After a strong first year, the Saint Louis Art Museum’s Gallery Laughs series is back with four more free stand-up comedy shows throughout 2026. Headliners include Chris Redd, Jessimae Peluso, Dulcé Sloan, and Guy Torry, alongside support from local St. Louis comics.
Gallery Laughs creator and executive producer Chris Denman started the series in 2025, but its origins actually go back to 2023. After visiting the exhibition The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century and meeting with Andréa Purnell, manager of community collaborations at SLAM and co-curator of The Culture, Denman saw an opportunity to merge St. Louis’ vibrant comedy and art worlds.
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“I am someone who is always going to bring comedy to the table to unique spaces,” Denman says. ”I think in St. Louis, it’s great because you can take chances, and putting the right people together to make something special is really exciting for me.”
Denman worked with Purnell and SLAM adult learning educator Jessica Kennedy throughout 2024 to build what would become Gallery Laughs. The first season of headliners featured Mia Jackson, Jonathan Kite, Ian Edwards, and Kym Whitley, with the final show being a collaboration with the Flyover Comedy Festival. After a successful first year of sold-out crowds, Denman is excited for what 2026 has in store for the series.
“Building off of that first year of success, uniqueness, and great buzz we received, I leaned on connections I had through my work and we’re very excited about the four people I got to jump on,” Denman says.
The 2026 iteration of Gallery Laughs kicks off on January 16 with former Saturday Night Live cast member Chris Redd—who was born in St. Louis and recorded his HBO Max special, Why Am I Like This? at the Grandel in 2022—with local support from Rafe Williams and Larry Greene. Other headliners include TV and podcast host Jessimae Peluso on May 15, with support from JC Sibala and Angela Smith; former Daily Show correspondent and guest host Dulcé Sloan on August 21, with support from Chris Cyr and Precious J Dorsey; and #STLMade actor and filmmaker Guy Torry on November 6, with local support to be announced. In addition to producing and creating the series, Denman also serves as the host for each performance.
“We not only get to bring some shine in from people that are national headliners, but we also get to showcase talent that is from right here in St. Louis,” Denman says.
For each show, free tickets are available starting at 10 a.m. the day of the show and can be picked up at the welcome desk at Taylor Hall. The Farrell Auditorium opens at 5 p.m. for a cocktail hour and music from DJ Scooter Brown, with the show starting at 6:30 p.m. In addition to support from local comedians, St. Louis artist and illustrator Cbabi Bayoc will also be creating custom portraits of each of the headlining comedians, with prints available for purchase at each event.
“I’m excited by the thought of someone who works their day job being told, ‘Hey, we’re going to the art museum tonight. There’s drinks, a DJ, and a comic I used to see on SNL, and you don’t have to pay to get in,’” Denman says. “What a gift that the [Saint Louis Art Museum] helps make this possible.”
Denman’s biggest goals for Gallery Laughs are to both make comedy in St. Louis more accessible and to bring comedy fans in to see what exciting programming SLAM has to offer.
“We have up to 500 people coming out that may have never heard of any of these comedians, but they hear free comedy at a unique historical venue like the art museum,” Denman says. “They may not go to the art museum much, so it’s the chance to open people’s eyes the way The Culture did for me.”
The future of Gallery Laughs may even extend beyond St. Louis, with Denman looking to potentially expand the series after seeing success with a ticketed event at Atlanta’s Fernbank Museum of Natural History in 2025.
“The whole thing has been exciting, and I hope it continues to grow, because I think it’s special,” Denman says. “I love that no matter what happens or how big it gets, the Saint Louis Art Museum is always going to be part of the start.”
