Photograph by Jess Dewes
Ten years ago, we didn’t really have a cohesive arts district. Anywhere. We had big venues like The Pageant, the Fox, and Elliot Smith Gallery, and a scattering of small, interesting venues—some still with us, others lost down the memory hole. Back then, Grand Center was still inchoate, Chesterfield Arts was still drafting its ambitious plans, and Cherokee was essentially frozen, its buildings in the hands of just a handful of property owners. Things have changed a lot. Here’s an overview of those districts, a decade later, with the dots connected—and more to come.
Grand Center
Powell Hall (718 N. Grand, 314-534-1700, slso.org), has been in use pretty much continuously. Built in 1925 as the St. Louis Theatre, the building’s 2,689-seat theater was built for vaudeville acts and movies (Carl Stalling, the composer who wrote the incidental music for Looney Tunes, was once the organist). The last film to screen before the Symphony Society acquired the building was The Sound of Music, in 1966; two years and $2 million later, it reopened as a symphony hall to widespread acclaim, including by the New York Times. Now, of course, it’s home for the St. Louis Symphony. David Robertson picks up his conductor’s baton and kicks off the 2012–13 season on September 28, with a performance of Italian composer Ottorino Respighi’s symphonic poem, Pines of Rome. In other exciting news: the vacant lot next door at Grand and Samuel Shepard (former site of the Missouri Theatre), is tentatively designated as public art site, inaugurated this summer with the installation of “A Chromatic Confluence,” a sort of giant cat’s cradle made from 25,000 feet of colored yarn, installed by Austin artists Lucy Begg and Robert Gay.
The Fox Theater (527 N. Grand 314-534-1678, fabulousfox.com), had some rough years—when it closed in the late 1970s, it was showing kung-fu movies, and even made a cameo in Escape From New York as a post-apocalyptic Broadway theater. It was a long fall: When it was built in 1929, it was the second largest theater in the U.S., with 5,060 seats. It opened again in the early 1980s, after a loving restoration by Mary and Leon Strauss. The theater hosted Chuck Berry’s 60th birthday party (with Keith Richards acting as musical director), and a huge spectrum of bands, from Calexico to Celtic Thunder, have played its opulent auditorium, but mostly it’s been the place where St. Louisans got to see the current “It” musical, from Wicked to Mama Mia to Avenue Q. Next March, it’ll host the St. Louis premiere of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s much anticipated, seriously buzzed-about musical, The Book of Mormon.
You’ll find theater on a much more intimate scale—as well as cabaret, poetry and new music—in the 100-seat black box theater at the Kranzberg Arts Center, (501 N. Grand, grandcenter.org), home to HotCity, Upstream and Muddy Waters theater companies. The former Woolworth’s sat empty for decades before reopening as The Big Brothers Big Sister Building in 2009. It’s also a satellite location for Craft Alliance (craftalliance.org), including a gallery and studios for artists’ residencies. This is also the space where Craft Alliance does its Fashion Lab programming, including lectures and trunk shows; this month, the lab holds talks on body adornment and sustainable fashion.
When the Tadao Ando-designed Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts (3716 Washington, 314-754-1850, pulitzerarts.org) opened in 2001, it signaled a huge sea change for Grand Center, which was further reinforced in 2003 when the Forum for Contemporary Art jumped from Strauss Park into a curvy glass-and-concrete building next door (designed by Portland architect, Brad Cloepfil), and became the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (3750 Washington, 314-535-4660, camstl.org). The two museums not only share a block, but a blog: 2buildings1blog.org. Both also recently brought on new directors, Kristina Van Dyke at the Pulitzer and Lisa Melandri at CAMSTL. The Pulitzer’s 10th anniversary show, In the Still Epiphany, runs through October 27; on September 21, they’ll screen shorts by local filmmakers that are thematically resonant with the exhibit. CAMSTL’s fall shows, Leslie Hewitt: Sudden Glare of the Sun; Jonathan Horowitz—Your Land, My Land, Election 2012; and Rosa Barba open September 7. Triangulating the energy at Spring and Washington is Bruno David Gallery (3721 Washington, 314-531-3030, brunodavidgallery.com), which has hung some truly impressive shows in the past several years, including some of the late Ernest Trova’s final work and Van McElwee’s experimental videos. And just up the street is The Sheldon Concert Hall and Galleries (3648 Washington, 314-533-9900, thesheldon.org), which celebrates its 100th birthday this fall with a season of special programming (see Culture, p. TK, for more info).
The Bistro at Grand Center (3536 Washington, 314-531-3030, http://jazzstl.org/jazz-at-the-bistro) has been home to Jazz at the Bistro for almost 20 years (17, if you want to be exact). Jazz musicians adore The Bistro because it’s a nonprofit enterprise, not a club: the music’s front and center, not background noise—and there are no gauzy blue clouds of cigarette smoke hanging in the air. (Damn that cliché, anyway.) This season is typically eclectic—the schedule includes Latin jazz/salsa/bebop Musica Slesa; John Scofield; Terrance Blanchard; Hip Grease; and the return of St. Louis prodigal trumpeter Jeremy Davenport.
The Bistro faces Strauss Park (North Grand at Washington), named for Fox Theater savior Leon Strauss. It’s is the starting point for Grand Center Inc.’s new Architecture Walking Tours, which kick off in September. The mile and a half tour includes 14 stops, including the Third Baptist Church, whose presence kept the neighborhood afloat during its low points in the 1970s and ’80s, and the small, jewel-like Sun Theater, which is holding tight for its impending facelift as performing arts center. The tours are Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon, and are free, but require a reservation. For more info, go to grandcenter.org, and call 314-289-1583, or email marcia@grandcenter.org to get your name on the list.
