The Whole City Tour concluded with a conversation underneath the Gateway Arch. Photo by Brea McAnally.
Reflections from the Whole City Tour James McAnally
T
he Luminary formed just over five years ago around the question of what makes St. Louis a city in which artists can thrive. We asked everyone we knew what the tangible and intangible factors that come together to create a sustainable practice. The Luminary emerged in a context of strong museums and educational institutions, an active yet scattered artist-run community, but few sustainable organizations that would define themselves as “alternative spaces” or “artist run” projects that offered opportunities and resources for artists beyond the act of showing in a gallery. The question we have faced at each point in our growth has been an underlying expectation that somehow St. Louis was a stepping stone; that The Luminary was a strong, but short-lived initiative that would follow a well-tread path to Chicago or the coasts; that our work had a set horizon and this third option towards a sustained alternative support system for artists was untenable or at least unlikely. After touring various spaces with our artists-inresidence and again with Works Progress as a part of this project, it is clear that there is a different energy in the city. The question of “when are
you moving to Chicago” has been redirected into “how does everyone in New York not realize that the real opportunities for an interesting artistic practice exist here?” This energy is one that views abandoned space as opportunity, discarded objects as valuable, and public policy something that can be challenged and changed. The energy is coming from above as well, evidenced most prominently by the Regional Arts Commission’s recently announced Artists Count survey and subsequent direct artist grants, but also in lesser known manifestations like the Trio Foundation’s investment in innovative small projects like Perennial (and, full disclosure, our own residency program), the Old North Restoration Group’s attempt at holistically addressing the needs of a long-underserved neighborhood and The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts’s initial work with Rebuild Foundation. Yet, issues persist. By our count, at least eight galleries closed in St. Louis just last year. The physical, political and social structure of the city seems designed to exacerbate every kind of division. Population decline has marred the landscape and public funds are drained into
blue chip solutions that continue to lead the city away from the proven vitality of self-organized initiatives and creative re-imagining of civic life. Whole City and projects like it are a necessary reminder of what makes the city work and why we continue the work we do. Documenting all of these various responses, leading us to see projects we overlook for whatever reason, distributing it back out into the public remind us to continually reconsider the city in all of its parts. James McAnally is the Co-Director of The Luminary Center for the Arts and Executive Editor of Temporary Art Review. theluminaryarts.com