Spring Events for the Whole Family
By Michelle “Mike” Ochonicky, Healthy Planet Arts Editor
Image: Divadlo Studio Tanca from Slovakia performs in Tapestry.
Paper and fabric define St. Louis-based artist Sukanya Mani’s identity as an immigrant woman. Absence of what: Presence of whom reflects on everyday rituals on culture, gender and personal history. In COCA’s Millstone Gallery, 6880 Washington, through April 11. www.cocastl.org
Fanfare of Quilts 2025, March 15-16, offers 400+ quilts and vendors at Queeny Park, Weidman Road. Featured is the Route 66 Centennial Celebration ART Quilt Project: 66 unique quilts, highlighting locations and attractions along the route. www.bitsnpiecesguild.com
Collaborating with Studio Glass Batch, Third Degree Glass, 5400 Delmar, hosts the prestigious 2025 Glasma Conference, March 7-9. Internationally-acclaimed glass artists converge in St. Louis to network and produce collaboratively. Friday’s 5-8 p.m. party welcomes the public. An exhibition of glassworks remains on view through April 11. www.stlglass.com
March 1-27, it’s Varsity Art 29 at Art St. Louis, 2801 Locust, starring works by students from 23 area colleges and universities. Opening reception March 7, 5-7 p.m. www.artstlouis.org
On March 7, Contemporary Art Museum (CAM) opens a museum-wide exhibition exploring landscape as both a physical reality and an emotional state. Like Water delves into water’s multifaceted roles—its life-giving and destructive powers, the flow of inspiration, climate change, the Middle Passage, etc. Make the River Present is an interactive exhibition inviting visitors to engage with the powerful Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. ArtReach: Confluence features works by Vashon and Sumner High students. The exhibition remains through August 10, 3750 Washington. www.camstl.org
Also opening March 7 at The Pulitzer, 3716 Washington, are Veronica Ryan: Unruly Objects and Jess T. Dugan: I’m Right Here With You, both through July 27. www.pulitzerarts.org
Through May 18, MOCRA (Museum of Contemporary Religious Art) on St. Louis University’s campus, presents Continuum (Continued): Figuration and Abstractions, works from MOCRA’s collection that express the transcendent. The exhibition promises to provide food for thought and, certainly, discussion. https://www.slu.edu/mocra/
Webster Arts showcases Small Works XXI, on view at Webster Groves Public Library March 1-28. All works are 12” square or smaller, by local artists. Closing Reception on March 28, 6 p.m.
Meanwhile, in the gallery at 2 Summit, Art & Soul is on view through March 14. Following is Into the Woods, March 18-April 18, with opening reception at 6:30 p.m. www.webster-arts.org
There’s real ARTful fun to be found on March 12, 2 p.m., during Art & Found Day. According to Webster Arts, “Original artwork will be hidden (but safely discoverable in public places) around Webster Groves for our neighbors to take home and enjoy!” Learn more about this international event: www.webster-arts.org/art-and-found-day
The Grandel Theater opens its stage curtains for Tapestry: A USA-Slovakia International Dance Collaboration, March 21-22. Karlovsky & Company Dance welcomes Divadlo Studio Tanca from Banska Bystrica, Slovakia to share global perspectives, with multiple community outreach events. www.karlovskydance.org
Celebrated tenor Lawrence Brownlee presents a recital in collaboration with pianist Kevin Miller, March 23, in the Great Artists Series at WashU’s Department of Music. Brownlee is a leading figure in opera, both as a singer and as a voice for activism and diversity in the industry. The performance includes a beautifully curated program of operatic hits, plus works commissioned today, 7 p.m. at 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Ave. https://opera-stl.org/whats-on/great-artists-series/
The Touhill hosts world-renowned Irish fiddler Eileen Ivers, March 13, 8 p.m., performing classics to contemporary favs of the Emerald Isle. Following is Madeleine Peyroux: “Let’s Walk” Tour, March 25, 7:30 p.m. Her distinctive, “honeyed croon” delivered her from the Paris streets to concert halls through jazz, folk, and chamber pop. touhilltix@umsl.edu
The Bach Society performs Johannes Brahms’ A German Requiem on March 22, 3 p.m., at First Presbyterian Church in Kirkwood. www.bachsociety.org
St. Louis Cathedral Basilica is the setting for amazing concerts by The American Spiritual Ensemble, March 23, and Westminster Cathedral Choir-London, March 31, both at 7:30 p.m. www.cathedralconcerts.org
Through March 22, Bruno David Gallery presents an exhibition of works by Frank Schwaiger: MUSIC; Danielle Muzina: Femme In The End Times; Lulu Gargiulo and David Wild: 47 views of Leslie Laskey, all at 7513 Forsyth. www.brunodavidgallery.com
Head to the Rep, 130 Edgar Road, for Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood: The Adventure of Robin Hood. This main-stage play is a fresh and fast-paced twist on the classic tale, March 19-April 13. www.repstl.org
What’s more exciting than James Bond in Casino Royale? Live score accompaniment by St. Louis Symphony Orchestra! See (and hear) it, March 8-9, Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market. Stephane Deneve leads Bernstein and Williams: Cinematic Visions, at the Touhill March 21 (10:30 a.m. Coffee Concert) and 22 (7:30 p.m.). Enjoy music from Seven Years in Tibet, Lost, American Port of Call and On the Waterfront.