One of my favorite things about covering St. Louis’ cultural community is the sense of collaboration. That’s my accidental theme this week, as we see the Missouri Coalition for the Environment working with The Staenberg Group, St. Louis Public Radio hosting a dozen local theater companies, childhood friends coming together in storytelling, as well as Left Bank Books, Blueprint Coffee, and the Kranzberg Arts Foundation highlighting diverse literature. Then there’s our Spotlight story, in which writer Sam Barrett introduces us to NON STNDRD, a new partnership between exhibition platform STNDRD and the National Building Arts Center. Its first exhibition begins later this week and is just the latest in a long line of collaborations that keep our arts scene thriving. As always, thanks for subscribing, and feel free to reply to this email with your thoughts, ideas, and questions. Until next time!
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The Culture presents a sweeping art history of hip hop culture and its expressions. The Culture, opening August 19, features immersive installations, emphasizing St. Louis’ contributions throughout the exhibition.
Make an appointment at The Gallery (17081 N. Outer 40) through August 24 to see this traveling portrait exhibition, brought to the area by the Missouri Coalition for the Environment. Americans Who Tell the Truth is a collection of portraits of changemakers by Robert Shetterly, who has been capturing the faces of people making positive impacts on their communities for the past 20 years. One of the latest additions is Debbie Njai, founder of Black People Who Hike.
Head to Public Media Commons on Friday and Saturday evening to take in performances from some of the best of our local theater community. A dozen local theater companies—including Prism Theatre Company, The Midnight Company, The Rep, First Run Theatre, and more—will present scenes and shorts during the two-night event. Attendees are encouraged to bring folding chairs and snacks, and STL Barkeep will provide cocktails and cold drinks. Registration for the event is open.
We recently received a link to How to Destroy Everything, a new podcast from Danny Jacobs and Darren Grodsky, and wow, it is a wild ride. The pair of longtime friends recount the story of Jacobs’ father, Richard Jacobs. It’s dark, twisted, and sometimes funny. We’re looking forward to more.
Find the newest addition to your reading pile this Sunday at Left Bank Books’ Empowering August Book Bazaar at the High Low. The month’s iteration will “celebrate the diversity of the world in which we live by highlighting traditionally under-represented voices” and feature signings with authors Catherine Bakewell, Jim Merkel, Caitlin Metz, and Yetunde Janski-Ogunfidodo.
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Courtesy of STNDRD
STNDRD and the National Building Arts Center partnership launches with Lived-In
The two organizations have collaborated on NON STNDRD, a new exhibition space located on the Metro East arts center's campus.
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 Metro East arts center'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'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 complementary partnership,” says co-director of STNDRD 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, including Lived-In, opening August 12.
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