Looking for inspiration or something to elevate your mind? Grand Center in Midtown St. Louis is the place to be this summer for art that’s out of the ordinary!
And don’t forget First Fridays: On the first Friday of every month, museums and galleries in the Grand Center Arts District are free and open later until 9 p.m.
WHAT: (KINDA CATTY) EIGHTH BIANNUAL EXHIBITION
WHERE: Angad Arts Hotel
WHEN: Through Oct. 30
While there was no set theme for this biannual exhibition of local art at the Angad, a dominant motif emerged among the 35 works on display: cats.
From sculpture to photography to gel pen to gouache, the works of 31 local artists – based within a 200-mile radius of the Midtown hotel – are showcased, including a number of feline-focused pieces. For instance, Jay Thompson’s “Mother Moses” and “Jasper Longwiskers” show two cat characters with their own backstory, part of the artist’s “Cat Works” collection of more than 175 paintings. There’s also a series of six linocut cat portraits from self-taught printmaker Norman Spencer, as well as Michelle Graf’s “Consort,” a painting of two cats conspiring, among others.
Free; angadartshotel.com/event/eighth-biannual
WHAT: AFTER THE DISCO
WHERE: The High Low
WHEN: Through July 8
Emily Elliott’s immersive installation, “After the Disco,” explores two of the most powerful words in the English language when combined: What if?
The exhibit is designed to capture the experience of an anxious brain stuck in a thought loop, according to the artist, and intended to allow the audience to collectively accept themselves as they are in the present moment, as well as offer strategies for living with difficulties through humor and grace and introduce tools that can heal through daily practice.
Elliott, a Kranzberg Arts Foundation artist in residence, is based northwestern Pennsylvania.
Free; kranzbergartsfoundation.org/after-the-disco
WHAT: LIFE’S A BEACH
WHERE: Angad Arts Hotel
WHEN: Through Aug. 26
Found on the first-floor gallery of the Angad Arts Hotel, “Life’s a Beach” is an oceanic-themed exhibit curated from 13 local artists. The exhibit celebrates the appeal of the ocean through a variety of media and artistic approaches, from abstract to realism.
Featured artists include Janie Stamm, Song Watkins Park, Greta Collier, Hope Ainsworth, Tyler Harris, Brenda Gilliam, Jim Spell, Amanda Lyn Hurd, Ahmed Eldarrat, Taylor Whitney and Madeline Finn.
Free; angadartshotel.com/event/lifes-a-beach-group-show
WHAT: DOOM SCROLL
WHERE: The Gallery at The Kranzberg
WHEN: Through July 29
“Doom Scroll” follows Kranzberg Arts Foundation resident visual artist Vincent Stemmler through themes of self-discovery.
Sourcing photographs and materials from different locations around St. Louis, as well as from other parts of the world, the artist creates so-called “set-ups,” to demonstrate interactions between time, space and the self. The set-ups contain trash, raw clay, live plants and architectural fragments gathered to capture specific spaces and times and incorporated onto paintings, collages, photographs, video art and sculptural installation.
Free; kranzbergartsfoundation.org/doomscroll
WHAT: GOLF THE GALLERIES
WHERE: The Sheldon
WHEN: Through Aug. 6
A summertime favorite returns to The Sheldon: Golf the Galleries is a playable, family-friendly nine-hole mini-golf installation designed by St. Louis artists, architects and other creatives.
This year’s hole designs include MuseumCeption, incorporating several exhibits displayed at the City Museum; Sound Moves by the World Chess Hall of Fame, showcasing the intersection of chess and music; and Candyman, based on Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” and the movies inspired by the beloved children’s book.
$12 (adults), $10 (children 12 and younger); thesheldon.org/events/golf
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