Laumeier will kick off its 40th Anniversary festivities with a free, outdoor performance of musical selections in celebration of the Park on Saturday, July 16, at 11:00 a.m. in the Public Plaza outside the Adam Aronson Fine Arts Center. The event features Dr. James Henry with Vocal Point, Dr. Gail Fleming with Melodia and Vaughans Quartet, among others, and includes a presentation of the original composition Laumeier Sculpture Park Anthem, by Dr. Barbara Harbach. The performance is organized by Laumeier’s 2016 In-Residence: Composer Dr. Barbara Harbach and Conductor Dr. James Henry, both faculty at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Supported by the Ferring Family Foundation.
In addition, the St. Louis County Council and the City of Sunset Hills both proclaimed Friday, July 1, 2016, “Laumeier Sculpture Park Day” in honor and celebration of 40 years of providing St. Louis residents and visitors with world-class artistic experiences, education programs and special events in the unique cultural landscape of the Park. More information about Laumeier’s unique history will be celebrated and shared throughout the year on Laumeier’s website and social media channels (Facebook and Instagram).
Exhibitions scheduled for Laumeier’s 40th Anniversary year include an indoor multimedia exhibition by Soweto-born, Cape Town-based artist Mohau Modisakeng in the Whitaker Foundation Gallery at the Adam Aronson Fine Arts Center and an outdoor exhibition by local sculptors Alison Ouellette-Kirby and Noah Kirby at the Ampitheater in the Way Field for the 2016 Kranzberg Exhibition Series. Both exhibitions open Saturday, November 5, 2016, and run through Sunday, January 29, 2017.
Next spring, Laumeier will open a multisensory exhibition by Mexican new media artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, followed by an exhibition by Ghanaian-born conceptual artist Yvonne Osei for the 2017 Kranzberg Exhibition Series, opening fall 2017. With these projects, Laumeier continues its legacy practice of bringing globally renowned artists to St. Louis.
History of Laumeier Sculpture Park
In 1968, Mrs. Matilda Laumeier bequeathed the first 72 acres of the future Laumeier Sculpture Park, together with a large stone house, to St. Louis County in memory of her husband, Henry Laumeier. In 1976, local artist Ernest Trova gifted 40 artworks to St. Louis County, and Laumeier Sculpture Park was dedicated as part of the St. Louis County Department of Parks and Recreation system on July 7, 1976. Today, Laumeier is a nonprofit, accredited art museum that operates in partnership with St. Louis County Parks. Projects and programs are supported by the Mark Twain Laumeier Endowment Fund, the Regional Arts Commission, the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Missouri Arts Council and the Arts and Education Council of St. Louis.
Laumeier presents 60 works of large-scale outdoor sculpture in a 105-acre park available free to the public year-round, and serves 300,000 patrons annually through temporary exhibitions, education programs, public events and sculpture conservation. In 2015, Laumeier closed its first major capital campaign, Sculpting the Future, culminating in the renovation of the Laumeier’s 1917 Estate House into the Kranzberg Education Lab and the construction of the new Adam Aronson Fine Arts Center for exhibitions, programs and events.
Laumeier Sculpture Park is a living laboratory where artists and audiences explore the relationship between contemporary art and the natural environment. Founded in 1976, Laumeier is one of the first and largest dedicated sculpture parks in the country, making it an institution of international significance as well as a unique complement to the cultural landscape of the St. Louis region. Laumeier is a nonprofit, accredited art museum that operates in partnership with St. Louis County Parks. Projects and programs are supported by the Mark Twain Laumeier Endowment Fund, the Regional Arts Commission, the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Missouri Arts Council and the Arts and Education Council of St. Louis.