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THE CONTEMPORARY
ART MUSEUM ST. LOUIS
THE FORMER FORUM FOR CONTEMPORARY ART
GETS A HOME OF ITS OWN.
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By Pam Droog
Art enthusiasts throughout the region and beyond eagerly anticipate
the grand opening of the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis at Grand
Center on Saturday, Sept. 20. But amid all the hoopla, it’s important
to remember that preceding this exciting event, a dedicated board
of directors devoted thousands of hours to planning, preparing and
perfecting every detail.
“We started out in 1980 as the Forum for Contemporary Art in Laclede’s
Landing, then moved twice more,” says board President Susan Sherman,
a partner in the public relations firm Kaminer&Co. “But now as the
Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis and with a home of our own, we’re
reaching out locally, nationally and internationally. It’s a very
exciting time.”
The new 27,200-square-foot building at Spring Ave. and Washington
Blvd. in Grand Center will include three galleries, a performance/lecture
space, technology center, classrooms, lobby, courtyard, cafe and
bookshop. The facility, which shares an outdoor plaza with the Pulitzer
Foundation for the Arts, was designed by Portland, Ore. architect
Brad Cloepfil. He was selected by the board from more than 100 applicants
nationwide.
“We took a risk with this young architect, but he fit our mission,”
Sherman says. “Now Metropolitan Home magazine calls him the
‘fastest ascending architect’ today.”
Last fall the board also brought in a new executive director, Paul
Ha, formerly affiliated with the Yale University Art Gallery and
White Columns alternative art space in New York City.
Ha believes a real plus of the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
is “it’s new but it also has a past.” As a result, the board is
made up of individuals who have been involved in the local art scene
for many years, as well as young people and newcomers.
CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM BORAD MEMBERS
(Back row left to right): ALAN LEIBERT, REUBEN
O. CHARLES II, TERRANCE GOOD, PHILIP MARITZ, CHARLES
COOK, TOM RICH, R. JEFFREY EDWARDS, DOUGLAS B. MACCARTHY,
HENRY O. JOHNSTON (Emeritus); JOHN BIERBUSSE.
(Middle row left to right): ROBIN CARNAHAN,
ANN SHEEHAN LIPTON, NEVA MOSKOWITZ.
(Front row left to right): JOHN FUMAGALLI,
EDWARD SUTTON JR., CARLIN SCANLAN, SUSAN SHERMAN (president);
BARBARA COOK, KIMBERLY MACLEAN, ANN RUWITCH, PAUL
HA (director); BUNNY BURSON, PEGGY MCCLELLAN, BARBARA
EAGLETON, ALISON FERRING.
(Not pictured): CLARENCE BARKSDALE, MARK BOTTERMAN,
JOHN CAPPS, JANICE ANDERSON-CERNY, ELEANOR DEWALD
(Emeritus); JOAN GOODSON (Emeritus); GARY GRANT, RONALD
GREENBERG, JO HARMON, JIMMY JAMIESON, NANCY KRANZBERG,
JIM MANN, MARYLEN MANN, DONNA MOOG, JOHN NORTH, BILL
POLK, RUTHE PONTURO, EMILY RAUH PULITZER, VINCE SCHOEMEHL,
PAT SCHUCHARD, WILLIAM SHEARBURN, DONALD SUGGS, ANABETH
WEIL, DONNA WILKINSON |
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It’s a big board—45 members, including eight who were added since
Ha’s arrival. “The organization has grown so much, we need a lot
more people to be involved. Also, we didn’t want anyone to rotate
off until after the grand opening,” he says.
Board members are educators, bankers, attorneys, artists, collectors,
retirees, decorators, venture capitalists, gallery owners and others,
Sherman says. “What I love about the board is that it’s very diverse
in age, interests and ethnicity. Also, some of the new people assumed
leadership roles immediately,” she adds. “Sometimes when you join
a board you feel like you’re warming a seat, but we plug in new
members from the start.”
Board members are plugged into numerous committees, including executive,
communications, strategic planning, development, education, exhibitions,
nominating and finance. “The special events committee has been especially
busy organizing the most amazing party that St. Louis has seen for
many years,” says Ha, referring to the Friday, Sept. 19 Inaugural
Gala for 600 guests. The Budweiser True Music Block Party will be
held the following night. “Opening day on Saturday will be a day
filled with lectures, symposia and things for families to do together,”
Ha says.
He expects a lot of buzz around the museum’s first exhibition, “A
Fiction of Authenticity: Contemporary Africa Abroad.” The show,
which will feature new work by 11 contemporary African artists,
will travel to the Carnegie Mellon and University of Houston after
leaving St. Louis. Then Ha says the museum plans to offer five to
seven critically acclaimed exhibitions each year.
Before, during and after the grand opening, the Contemporary Art
Museum St. Louis board will continue to focus on fundraising. The
board has raised more than $8 million of its capital campaign goal
of $12 million, of which $6.8 million will fund the new building
and the rest will go to an endowment fund. Annual operating expenses
are $1.2 million, including 12 staff members.
“We get a lot of grants and donations from foundations, individuals
and corporations,” Sherman says. The café and bookstore will provide
additional revenues, and so will rentals of the building or parts
of it for special occasions, she adds. In addition, the board already
is planning its popular DaDa Ball for 2004, and it’s in the final
stages of a major membership drive, hoping to sign up 1,000 new
friends by the time the building opens.
Another major focus of the board is education. “We have always collaborated
with the Symphony, Opera Theatre, Dance St. Louis and other art
organizations, but now with our new building, we can offer so much
more, not just with art groups but with schools, too,” Sherman says.
One pilot program trains high school students from Cardinal Ritter
Preparatory High School to be docents and give tours of the museum
to their peers.
In the meantime, the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis board and
staff are “working crazily around the clock to get everything ready
for the opening,” Sherman says. When the party’s over, they can
move forward with their main mission: “To bring people to St. Louis
as a destination on many different levels including art, architecture
and scholarship,” Ha says. “Our museum definitely will contribute
to all those things.”
Pam Droog is a frequent contributor to St. Louis Commerce Magazine.
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