in New York. Self-taught, Norton is best-known for his figures, which have photorealistic heads and hands drafted with 29-cent ballpoint pens and “clothes” made from wallpaper; he arranges dozens of them in large-scale scenes depicting war, racism, or genocide. As cultural tectonic plates shift and people dare to say, “Waterboarding is torture,” his work feels like part of the zeitgeist.

Arts-Related Festival
Cherokee Street’s Cinco de Mayo

Cherokee’s not just our Latino district—it’s a big arts district. So St. Louis’ biggest Mexican independence party has inevitably become a fireworks fountain of unbridled creativity. This year, that included artists’ booths set up like a vecindario (neighborhood), a “People’s Joy Parade,” and a suite of Volvos parked behind City Art Supply, where local musicians performed—via the car radios. cincodemayostl.com

Arts Educator
Alicia Graf

She danced as “center woman” in Alvin Ailey’s Revelations, has dazzled critics at The New York Times, was profiled in Smithsonian. After reactive arthritis sidelined her from dancing full time, she tried business school and publishing, but still longed to be around dancers. Now St. Louis is lucky enough to have this world-class artist teaching at COCA. Center of Creative Arts, 524 Trinity, 314-725-6555, cocastl.org
 

Drama Kings: Stars of the Stage

Dramatic Theater
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
There’s just no arguing with the 33 nominations and 10 statues at this year’s Kevin Kline Awards. Or the fact that the Rep took four of the five nominations for “Outstanding Production of a Play,” including for Evie’s Waltz, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Rabbit Hole, and The Little Dog Laughed—the show that scored the company half of its 10 awards. Sure, it’s been around since 1966, but it’s easy for old, venerated institutions to get lazy. The Rep simply hasn’t. Loretto-Hilton Center for Performing Arts, 130 Edgar, 314-968-4925, repstl.org

Musical Theater
The Black Rep

Though mainly a dramatic company, the Black Rep’s take on musical theater is the freshest around, from its Kevin Kline Award–winning production of Sarafina! to the purely pleasurable Tell Me Something Good, which opened the Black Rep’s 32nd season. Matter of fact, the company closed its curtains this year with music as well: the beautiful, visceral Blues in the Night. 634 N. Grand, 314-534-3810, theblackrep.org

Theater Experience
OnSite Theatre Company

Theater folk are perennially concerned with “getting butts in the seats.” But what if the butts went bowling with the actors? Or took photos of the cast with disposable cameras? OnSite’s debut production, 2007’s Bowling Epiphany, was staged in South City’s Epiphany Lanes; its most recent show, Exhibit, took place inside the new Craft Alliance gallery during Jennifer Angus’ “Locusts & Honey” exhibit. Nine out of 10 butts agree: In an increasingly distracting and interactive world, environmental theater is a must-try. 314-686-0062, onsitetheatre.org

Dance Experience
Spring to Dance Festival at the Touhill

Thanks to Dance St. Louis and the Touhill, you could have spent every day of Memorial Day weekend immersed in dance—for a mere ten-spot. In its second year, Spring to Dance featured a roster of 30 dance companies, including locals like aTrek Dance Collective and Saint Louis Ballet, as well as artists we’d never see otherwise, like the Chicago Human Rhythm Project and Philadelphia’s BalletX. springtodance.org
 

Tunes of the Times: Music by the Decades

’20s
Dizzy Atmosphere

These Gypsy-jazz masters of swing bring a full catalog of American, European, and Latin standards to life.

’30s
Pokey LaFarge

Soulful and simple, Pokey LaFarge’s ragtime blues and down-home country rambles shake the dust from the road in true Depression-era fashion. myspace.com/pokeylafarge

’40s
Ambassadors of Swing

For a real postwar boogie, catch these cats live at the Casa Loma Ballroom on a hot Friday night.

’50s
Chuck Berry

See the man—yea, the legend—himself in Blueberry Hill’s Duck Room, and hear “Maybellene” how it was meant to be played. chuckberry.com

’60s
The Ralph Butler Band

The band’s leader and namesake began his career at the end of this decade and can still flawlessly channel its Motown sound. web.mac.com/ralphbutler

’70s
Fantasy

This band has the music of the ’70s firmly in hand, from Chicago to Van Morrison to any funk-pop standard you can name. davefowler.20m.com

’80s
Tory Z Starbuck

Talk about ’80s incarnate. In concert, Starbuck comes off like a strange space-age mashup of Bowie, Eno, and Ocasek. myspace.com/toryzstarbuck

’90s
Son Volt

As Son Volt’s latest hits shelves this month, its new labelmates include Utah Phillips and the coal miners of Pennsylvania—meaning they’re not just Americana anymore, but part of the folk canon. sonvolt.net

’00s
So Many Dynamos

The band recorded its latest with Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla on the boards. But live shows—combining joyful noise and X-Acto precision—are its ace-in-pocket. myspace.com/somanydynamos