In 1968, Matilda Laumeier bequeathed 72 acres of land to St. Louis County in memory of her husband, Henry. From that donation, a wonderful idea was born: a public park dedicated to artwork. In 1976, Laumeier Sculpture Park opened with a mission to engage the community through the intersection of art and nature. T&S spoke with executive director Lauren Ross to learn more about how Laumeier stays true to that original vision while looking forward to the future of artistic expression.
How has Laumeier evolved since its founding?
Laumeier opened featuring the work of only one artist, Ernest Trova, who generously donated a significant number of his pieces. In 1978, the nonprofit arm incorporated, and it was decided to feature more artists. Now, we have a collection of around 70 outdoor sculptures as well as smaller pieces and special exhibits that rotate. Along with growing the art collection, we’ve also grown in size to 105 acres. We’ve added events and classes—some of which like the summer camp and Mother’s Day art fair have been around for more than three decades. Some newer initiatives include a STEAM program that gets students out of the classroom and outdoors to learn not only about science, technology, engineering and math but also art. Our Opening Minds through Art (OMA) initiative provides art therapy for people with dementia in partnership with university students.
What makes Laumeier such a unique cultural landmark for St. Louis?
St. Louis is a very rich community when it comes to arts and culture. It also has incredible parks and green spaces. Laumeier is a unique blend of those elements in a single space and experience. Everything we do is focused on the confluence of art and nature. It’s a wonderful opportunity for people to find both relaxation and inspiration. We want to bring the community together to share these experiences and explore their own creativity.
How can people support Laumeier?
We operate through a public-private partnership. We are part of the St. Louis County park system, but our operations aren’t covered by public funding. We have a nonprofit arm that is responsible for caring for the artwork and organizing events and programming. If you love the park, one of the best and easiest ways to support Laumeier is to become a member. Right now, we’re also running a campaign to fund the restoration of Alexander Liberman’s The Way, which is an enormous piece and an iconic part of our collection. It’s been a Laumeier since the 1980s, and over the years, it’s been repainted a number of times, but we’re getting ready to start a major multi-stage restoration project that will cost an estimated $335,000.
How do you plan new exhibits for the park?
Our curator, Dana Turkovic, has a lot of duties, and among them is selecting the artists we work with. We have a commitment to working with local, national and international artists. That mix is very important to us. We want to showcase the talent we have right here in St. Louis, but also present it in dialogue with artists who are working elsewhere. We try to do at least one major project with a local artist every year. We also have two artists in residence. The community artist position offers St. Louis-based artists the opportunity to engage with the community through workshops, events and discussions. The visiting artist in residence program is focused on creators from outside the region who are foreign-born but based in the U.S. It offers the opportunity for that global-perspective while also celebrating the cultural contributions of immigrants.
You have two new exhibits opening later this month.
Our two fall exhibits open Aug. 26. The official celebration is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and free for the public. One is the first solo exhibit from a young local artist Vaughn Davis Jr. called The Fabric of Our Time. The other is an outdoor sculpture for our visiting artists in residence, Lenka Clayton and Phillip Andrew Lewis, called A Number of Tragedies. It’s a playful piece that will be installed in a grove of trees to appear as if a number of guests’ kites have become stuck. Discover Laumeier Day is Aug. 27, so it’s another great chance to see the new works. There will be a lot of great activities, including kite flying and a community mural led by Davis.
For more information, visit laumeiersculpturepark.org.
Photos courtesy of Laumeier Sculpture Park
