ArtLink: Young Friends of St. Louis Arts

Shakespeare Festival Announces 2008 Season

Richard III, the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis' eighth production, will usher in spring in Forest Park in 2008. The Festival continues its mission of producing free, professional Shakepeare plays for the people of St. Louis.

The Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis brought the community together in record numbers this season.  54,000 people from throughout our community attended the 2007 production of Much Ado About Nothing. An additional 25,000 students from the Metro St. Louis and Metro East areas and from as far as Sikeston, Sullivan and St. Charles enjoyed the Festival's education touring plays at a record 116 school and 6 community performances.

Thanks to all who continue to support the Festival!  Please plan to join us in Forest Park from Memorial Day weekend through Father's Day, May 23 through June 15, 2008 for Richard III!

Open Studios: Director's Tour - Saturday, July 21

The Contemporary's City-Wide Open Studios weekend is THIS Saturday and Sunday and we hope you're planning on exploring art and seeing the creativity that we have right here in St. Louis.  You can always grab a map, a friend, and head off to see a few studios on either day - but tomorrow, there's a FREE bus tour with the Contemporary's Director Paul Ha.  Save your gas money and head to the Contemporary for the 12:30 pm departure on Saturday.  Bus returns by 4:00pm, at which point, you will be filled with great information about the local arts community, have probably made a few friends, and you've seen some art being created in your own city. RSVP recommended to jennifer.gaby@contemporarystl.org, or you can show up at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis no later than 12:30 on Saturday, July 21, and hop on the bus.

Want more information about the bus tour?   Click here to learn more about ALL the organized tours of Open Studios.

River City Professionals coming to Open Studios Preview Night

Preview Night for the City-Wide Open Studios will be hopping!  In addition to the hip crowd of St. Louis artists and art fans, River City Professionals will be having its monthly confab at the Contemporary tomorrow night, July 17.

Whenever and wherever RCP has its meetings, you can be sure there will be a good number of 20- and 30-somethings who come to mingle, network, learn, and have an exciting evening.

As you can tell, we're very excited to have the support of RCP. 

You can learn more about River City Professionals online at www.rivercityprofessionals.org or on the RCP blog at http://www.undercurrentstl.com/blog/

See you there!

-James

Looking to Get Involved? Volunteer at Preview Night

Are you looking for an easy way to get more involved with ArtLink, while also meeting other people who enjoy visual art?

We're expecting a big turnout for the Open Studios preview party tomorrow (Tuesday July 17) so we are looking for a volunteer or three to help us run the ArtLink Membership Sign Up table.

If you would like to get involved, send an email to Jen Gaby (jen@artlinkstl.org) and let her know that you would like to volunteer for an hour or two.

Thanks for your help!

James Grove

Save the Date: Starving Artist BBQ, Sunday, July 22

Enjoy BBQ (yes, it's all you can eat), and Schlafly beer, after you've exhausted yourself looking at more than 80 artist studios across the city. The Contemporary is hosting the Starving Artist BBQ in its courtyard to benefit the Open Studios program, and give you an opportunity to talk about the wealth of art you saw being created in St. Louis. It's only $10 per person and tickets can be purchased online.

Save the Date: Open Studios Preview Party, Tuesday, July 17

Make it a point to mark your calendar for next week's preview party for the City-Wide Open Studios!  It's Tuesday, July 17, from 5:30 - 9:30 at the Contemporary.  There's free admission, delicious food, and a chance to meet and mingle with our Open Studios artists (see Open Studios Online for more info). Better yet, there's free Schlafly beer for ArtLink members. 

Open Studios: July 21 and 22 - Visit the Hidden Spaces Where Artists Work

Open Studios: Visit the Hidden Spaces Where Artists Work

The Contemporary Art Museum is thrilled to present the 2nd Annual City-Wide Open Studios--This week long event allows the city of St. Louis to discover the hidden spaces where artists work while celebrating the wealth of art being created in our community. More than 80 artists across St. Louis City, Maplewood, and Ucity are opening their studios to the public – for free – on Saturday, July 21 and Sunday, July 22.  You can pick up a map, a friend, and drive around St. Louis seeing these great spaces. 

A sample of work from each artists will be at the Contemporary and you should join us for Preview Party on Tuesday, July 17 (5:30-9:30pm), featuring free Schlafly for ArtLink members, free admission, a great DJ, and the chance to meet and mingle with all the Open Studios artists. Grab a map of the studios while you’re at the Contemporary, and spend the next weekend visiting the spaces where artists work. On Sunday, July 22, the Contemporary is wrapping up Open Studios with a Starving Artist BBQ in the courtyard. Tickets are $10 per person, include a delicious BBQ by Wolfgang Puck and free Schlafly products! For more information on Open Studios and all the events surrounding it, visit Open Studios online.

Don't Forget to take the ArtLink Survey

ArtLink members - Please don't forget to answer our short survey, which we sent out on July 2!  Your feedback is extremely important to us.  Next week we'll send out a reminder note, including a link to the survey, to those who have not yet responded. 

Thank you for participating!