As October Cools the Air, Check Out the ARTful Opportunities Awaiting Throughout the Region
By Michelle “Mike” Ochonicky, Healthy Planet Arts Editor
Image: Sculpture by Vincent Stemmler, Great Rivers Biennial 2026 at CAM
Great Rivers Biennial 2026 is a collaborative initiative merged between Contemporary Art Museum and the Gateway Foundation in 2003. Every two years, the program grants three emerging artists in the region both financial support and a major exhibition. Now on view at CAM through February 7, works by Vaughn Terrell Davis, Jr., Lauren dela Roche and Vincent Stemmler present their works as the award winners.
As part of my Arts Editor job, I get to meet artists, musicians and actors. It’s always intriguing to hear what inspires them, their viewpoints and why they create what they do. At CAM’s recent opening, I had the opportunity to discuss Vincent Stemmler’s use of found materials, from sticks and stones to everyday litter, that define his understanding of the relationship between environment and identity. His viewpoint echoes much of what The Healthy Planet magazine represents. Stemmler’s art explores how we impact the environment and what that may mean for earth’s future. Concrete, rebar, and spray foam insulation (who knew?!) become art materials for his works, most notably the lifesize figures of himself and his partner. Check it out! www.camstl.org
On view through February 6 at The Sheldon Galleries, 3648 Washington, is the traveling exhibit, In Blackest Shade, In Darkest Light. Drawings by 10 artists from throughout the nation explore Afrofuturism and Black Quantum Futurism. www.thesheldon.org
A new stainless steel sculpture, Begin Again, Honey Chile’, depicts a young girl “deeply connected to her place in nature” on October 3, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Laumeier Sculpture Park, Rott Road. Artist Alison Saar speaks at noon about the spiritual traditions of her work.
And welcome to Scott Malbaurn as Laumeier’s new Executive Director! www.laumeier.org
October 9-11, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., is this year’s Best of Missouri Market at Missouri Botanical Garden (note: this year’s date change to 2nd weekend of October). 150 of Missouri’s best bring original art, handmade crafts, food, beer, wines and pure excitement to the garden for three days. Stop by my booth (Stone Hollow Studio) to say hi! www.mobot.org
Just outside the Garden’s gates, the Historic Shaw Art Fair is in full swing, October 10-11, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Flora Place and Tower Grove Avenue. Bring a canned good to save $1 on admission. www.shawartfair.org
Landmarks Association of St. Louis, partnered with Regional Arts Commission, presents its free Fall Lecture Series each Wednesday, 6 p.m. at 1805 S. Ninth Street. Topics run the gamut from St. Louis’ German architecture to funeral traditions. Or take a fascinating 9:30 a.m. Saturday tour of historic locations through mid-November. Details at www.landmarks-stl.org
Hayden’s The Creation opens the Bach Society’s magnificent 86th season October 11, 3 p.m., at First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood. www.bachsociety.org
Intercultural Music Initiative brings The Legend Singers to Pilgrim Congregational Church, 826 Union Blvd. for a free concert, October 11, 3:30 p.m. Founded in 1940 by Dr. Kenneth Billups, the group’s powerful choral performance carries forward the tradition of Negro Spirituals dating to 1865. www.imusici.org
At the Touhill on October 9, 7 p.m., experience Music for the Ocean is an immersive concert that reimagines classical music. Created by Emmy-nominated composer and violinist Chad Cannon, the performance combines virtuosic live music, animation, cinematic imagery, sound design, and theatrical lighting to create a multisensory journey through the ocean, with pianist Hui Wu and the Arianna String Quartet. www.umsl.edu/touhill/index.html
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra welcomes Jeff Goldblum and his Mildred Snitzer Orchestra for an evening of jazz and American songbook on October 9. SLSO leads a musical journey through the German countryside with Mozart and Schumann, October 16 (10:30 a.m.) and 17 (7:30 p.m.). Halloween is extra-spooky when SLSO performs the live score as audiences view Edward Scissorhands, October 23-25. www.slso.org
Described by the BBC as “beguiling,” Patterson/Sutton Duo takes the stage at the Ethical Society, 9600 Clayton, 7:30 p.m., with St. Louis Classical Guitar. www.stlclassicalguitar.org
Saint Louis Ballet presents ethereal Giselle, October 9-10 at the Touhill. The haunting tale portrays love, betrayal, and even a touch of the ghostly. www.stlouisballet.org
Introduce the next generation (ages 10+) to opera through Joshua’s Boots, An Opera for Young People, October 21-24. Presented at COCA’s Berges Theatre, together with Opera Theatre of St. Louis. www.opera-stl.org