And this fall, if you stroll through the park, you’ll see a new arrival: KDHX 88.1 FM (kdhx.org), which will be leaving its Magnolia Avenue studios and moving into the Creepy Crawl’s old building at 3524 Washington. Though the station’s Plan A was to rehab the Sun Theater on Grandel, the Washington storefront offers the community station a much greater street-level visibility than it’s had in the past; it’s begun easing into the new location with its “Thursdays at the Intersection,” outdoor concert series, just a stone’s throw from Catharine Magel’s serene, glittering “Earth Rabbit” sculpture. The station joins several other major media presences in the neighborhood, including The St. Louis Beacon (3655 Olive Street, stlbeacon.org), and KWMU (3651 Olive, stlpublicradio.org) which began broadcasting from its new three-story, 27,000-square-foot media center at 3651 Olive in June.
Housed in a 19th-century Romanesque Revival church, originally built for First Congregational, The Grandel Theater, (3610 Grandel Sq., 314-534-1834), now boasts an intimate 470-seat theater, and is home to both The Black Rep (theblackrep.org), which produces plays during the regular season in the fall and spring, and St. Louis Shakespeare (stlshakespeare.org) whose productions take place in the summer. Look for The Black Rep’s encore production of Nilaja Sun’s critically acclaimed one-woman show No Child this September, and for those who dig old school dance, Lindy Hop St. Louis (lindyhopstlouis.org) teaches dance classes, and holds Swing Night, every Tuesday in the building’s Grand Hall.
When you come down for an art walk, be sure not to miss some of the galleries off the beaten path. The Portfolio Gallery and Education Center (3514 Delmar, 314-533-3323 portfoliogallerystl.org), located inside a charming historic house, is one of Grand Center’s oldest arts orgs; artist Robert Powell (who also wears the hats of administrator, and when the situation calls for it, carpenter) opened the gallery in 1989. Portfolio focuses on local and internationally renowned African-American artists, including photographer Robert Hale and watercolorist Dean Mitchell. The Saint Louis University Museum and Galleries (3663 Lindell, 314-977-3399, slu.edu/sluma) hangs consistently stunning shows, including the first large-scale solo exhibition of local printmaker Tom Huck’s work; this summer, the main gallery was dedicated to the work of Abstract Expressionist Robert Motherwell. The Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (3700 W. Pine, 314-977-7170, slu.edu/mocra.xml), which was the first contemporary interfaith museum in the world, defies the mawkish clichés of “religious art.” Exhibits have ranged from installations on the moral failings of the Tuskeegee experiments to Andy Warhol’s “Silver Clouds,” to Archie Granot’s affecting reflection on his Jewish faith, “The Papercut Haggadah.”
And next spring, on the upper floors of Smith’s Triumph Grill (3419 Olive) we’ll be able to view some of the finest photography in the world when The International Photography Hall of Fame (IPHF) relocates from Oklahoma City, Okla. The 6,000-square-foot space will show off 6,000 historical cameras, and serve as exhibit space for IPHF's collection of 30,000 images, which include work by Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, and Margaret Bourke-White.
If one needed further proof that Grand Center has come into its own as an arts district, just check out the tenant list at Centene Center for Arts & Education (3547 Olive, 314-289-4000, keeparthappening.org): it includes African Musical Arts (africarts.org), Atrek Dance Collective (atrekdance.org), Bach Society of St. Louis (bachsociety.org), Cinema St. Louis (cinemastlouis.org), Circus Flora (circusflora.org), Dance St. Louis (dancestlouis.org), HotCity Theatre (hotcitytheatre.org), River Styx (riverstyx.org), Studio STL (studiostl.org), and the Chamber Music Society of St. Louis (chambermusicstl.org), among others.
Other locations of note: the MOTO Museum (3441 Olive, themotomuseum.com); Grand Center Arts Academy (711 North Grand); Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, (3540 Washington, gvdgallery.com); and William Shearburn Gallery at 615 N. Grand, where Jim Schmidt once had his gallery (Schmidt’s now curating for Philip Slein, who relocated from downtown to the West End in May). It’s not a walk-of-the-street kind of place, but rather a private art dealership—but important and influential on St. Louis’ art scene, both within and without the city’s borders.
Cherokee
The 10-foot-tall wooden Indian at the corner of Jefferson and Cherokee has stood patiently on that corner for years, watching the ups and downs of the neighborhood. At one time, visitors just followed his sightlines to Antiques Row, but with the western half of the neighborhood blittering with energy, spilling over with new galleries and music venues, the eastern half is changing, too. Though Panorama Folk Art (314-772-8007, panoramafolkart.com) has been at 1925 Cherokee for about 20 years, most of the galleries on this side of Jefferson are fairly new arrivals.
Sculptor Philip Hitchcock opened PHD Gallery (2300 Cherokee, 314-664-6644, phdstl.com) in 2007, after moving back home from Los Angeles. The gallery, housed in an eco-friendly building with bamboo floors and clean white walls, has a nice mix of work from both local artists (including Joe Chesla, Leslie Holt, Jeff Kapfer and Aunia Kahn) and international ones. Standout exhibits include last summer’s Tom of Finland show and photographer Tom Bianchi’s large-scale Polaroid prints circa Fire Island in the 1970s. The St. Louis Curio Shoppe (2301 Cherokee Street, 314-771 6353, stlcurioshoppe.com), an even more recent arrival, only sells art and handmade items sourced within 50 miles of St. Louis—and the length of that list is staggering. It includes broadsides and books from Architrave Press, music from Beth Bombara and Pokey LaFarge, DVDs of Bill Streeter's films, art books by Bill Keaggy, and mixed media art from Jane Linders. And that’s not even a fraction of the list!
