2012 Preview — STL Arts Top 5

1) Governor Jay Nixon

2) St. Louis Art Museum

3) Kristina van Dyke, Pulitzer Museum

4) Delmar, Cherokee, Washington Ave, et al.

5) What are your thoughts on the St. Louis Arts story to watch in 2012?

Here are my thoughts on the SVO1905 nominations of STL art stories to watch in 2012…

The State of Kansas has recently taken yet another giant leap backward (poor Lawrence!) by being the first state to completely eliminate state arts funding.  A showdown will be looming here in Missouri over arts funding as well, and Governor Nixon’s leadership will be crucial in making sure that arts funding isn’t gutted.  You can contact your state senator and representative on this issue here and help support the February 8th rally on this issue.

There is light at the end of the tunnel for the expansion to the St. Louis Art Museum (no exact date yet).  Gallery re-installations in the original Beaux Arts style building might be overshadowed by the sizable baby bump of the expansion, but reopening and reorganizing the collection is a story about art — not a building.  In 2012, I hope SLAM is able to tell the story about the car, not the fancy dealership — and that they get on twitter, finally.

Kristina van Dyke as the new Director of the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts.  This looks like a match made in heaven.  Stay tuned to http://www.svo1905.com for more details!

The Grand Center Arts District has a foot print that not even the more famous Central West End or the U. City Loop can match.  Between the gallery walk, the New Years Party, the jazz festival and other events, Grand Center just fucking gets it done.  But for Cherokee’s write up in the New York Times, the explosion of cool on Washington Avenue and the plans for the Loop Trolley, our other districts don’t have the marketing power of Grand Center.  I hope 2012 is the year that the uniquely St. Louis patchwork of districts and streets are able to find the marketing megaphone to let the rest of the city know just how lucky we all are to live in such a vibrant city.