The National Building Arts Center recently began a partnership with a St. Louis–based, artist-run exhibition platform, STNDRD, to collaborate on a new exhibition space located on the NBAC’s campus. The NBAC and STNDRD are launching the new exhibition space, called NON STNDRD, with Lived-In, a new exhibition featuring nine contemporary artists.
The NBAC houses the nation’s largest and most diverse collection of building artifacts, including machinery, iron, clay, stone, and so much more, as well as a research library. It’s all housed on the 12.7 acre site of the former Sterling Steel Casting Company foundry.
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“The NBAC’s exploratory nature as a research center and their extraordinary collection aligns with our enthusiasm for experimentation, materials, design, and history. It’s a very complimentary partnership,” say STNDRD co-director Allison Lacher. “We’re excited about the potential for projects that showcase the power of inquiry and innovation.”
The new, experimental exhibition space will span two adjacent spaces on the NBAC’s campus. These exposed concrete spaces that formerly served as casting bunkers at the Sterling Steel Casting Company will now be home to many future contemporary art exhibitions. The first exhibition, Lived-In, opens August 12.
“This inaugural exhibition celebrates the space’s evolution and paves the way for future projects exploring its rich history and characteristics.” Lacher says.
The Lived-In exhibition will feature nine artists: Grant Benoit, Joseph Canizales, Abby Flanagan, Gina Hunt, Sarah Knight, Melissa Pokorny, Lee Hunter, Jen Everett, and Lynne Smith, all of whom will share brand-new work for this inaugural exhibition. Lived-In will feature a wide range of site-based and mixed-media works inspired by the exhibition space and the NBAC’s vast collection of artifacts. Pieces in the exhibit will be at the mercy of mother nature as they spend 11 weeks in the raw, open NON STNDRD exhibition space.
“The materiality of the bunkers is so compelling. They are completely open to the sky,” featured artist Lynne Smith says. “There’s this feeling of openness and vulnerability because everything in the bunker is going to be exposed to the elements. This adds a unique dimension to the work and the viewing experience.”
For the Lived-In exhibition, Smith has made a site-responsive piece, a weaving featuring natural dyes made with plants foraged from the NBAC campus.
“It’s a large weaving that in many ways is a material echo of the landscape. I foraged plants from the site, I collected little bits of metal fragments, and I got some railroad spikes from the tracks nearby. All that was gathered returns to the site in the artwork.” Smith says.
After the Lived-In exhibition, STNDRD will take a program break for the winter, returning in Spring 2024. Both STNDRD and the NBAC look forward to the endless possibilities with this space and the new audiences it will bring to the NBAC campus.
“We’re a museum with a sort of specialized focus, so we’re always looking for opportunities to connect with new audiences. They might come into our spaces for other reasons like art or an event, but they learn about our work and collections and might even get interested in engaging further,” NBAC executive director Michael Allen says. “We see STNDRD as a way to build the audience for the museum and also creatively engage the very interesting industrial buildings.”