SaxQuest (2114 Cherokee, 314-664-1234, saxquest.com) is one of the most unusual music stores in the neighborhood, if not the city, if not the country—not only can they fix any wind instrument, from a piccolo to a sackbut—they also maintain a saxophone museum that’s open to the public. Hammond’s Antiques & Books (1939 Cherokee Street (314-776-4737, hammondsbooks.net), another old-timer on the street, offers the pleasures of browsing through an old-fashioned bookstore—no Moleskines, coffee bar, or Feng Shui calculators.
If you decide head west from the Indian statue, the first thing you’ll see is the front door of Foam Coffee & Beer (3359 S. Jefferson, 314-772-2100, foamstl.com). Yes, there is coffee—and beer, too—but there’s also intimate, often acoustic concerts by local bands like Middle Class Fashion and So Many Dynamos. Foam also hosts poetry readings, stand-up comedy, book release parties, open mics, and eclectic events like MOTHup, “Cher-o-kucha,” and Perennial’s REMake workshops.
Nebula Co-Working’s (3407 S. Jefferson, 314-632-6488, nebulastl.com) tagline is “unconventional workspace for the unconventionally employed.” The tenant list includes Civil Ape creative collective (civil-ape.com); prolific stencil artist Peat Wollager (cargocollective.com/peat); and 2011 RFT Mastermind Winners First Punch Film Productions (firstpunchfilm.com), whose recent projects include videos for St. Louis bands Née and Kentucky Knife Fight. Also the St. Louis Secret Sound Society (facebook.com/STLSSS, twitter.com/STLSSS), organizer of the annual SLAP (St. Louis Art Project) Conference (stlartproject.org). The Sound Society’s main focus is concerts, while the SLAP conference, now in its second year, aims to spark innovation and connection throughout the entire St. Louis arts community. This year’s keynote speaker was David Wilson, co-founder of the True/False Film Festival, and participating groups included the ReBuild Foundation, Isolation Room/Gallery Kit, the St. Louis Art Museum, Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts, KDHX 88.1 FM, The Luminary Center for the Arts, Arch City Radio, and lots of individual musicians and visual artists.
Art Monster (2617 Cherokee, 314-616-5216, artmonstershop.com), is easy to spot, with its distinctive rhino-guy logo right smack dab in the center of the building facade. The specialties here are freehand art tattoos and custom painting and airbrushing by artist Chris Sabatino. Aisle 1 Gallery (2627 Cherokee, 314-330-8869, aisle1gallery.com) opened in 2011; according to co-founders Bryan Walsh and Jenn Carter, the name was inspired by the building’s former life as a grocery store. The gallery mixes work by both established and emerging artists in most every medium, including painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture and mixed media work. This summer, they celebrated Firecracker Press’ 10th anniversary by raising money to hire local painter Alicia LaChance to design and execute a mural on the side of the letterpress studio’s building; in October, they’ll show the “cute and horrific” art of Jason Spenser, whose clients include band Panic! At the Disco.
Thanks to Van Ella Studios (2646 Cherokee, vanellaproductions@gmail.com, vanellaproductions.com) St. Louis’ burlesque/vaudeville scene has become expanded into a multi-faceted wonder. Founded by St. Louis burlesque artist Lola Van Ella, the studio teaches a range of classes from “Burlesque Basics” to “Fabulous Fans,” with students streaming in from as far away as Belleville to St. Charles. Van Ella Productions is the wing of the organization that, with help from Kyla Webb (otherwise known as Sammich the Tramp), and van Ella’s troupe, the Bon Bons, organizes huge burlesque/vaudeville variety shows, including the Hoochie Coo Review and the Beggar’s Carnivale. That event has, in the past, been held at the period-appropriate, Art Deco Casa Loma Ballroom (3354 Iowa, 314-664-8000, casalomaballroom.com) up the street, which boasts the last floating dance floor in St. Louis—and it’s 5,000 square feet. The ballroom also draws crowds for rockabilly and swing shows, as well as touring Bosnian and Mexican bands.
It wasn’t a surprise that a huge chunk of the 2011 SGC International Conference for printmaking was held on Cherokee—there’s a lot of letterpress going on here. Paper Boat Studios (2308 1/2 Cherokee, paperboatstudios.com) is operated by printmaker and book artist Amy Thompson, who runs her stuff off on two Chandler & Price letterpress printing presses she’s named Leona and Dolly. You can buy work straight from the storefront, or find it in the racks at Flowers to the People or Kakao Chocolate. Firecracker Press (2838 Cherokee, 314-776-7271, firecrackerpress.com) has been on Cherokee since 2004, and also operates a street-level space where you can watch the presses in action and buy posters, stationary and other paper ephemera—or attend wine-tastings and poetry readings, or even learn the art of letterpress yourself with a series of classes. Sleepy Kitty Arts (Iowa & Cherokee, 314- 865-2774, sleepykittyarts.com) interfaces with the world not via a storefront but with their poppy, super-graphic concert posters—and with concerts. Paige Brubeck and Evan Sult are also the band Sleepy Kitty, and have made a huge mark on this town since moving here from Chicago in 2008. That mark is about to become all the more indelible: Sult is now the editor of Eleven Magazine, (elevenmusicmag.com) a music monthly that also offices at Nebula Co-Working. And though it seems like they just moved up the street into the former Proper Shoe Building, All Along Press (2712 Cherokee, 314-827-6185, allalongpress.com) had a $5 print sale in July, in preparation for relocation to a yet-undisclosed location. (The sale wasn’t to raise funds; it was to get rid of stuff to make the move a little easier.) Though it’s sad to see an empty storefront, thanks to the catch-net of the Cherokee Street Business Association (cherokeestation.com)—the board includes artists who live on, or maintain studios and businesses here—that building will likely not be vacant long. Keep tabs on who’s moving where at cherokeestreetnews.org, which is also a good source of info for music shows, art openings, and other creative projects happening in the neighborhood.
