There will be much to celebrate at this year’s Saint Louis Visionary Awards.
This year marks the 10th year of the Saint Louis Visionary Awards, which recognizes women who work in or support the arts, their contributions, achievements and excellence, as well as their stories.
“This event shines a spotlight on the many talented and diverse women who make St. Louis a better place to live, grow, raise children, connect and thrive,” said Saint Louis Visionary Awards board member Kim Eberlein. “The women we celebrate reflect every genre of art – from music to dance to crafts to visual arts to design to theatre – they are creators, performers and educators.”
The 2024 honorees are: Heather Beal-Himes, (Outstanding Working Artist), Elizabeth Berges (Major Contributor to the Arts), Shawna Flanigan (Outstanding Teaching Artist), Meridith McKinley (Outstanding Arts Professional), Luisa Otero-Prada (Community Impact Artist) and Alexa Seda (Emerging Artist), all of whom will be honored during an April 29th ceremony at the Sun Theater in Grand Center.
“Collectively, these women tell the story of St. Louis’ strong commitment to and history in the arts,” Eberlein said.
Eberlein herself is an honoree, recognized in 2012 as a Major Contributor to the Arts by what was then known as the Grand Center Visionary Awards. Receiving recognition that same year as Outstanding Arts Professional was Sara Burke, who along with Eberlein, currently serves on the board. Together, they worked to relaunch the organization as the Saint Louis Visionary Awards in 2014.
“We launched it on a wing and a prayer,” Burke said. “I would go to the awards and be inspired by people’s stories. To me, it wasn’t just the award, but what it meant to be a visionary – it’s such a big word. What did that word mean to me? I was so inspired. The fact that the award was for women and to hear the stories told by women … women do everything – they hold up the sky!”
The relaunch gave the organization’s mission more focus, according to Roseann Weiss, chair of the Saint Louis Visionary Awards board of directors.
“Our commitment to inclusivity and diversity is front and center,” Weiss said. “We are interested in illuminating and amplifying women in the arts, artists and arts professionals who might not be front and center. You might not be seeing newspaper articles about them, but there they are working, doing amazing work – and to be able to shine a light on that work, it’s very important. We have gone out of our way to make sure our selection committees, where we’re getting our nominations from, and everything we do is seen through this lens of inclusivity, diversity and equity.”
Burke agrees, saying that in the 10 years of the Saint Louis Visionary Awards, she has seen a difference.
“We have been so intent on finding women doing things – the murals in North St. louis, the work of those doing dance in North County – our big thing was to get a diverse board in age, race … We needed more leadership from women of color and we never give up that goal,” Burke said. “Now, we have women running some of our major institutions and it gives a different sense of what it means to be welcoming.”
This year’s slate of honorees was selected from approximately 90 nominees of different backgrounds whose names were submitted by members of the community.
“When we talk about diversity, we’re talking about all people, in all stages of their career and what they’re doing,” Weiss said. “There are a couple of the women in this group that have done amazing work for years, but they’ve always been in the background, so this is a chance to put the spotlight on what they do and who they are.”
In addition to honoring women in the arts, the Saint Louis Visionary Awards shines a light on the impact the arts have on the community.
“There is no other sector in my mind that’s like the arts in that it is everywhere,” Weiss said. “It permeates everywhere. Art and culture is everywhere. You don’t have culture without the art and artists and the people that do it every day.”
The Saint Louis Visionary Awards will be held Monday, April 29, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Sun Theater in Grand Center. The ceremony, co-hosted by Saint Louis Art Museum director Min Jung Kim and HOK senior principal Margaret McDonald, features performances by spoken word artist Pacia Elaine Anderson and The Big Muddy Dance Company, followed by a reception.
For tickets and more information, visit the Saint Louis Visionary Awards website.
Gazelle is proud to partner with the 2024 Saint Louis Visionary Awards as the event’s media sponsor.
