Grand Center, St. Louis’ own historic arts and cultural district, will host its annual Art Walk on Friday, May 11 from 5 to 9 p.m. Known for its remarkable art museums and galleries, Grand Center takes pride in offering art connoisseurs, art enthusiasts and visitors the opportunity to view the latest exhibitions each year for free.
Participating museums and galleries will be within walking distance of each other. Following the purple tape on sidewalks will guide visitors on a path where they will visit various museums, galleries and live music entertainment throughout the Grand Center Arts District and SLU.
The highlight of the evening will be “A Chromatic Confluence,” a temporary public art installation located at Grand Boulevard and Samuel Shepard Drive. “A Chromatic Confluence” serves as a visual art centerpiece that engages passersby as they walk to and from art museums and galleries. This 25’ x 65’ centerpiece is fascinating because it will be lit at night while Orchestrating Diversity, a youth orchestra group, performs live music within the compartments of the installation.
Visitors will have an opportunity to listen to more live music from Aaron Kamm and the One Drops in Strauss Park from 5 to 7:30 p.m., along with Farshid Etniko from 7:30 to 9 p.m. John and Tino Covelli, a father and son duo, will perform their genre of experimental jazz outside The Sheldon Art Galleries from 5 to 9 p.m.
“The Art Walk allows people to see other parts of Grand Center that they would not normally see,” Amy Johnson, events coordinator at Grand Center, said. “Also, this event serves as an educational tour of the art museums and galleries for first-time visitors to the Grand Center District.”
This year, several museums and galleries will be participating in the Art Walk by featuring their latest exhibitions to visitors of Grand Center. Among these reputable museums and galleries include:Arthur& Helen Baer Visual Arts Galleries, Bruno David Gallery, Cardinal Ritter Gallery, Craft Alliance, The Contemporary Art Museum (CAM), Grand Center Artist Studios, The Sheldon Art Galleries, Saint Louis Museum of Art (SLUMA), Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA), Portfolio Gallery, The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, Pace Framing/The PSTL Window Gallery, Transients and Grand Center Arts Academy (GCAA.)
CAM is featuring the exhibition “Great Rivers Biennial 2012.” Kelly Shindler, assistant curator at CAM, has worked closely with artists in order to organize the exhibition in a way that reflects each of their artistic visions.
“As a curator, my partnership with the artists involves working with them to realize their vision in terms of how they want their artwork to be installed and featured in the exhibition,” Shindler said.
Artists David Johnson, Asma Kazmi and Mel Trad will be illustrating their installation work on different mediums— including photography, multimedia installation and sculpture.
Trad features a sculpture piece that embodies our understanding of contemporary art work. Johnson’s photographs depict abstract artwork, all the while embodying representational qualities of CAM as an institution.
“‘Great Rivers Biennial 2012’ encapsulates the art-making process and celebrates the St. Louis art community by featuring artists’ works that incorporate different mediums, explore various subject matter and push the envelope of art making today,” Shindler said.
The Sheldon Art Galleries will display the following seven exhibitions: “Liquid Terrain: 20 Years of Works by Eva Lundsager;” “The Beat Goes On: Instruments from the Hartenberger World Music Collection;” “Edge of Darkness: Photographs by Steve Giovinco and Tim Simmons;” “Made in the Shade: Paul Rudolph’s Florida Houses Revisted;” “Northern Haiti: Human Landscape – Photographs by Patti Gabriel;” “Shawn Burkard: Monoliths 3” and “Art by Children of Artists.”
“The Art Walk is a more relaxed setting, where visitors can view the art exhibitions at their own pace while enjoying music, food and drinks,” Chris Peimann, director of marketing & publicity for The Sheldon Art Galleries, said. “The exhibition ‘The Beat Goes On’ complements The Sheldon’s love for art and music. I think that people will be very intrigued with this exhibition.”
“The Beat Goes On” identifies most with The Sheldon’s rich history as a concert hall, featuring jazz, folk and classic music instruments from countries all over the world in its art work.
The museums and galleries that are participating in the Art Walk will be hosting opening receptions for their exhibitions. This provides visitors with an opportunity to view the latest exhibitions while enjoying great music, greatentertainmentand great company.
The Art Walk is free and open to the public. For more information about Grand Center and Grand Center Inc., visit grandcenter.org.