Though it might give an urban planner an ulcer, that Taoist flow creates a fertile environment for hybrid venues like 2727 Cherokee (2727 Cherokee, 314-276-2700, 2720cherokee.com). Operated by music promoter Josh Loyal of Loyal Family (loyalfamily.com) and Davide Weaver of Art Dimensions (artdimensions.org), the pair use their 14,000-square-foot building for concerts on the ground floor and art exhibits upstairs. Amble in on a given night and you might also see DJs, live painting, chef demonstrations, T-shirt exhibits, an artists’ networking meetup…
Apop Records (2831 Cherokee, 314-664-6575, apoprecords.com) trucks in all kinds of vinyl, cassettes, CDs, DVDs, books, T-shirts, audio electronics, periodicals, comics and ’zines, from the outer fringes to the dead-of-center. Blindfold yourself and wander through the bins, and you may fish out electronic artist Delia Derbyshire (who wrote the original theme to Dr. Who), Kronos Quartet, or Flipper. Another fairly long-lived presence on the street—co-owners Tiffany Minx and Dustin Newman relocated here from Columbia, Mo. in 2007—Apop operates its own label, which issues records by St. Louis bands Spelling Bee and Egg Chef. The shop also hosts movie nights and occasional shows, like the all-day marathon of DJs and live bands that played beside the store for Record Store Day back in April.
When the Community Arts and Movement Project (3022A Cherokee, 314-827-4730, stlcamp.org), opened on Cherokee in 2002, the M stood for “media,” and indeed, C.A.M.P. member Ben West was, along with Minerva Lopez of soccer shop Goool!, one of the principal architects of WasabiNet, Cherokee’s free neighborhood WiFi network. The organization’s mission is to make the neighborhood stronger and healthier, so “movement,” refers to exercise: they operate a bike shop in the backyard, and have a big, bamboo-floored “Movement Room,” for dancing, yoga, and Capoeira. C.A.M.P. also has a heavy focus on the arts, and offers the community use of a loom, a piano, and art supplies; they also teach music and art classes, and host artists-in-residence, one being Peter Christodoulor of local art/handmade consignment shop Loopie’s Market (3138 Cherokee, 314-684-9724, http://sites.google.com/site/loopiesmarket). Fort Gondo Compound for the Arts (3151 Cherokee, fortgondo.com) also turned 10 this year; back in 2002, honcho Galen Gondolfi was cultivating what he called “100 Yards of Chaos,” with co-conspirators that included Dave Early of Radio Cherokee, the rock club where So Many Dynamos cut its teeth. El Leñador (3124 Cherokee, 314-771-2222, lenador.com), picks up where Radio Cherokee left off—it’s one of the best places in town to catch a local music show. The velvety wallpaper, the chandeliers hung from dropped ceilings, and the hand-painted Tyrolean mural left over from its days as German banquet hall are just lagniappe.
Other locations of note: Brothers Jeff and Randy Vines of STL-Style (3159 Cherokee Street, 314-494-7763, stl-style.com) love this city, and have been expressing it through T-shirts—and onesies, undies, hats and messenger bags—since 2001. Porter-Teleo’s (3323 Cherokee, porterteleo.com) hand-painted and hand-printed wallpapers would impress William Morris himself, and are in demand the world over. Drew Henry Salon & Gallery (2309 Cherokee, 314-856-5147, drewhenrysalon.wordpress.com) offers eco-friendly, ammonia-free hair coloring—and exhibits a new regional artist every 90 days. If you are a design junkie, MoModerne (3156 Cherokee, 314-495-4095, momoderne.net), specializes in out-of-production Art Deco to Postmodern furniture and objects. And Garnet Griebel and Katie Miller Scarlett Garnet Jewelry (2619 Cherokee, scarlettgarnet.com), sketch and design all their sleek metal cut-out jewelry, using Missouri metal fabricators to execute their designs.
Chesterfield
Forty years ago, when Chesterfield was more pastoral than exurban, it took a mighty prophetic person to guess that a place so far from symphony halls and art museums would become an arts hub. But that is exactly what Alexandra Zaharias, artistic director of Alexandra Ballet, (68E Four Seasons Center, 636-469-6222, alexandraballet.com) predicted. Of course, a ballet school needs pupils, and she wanted to be near young families—and with St. Louis city emptying out, moving out of her Midtown dance studio made sense. However, young families only guarantee that there will be little kids around, not art; making sure the arts have a place in the community takes a lot of work. Zaharia has been doing her part for years, training young dancers and producing full-scale dance productions on a professional scale. See Alexandra Ballet perform September 24 at Dancing in the Street in Grand Center, and on Sunday, October 2 at the Sheldon Concert Hall as part of 60x60 Dance and the American Arts Experience. St. Louis Ballet is a more recent arrival (218 THF Boulevard, 636-537-1950, stlouisballet.org), but it’s made leaps and bounds since 2000, when New York City Ballet principal Gen Horiuchi accepted the position as artistic director. Like Alexandra Ballet, St. Louis Ballet School produces dancers that land in top companies all over the world, and its professional company mounts several productions a year, often bringing in dancers and choreographers from New York and Europe. The company’s next performance—which will include both professional dancers and students—is The Nutcracker, opening December 14.
