Photo by Jenny Donaldson
The Desoto Building
Webster Arts will move to the Desoto Building at Summit Avenue and East Lockwood next month.
Regular visitors to Webster Arts’ events and exhibits are plenty familiar with the arts space’s current location in a basement on the campus of Eden Seminary in Webster Groves. But it’s not a place where passersby can wander in, or where a piece can catch someone’s eye from the street.
“Nobody's just going to walk by and think, ‘I wonder what's in there. Maybe I'll go check it out.’ They don't know we’re here,” says Webster Arts Executive Director Jenny Donaldson.
That’s why, next month, Webster Arts is making a big move. Starting December 13, the arts group will take over a space in the Desoto Building at #2 Summit Avenue, next door to the recently opened Betty’s Books.
“A large part of it was to be in a more visible space along with other businesses and retailers,” says Donaldson. “I'm trying to get a little bit more visibility, a little bit more ability to walk right in off the street.”
The new location will feature a gallery space on the main floor, which will be home to future exhibitions and artist receptions. Below, a basement space will host workshops and classes to engage with the community and help them engage with artists’ work.
“We're doing a lot of workshops that coincide with our current exhibition,” says Donaldson. “Like we have a printmaking show up right now, so we're offering printmaking workshops. That downstairs space will give us a lot more ability and space to have a messy area where people can work.”
In addition to the gallery and workshop areas, the new Webster Arts will also house a boutique area that will feature art, crafts, and other goods made by local artists, and the stock will rotate every six weeks or so. While gallery pieces can cost hundreds and even thousands of dollars, the pieces in the boutique will allow visitors to support the gallery’s artists at a more accessible price. Access is, after all, at the heart of the relocation plans.
“I’m looking forward to working more with local artists and just meeting more people in the community and getting them involved,” Donaldson says. “We have a lot of community events planned for 2022. Most people in Webster just know us from the art fair. It’s nice that they'll know us for something else ”
While the offices will move in mid-December, the space won’t be open to the general public until the new year, and details about the grand opening in January are still forthcoming. The first exhibition in the new space, the 2022 Open Theme Annual, is accepting submission through December 6.