The brand-new, 3,000 seat Chesterfield Amphitheatre (631 Veterans Place, chesterfieldamphitheater.com), saw its first summer film series, as well as its first concert series this year, with performances from Erin Bode, the Soulard Blues Band, and Chesterfield’s own St. Louis Civic Orchestra (stlouiscivicorchestra.org) who usually performs in the expansive William D. Purser Center on the campus of Logan Chiropractic College—a space that many other West County arts groups take advantage of as well.
West County YMCA Arts and Humanities Program (16464 Burkhardt Place, 636-532-6515, ymcastlouis.org/west-county-family-ymca/about-theatre), offers summer arts camps to kids 5 through 15, with classes in theater, dance, and the visual and circus arts. The main focus here, however, is on theater: Y-Rep has separate troupes for elementary, middle-school and high school kids, as well as a professional adult company, the Y-Rep Troupers, who produce three plays a year for young people.
Musical theater company STAGES St. Louis (444 Chesterfield Ctr., #215, 636-530-5959, stagesstl.org) has been in the process of relocating to Chesterfield, and already maintain a box office here. Blueprints are now being drafted for the STAGES ST. LOUIS Performing Arts Center and Academy, to be built on a 7-acre property at the intersection of Chesterfield Parkway West and Interstate 64/Highway 40. The design calls for a 83,000-square-foot building that will contain a 730-seat theater, a 200-seat theater, and a performing arts school that will offer courses in theater, dance, and voice. Opera Theater of St. Louis maintains a presence out west as well, at Bonhomme Presbyterian Church (14820 Conway, 636-519-1955, opera-stl.org), where its artists perform for the Chesterfield Arts-sponsored music series “A Little Lunch Music.”
The Jewish Community Center’s (6801 Baxter Road, 314-432-5700, jccstl.com) Roswell and Wilma Messing Cultural Arts Department facilitates a dizzying array of arts and culture. The JCC is home base to the award-winning New Jewish Theatre (newjewishtheatre.org), as well as the St. Louis Jewish Book Festival (stljewishbookfestival.org) and the St. Louis Jewish Film Festival, (stljewishfilmfestival.org), which both bring in renowned Jewish artists from all over the world. The Center also sponsors a Youth Theatre program; Theatre Unlimited, a program for adults with disabilities; and Culture Club, a community-based group working to expand the arts in Chesterfield.
Chesterfield Arts (444 Chesterfield Center, 636-519-1955, chesterfieldarts.org), was founded in 1995 with the goal of turning Chesterfield into a “city of art.” and they are making exponential progress toward that end. Programs include the Gallery at Chesterfield Arts, which shows work by regional artists and youth, with exhibits changing out every eight weeks; art classes for kids and adults, taught by local professional artists in conjunction with COCA, Craft Alliance, and the Saint Louis Art Museum; Arts Alive! concerts, which have included performances by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Music Society of St. Louis and St. Louis Irish Arts; and the Chesterfield Writers Guild, an offshoot of the St. Louis Writers’ Guild, which supports poets and prose writers of all ages in the West County area. However, its public art program may be its most ambitious: by scattering sculptures, some enormous, some modest, they are helping people encounter art on a daily basis.
Probably the best-known piece of public art in Chesterfield is Seward Johnson’s The Awakening (Chesterfield Parkway and Park Circle Drive), an enormous sculpture that looks like a bearded giant breaking out of the crust of the earth. The Winning Poem, a more gentle piece by Johnson—it’s a boy with a book—stands outside the St. Louis County Library’s Sachs Branch (16400 Burkhardt Place), along with George Rickey’s Two Open Triangles Gyratory II and Henry Moore’s Standing Figure. Other familiar pieces are Ernest Trova’s 9’ geometrical stainless steel Gox A and Gox AB, located in Chesterfield Central City Park, along with Don Weigan’s Maura, a figurative sculpture of a running girl, installed in 1999 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the City of Chesterfield. You may have to look to find him—he’s on the small side—but if you keep an eye out, you’ll also spot Harry Weber’s bronze sculpture Fox. And if you’re a Trova fan, he has another stainless steel sculpture, Profile Canto C, at Olive Street in front of Lindell Bank.
Other public art includes A Puzzle for Chesterfield by Lloyd Schermer, a mixed media assemblage made from antique wooden typeface numbers and letters (Chesterfield Ridge Center, 16401 Swingley Ridge); William King’s Solstice (15185 Olive), five aluminum figures, each 26’ high, which represent the passing of the seasons; C.E. Van Duzer’s 30’ steel sculpture Century (Corner of Chesterfield Parkway and Justus Post); Space Twist Two (Corner of Olive and Swingley Ridge) by Victor Pickett, a delicate, twisting sculpture in stainless steel; and Lecuin’s Broken Circle (140 Long Road), which is just that, cast in aluminum and stainless steel. Quiet Encounter, Boris Kramer’s abstract, embracing lovers, can be found at the The Gallery at Chesterfield Arts; Dear Diary, Honored Guest, Poeta William King’s whimsical cast aluminum sculptures of three men, sitting in chairs, can be seen at the YMCA West County Branch (16464 Burkhardt Place), and San Marco II a pair of stylized cantering horses by Ludovico DeLuigi, stand in front of Chesterfield’s City Hall (690 Chesterfield Pky W). There’s also Emilio Greco’s Grande Bagnante III (Hilltown Village Center), a contorted, voluptuous bather; Paul Granlund’s bronze globe—made of bending human figures—Orbit (Courtyard of 16150 Main Circle Drive); Simon Ybarra’s copper statue Woman with Birds (400 Chesterfield Center); and Lynn Chadwick’s tribal-looking Two Seated Figures I (444 Chesterfield Center), High Hat Man and Stairs (1851 Schoettler). And of course the Make Your Mark Floodwall Mural (Edison Avenue at Baxter in the Chesterfield Valley), created by the residents of Chesterfield themselves.
Other locations of note: The Kemp Auto Museum (16955 Chesterfield Airport Road, 636-537-1718, kempautomuseum.org), exhibits more than 40 historic or rare European automobiles—their Mercedes-Benz collection is especially notable—and hosts regular public events. Art Trends Gallery (703 Long Road Crossing Drive, Ste. 1, 636-536-3266, arttrendsgallery.net) carries traditional and contemporary art; artists represented include painters Heather Haymart, Alexander Zhirov, Wei Dong Dai and Dana Diaz De Leon; ceramicist Patty Sheppard; and photographer Jim Trotter. The Nine Dragon Academy Martial Arts School and Chinese Cultural Center (14406 S. Outer 40, 314-409-8814, ninedragonacademy.com), teaches traditional martial arts, but their mission is to preserve and promote all Chinese arts, including traditional and freestyle Lion and Dragon dancing. The tagline of Bollywood Shuffle Studio and Dance Workshops (Chesterfield Athletic Club, 16625 Swingley Ridge, bollywoodshuffle.com) is “modern feet on ethnic beat;” they are St. Louis’ only school to teach Bollywood-style Indian dance. And the Russian-American School (West Hills Community Church, 13250 South Outer 40, 314-558-1213, russian-american.com) holds language classes, as well as courses in Russian literature, traditional arts and crafts (shthih) and theater (mozaika) for both kids and adults.
Mapping it Out
Some of St. Louis’ most historic, or most crucial, art stops are not located inside an arts district—you’ll find notable galleries, concert halls, theaters and dance studios in pretty much every neighborhood across the bi-state area.
Clayton
Ivey-Selkirk Auctioneers (7447 Forsyth, 314-726-5515, iveyselkirk.com) opened The Trova Project, a gallery dedicated to the paintings and sculpture from the estate of the late Ernest Trova, this past February. The public can drop in Monday, Wednesday and Friday between the hours of 11 a.m.–2 p.m. to see, and buy, his work, which is arranged more as it was in Trova’s home, rather than white box gallery-style (they’ve even recreated his studio, down to a can of Vess soda on the drafting table). Kodner Gallery (9650 Clayton, 314-993-4477, kodnergallery.com) has a wide selection of fine art for purchase, from French Impressionism to Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art to Social Realism. The gallery also organizes monthly gallery shows; this month, they show the work of regional painters, including plein air artist Billyo O’Donnell. Walk around Clayton and you’ll also find a good deal of public art. “Venus Victorious” has guarded the entrance to Shaw Park since 2009, but later this year will be replaced with a 25-foot steel and bronze flower entitled, “Molecular Bloom with Single Flower,” made by James Surls. In a restored 1920s mansion at Oak Knoll Park sits the St. Louis Artists Guild (2 Oak Knoll Park, 314-726-6266, stlouisartistsguild.org), an organization composed of almost 700 members. Inside you’ll find member galleries and studio space, as well as classes and workshops for youth and adults. One interesting exhibition this fall is Silver in the Digital Age, a collection of photographs printed with silver gelatin, van dyke brown and salt papers—all early printing processes.
Downtown
A trip downtown should start at the riverfront, and that’s all the justification you need to visit the Gateway Arch (200 Washington, 314-982-1545, gatewayarch.com) and The Museum of Westward Expansion right underneath it. Walk down Market and you’ll find yourself in Citygarden (810 Market, citygardenstl.org), a three-acre contemporary sculpture garden right in the heart of downtown. Also scheduled to open near the riverfront is the National Blues Museum (nationalbluesmuseum.com) According to Project Director Dawne Massey, an opening date should be announced by the end of the year for the museum, which will be the first of its kind in the country. It’s no wonder St. Louis would be home to a blues museum—blues blood runs deep in the city’s history, and a blues community exists to this day on Broadway. BB’s Jazz, Blues and Soups (700 South Broadway, 314-436-5222, bbsjazzbluessoups.com), Beale on Broadway (701 South Broadway, 314-621-7880, bealeonbroadway.com) and Broadway Oyster Bar (736 South Broadway, 314-621-8811, broadwayoysterbar.com) all offer live blues seven nights a week. The Peabody Opera House (1400 Market, 314-499-7600, peabodyoperahouse.com), formerly Kiel Opera House, re-opened almost a year ago after sitting vacant for over twenty years, and now books touring musicals and musical acts, including the brilliant Fiona Apple, who made a stop there this summer. The Crack Fox (1114 Olive, crackfoxbar.com) is home to many a rock concert, burlesque shows, and weekly karaoke. Just a short walk away you'll find local paintings at 10th Street Gallery (419 N. 10th, 314-436-1806, 10thstreetgallery.com). Walk down 10th and head right on Washington to find Art St. Louis (555 Washington, 314-241-4810, artstlouis.org), a 5,000-square-foot gallery whose fall exhibition, Texture, highlights 44 regional artists. And very close to downtown, as you're heading toward Midtown, you'll find Gya Community Gallery & Fine Craft Shop (2700 Locust, 314-961-3575, yeyoarts.blogspot.com) has an in-house shop that sells art, jewelry, fiber crafts, beauty goods, clothes, and music; they host regular art exhibits, as well as fashion shows, bazaars, and film screenings, too. The opening reception for their first show of the fall season, “Old and New Conjurings,” featuring work by Seitu James Smith and Zimbabwe Nkenya, is September 7. Not far away, you'll find The Metropolitan Gallery (2936 Locust, 314-535-6500, thenu-artseries.org), which shows local, regional and national artists and has curated one of the finest experimential music series in town. On September 15, they present a very rare and special reading, "The Dream Carriers," featuring playwright Ntozake Shange and poet Shirley LeFlore.
The Grove
While the Cherokee district often gets all the attention as the hustle and bustle area for artists, Tower Grove has plenty to offer, too. White Flag Projects (4568 Manchester, 314-531-3442, whiteflagprojects.org) is St. Louis’ largest nonprofit contemporary art space. Opening in September is an exhibition by New York City’s B. Wurtz, who, as Roberta Smith of the New York Times notes, creates “delicate assemblies of ephemeral materials [that] just say no, with wonderful poetry, to the costly materiality and outsize scale of so much contemporary art.” Dexter’s Art Studio (4209 Chouteau, 314-534-4058, dextersartstudio.webs.com) features the works of local artist Dexter Silvers, many of which focus on historical architecture in St. Louis. The husband and wife duo that make up WORK/PLAY Print Shoppe (stoopidfresh.com), Kevin and Danielle McCoy, spend their spare time working (and playing?) with letterpress work, as well as products like buttons and bow ties. Space Architecture (4168 Manchester, 314-647-2020, space-stl.com) is a collective of contemporary architects and designers responsible for some of the best-looking developments in St. Louis, including Chill Frozen Yogurt and EXO lounge. For an eclectic mix of food, drink specials, and salsa dancing, head to the Atomic Cowboy (4140 Manchester, 314-775-0775, atomiccowboystl.com), which also features The Fox Hole, a tiny music venue, whose stage has seen everything from poetry and burlesque to Clownvis. The Gramophone (4243 Manchester, 314-531-5700, thegramophone.com) boasts one of the most eclectic live music calendars it town; its monthly “London Calling” dance parties are also a huge draw.
Central West End
Recently relocated from downtown, Philip Slein Gallery (4735 McPherson, 314-361-2617, philipsleingallery.com) brings an edgy vibe to the Central West End; Jim Schmidt, formerly of Jim Schmidt Contemporary Art in Grand Center, has joined the gallery as curator. Atrium Gallery (4728 McPherson, 314-367-1076, atriumgallery.net) showcases works of contemporary regional, national, and international artists, with an emphasis on emphasizes large-scale paintings and sculptures. Across the street, the Duane Reed Gallery incorporates works in multiple mediums, including ceramics and glass. The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis (4657 Maryland, 314-361-2437) offers weekly classes and tournaments, in addition to world-class art shows. Left Bank Books (399 N. Euclid, 314-367-6731, left-bank.com) is a Central West End staple, with its diverse collection of new, used, and collectible books. While a second location opened downtown in 2008, Left Bank’s flagship store continues to thrive in the heart of this historic neighborhood. The community of actors, writers, and producers of the St. Louis Actors’ Studio at the Gaslight Theatre (358 N. Boyle, 314-458-2978, stlas.org), stage strong ensemble performances year-round. The fall lineup includes Good by C.P. Taylor and Season’s Greetings by Alan Ayckbourn. In nearby Forest Park, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis (5715 Elizabeth, 314-531-9800) works year-round to keep Shakespeare’s words alive. The St. Louis Art Museum (1 Fine Arts, 314-721-0072, slam.org) has managed to stay open, and hang some very impressive shows, despite its ambitious expansion, which is nearly complete; fall exhibitions include Federico Barocci: Renaissance Master (October 21–January 20), Focus on the Collection: Drawn in Copper, Italian Prints in the Age of Barocci
(September 14–January 13), and a multimedia presentation called “Water Panics in the Sea” (through October 21).
North County
The Northern Arts Council (northernartscouncil.org) is behind a variety of upcoming activities, including Local Artists & Art Activities at the Ferguson Farmers’ Market each second and fourth Saturday of the month through October and ongoing, rotating exhibits at CORK Winebar, Ferguson Brewing Company and Neikirk & Partners Realtors in downtown Ferguson. On November 25, NAC will host its annual Holiday Sale during the Northern Lights Festival. The Florissant Civic Center (955 Rue St. Francois, 314-921-5700, florissantmo.com) offers a robust calendar of performing arts, including theater; the Touhill Performing Arts Center (1 University, 866-516-4949, touhill.org), whose fall lineup includes the Arianna String Quartet and The Improvised Shakespeare Company, is just a short jaunt to the University of Missouri–St. Louis campus. Located next to the Touhill is Gallery 210 (44 East, 1 University, 866-516-5976, gallery210.umsl.edu), also run by UMSL. Established in 1976, the gallery has long been a source of diverse, contemporary, multimedia art. Another UMSL gallery, Gallery Visio (170 Millenium Student Center, 1 University, 314-516-7922), was founded by a group of fine arts, anthropology, photography, and design students to showcase their peers’ artwork. Just opened in February, the 427 Gallery (427 S. Florissant) is located in downtown Ferguson’s Citywalk district. Real estate office by day, art gallery by night–the intimate 427 changes exhibits every 4 to 6 weeks.
University City Loop
Located across the street from the always-busy, ever-fabulous The Pageant (6161 Delmar, 314-726-6161, thepageant.com), the Regional Arts Commission (6128 Delmar Boulevard, 314-863-5811, art-stl.org) not only keeps St. Louis’ art community funded and humming along, but hosts monthly exhibits in its gallery and provides space for a huge spectrum of the arts community, including the state finals for Poetry Out Loud, a national program that challenges high school kids to memorize Walt Whitman, Shakespeare or Langston Hughes...and recite it as if they were channeling the poet. The Loop’s always been live music central; in addition to the Pageant, there’s Blueberry Hill’s Duck Room (6504 Delmar, 314-727-4444) and Cicero’s (6691 Delmar, 314-862-0009, ciceros-stl.com). Music lovers also gravitate to Vintage Vinyl (6610 Delmar, 314-721-4096, vintagevinyl.com). This audiophile’s haven is bursting at the seams with thousands of new and used records for $5 or less. Another unique destination is Subterranean Books (6275 Delmar, 314-862-6100, store.subbooks.com), with its extensive collections of independent best sellers, quirky selections, and cult classics. The staff of five is continually changing and expanding the store’s stock, with input from customers and reviewers. At Third Degree Glass (5200 Delmar, 314-367-4527, thirddegreeglassfactory.com) learn the art of glassblowing or kiln-working from one of their experienced instructors, or bring in your own glass for custom repairs. To expand your crafting repertoire, head over to Craft Alliance (6640 Delmar, 314-725-1177, www.craftalliance.org) to work with clay, glass, metals, or fiber, or shop their offerings of clothing and jewelry. Another gem in the Loop area is COCA (Center of Creative Arts, 524 Trinity, 314-725-6555, cocastl.org), which offers a multitude of opportunities for family-friendly entertainment. Find classes, performances, art exhibitions, and summer camps in this 60,000 square-foot building.
Maplewood
Sarah Carmody, the proprietor of S. Carmody Photography (2707 Sutton, 314-401-8089, carmodyphoto.com), makes her bread and butter as a wedding photographer, but her gallery also shows fine art—a recent example being “HumaNature,” a show that examined humans’ impact on nature (Carmody’s own contribution to that show was a series called “Goats and Industrial Waste”). Hoffmann-LaChance Contemporary (2713 Sutton, 314-960-5322, hoffmannlachancefineart.com), voted best art gallery in the Riverfront Times, shows fine art from national and local artists, including St. Louis’ own Jeremy Rabus, Jon Conoyer, and Giovanna Cassilly. The Black Cat Theatre (2810 Sutton, 314-781-8300, blackcattheatre.org), home base of Piwacket Theatre for Children, also produces sophisticated theater for adults, from Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party to David Mamet’s The Old Neighborhood. They also produce a Summer Cabaret Festival. Skip Goez, proprietor of Goez Stringed Instruments (3103 Sutton, 314-647-1211) knows his stuff: he’s a previous guitar tech for Eric Clapton. No doubt he’s the go-to guy for the artists who play the warm, intimate stage at The Focal Point (2720 Sutton, 314-560-2778, thefocalpoint.org), which is St. Louis’ folk and roots music central. If you aspire to play “Santa Claus Blues,” on the guitar—or dulcimer—one day, head to The Folk School of St. Louis (3155 Sutton, 314-781-2244, folk-school.org) where lessons are offered for students of all ages. Finally, this month is also when the Schlafly Bottleworks fills up its parking lot with pop-up tents for the Art Outside Festival (September 7 through 9, 7260 Southwest, 314-241-2337, schlafly.com), which features affordable work by local artists and artisans.
Metro East
If you’re feeling a little lost on a weekend, head to Edwardsville’s Main Street to Lost Arts & Antiques (inside the Wildey Theater, 254 N. Main, 618-656-8844, lostartsandantiques.com) for “Sidewalk Saturdays,” including special demonstrations, local music and other activities. The Edwardsville Art Center (6165 Center Grove, 618-655-0037, edwardsvilleartscenter.com), exhibits the work of local artists—September’s show features art glass and watercolors—while Alton’s Jacoby Art Center (627 E Broadway, 618-462-5222, jacobyartscenter.org) is an art gallery, retail shop, classrooms, theater, and meeting space wrapped into one. Granite City’s Art Park Ost and Gallery 1410 (1410 Niedringhaus, 618-451-6240) is easy to spot—just look for the 90-foot long, 12-foot tall graffiti mural on the side wall. They also sponsor an annual “Music and Metal,” festival in the fall (meaning literally steel and iron, not Metallica, in a nod to Granite’s history as a steel-mill town). In Belleville, Sole Survivor Art Gallery (125 E. Main Street, 618-257-3212, solesurvivorartgallery.com) features the work of regional painters and sculptors, with an emphasis on young artists; Schmidt Art Center (2500 Carlyle, 618-222-5278, swic.edu/sac), located on Southwestern Illinois College’s Belleville campus, is not just a spot to see paintings, drawings and sculpture—they host concerts, classes and poetry readings, too.
by Dan Duncan, Elaine Hoffmann, Kate Marcal and Stefene Russell
