A new collaboration among St. Louis arts groups will bring pop-up performances to City Foundry.
For six Wednesday evenings beginning May 21, musicians, painters and street performers will set up along Foundry Way, the central pedestrian plaza at the Midtown shopping and dining complex.
City Foundry is producing the event, dubbed the Live Art Market, with hopes to extend or revive it after the initial run of six weeks if it proves popular.
It’s inspired, in part, by the international travels of City Foundry’s lead developers, father-son duo Steve and Will Smith.
“We’ve both traveled extensively. And a lot of those places have community spaces that blend art and food and commerce,” Will Smith said, “and we wanted to create a space that could do all of that.”
The artistry will be varied and informal.
Artists associated with Paint Louis will perform live art demonstrations and create permanent murals on the pillars under the old railway that runs across the site. Professors from the University of Missouri-St. Louis will offer humanities lectures. Magicians curated by the Museum of Illusions will perform outdoor illusions.
Musicians participating in producer Mvstermind’s artist-development program Mvstercamp will perform at the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis satellite office, accompanied by custom projections. Musician bookings for May 21 include Critical and Po Mia.
“I really love when I have an opportunity to do something with the public, because engaging youth in this experience is really important to me. A lot of times, people don’t really have a way to connect with an artist. This provides the public with that,” said norm4eva, a visual artist who moved to St. Louis after attracting various commissions through participating in the annual Paint Louis event over Labor Day weekend downtown.
Largely using spray paint and other materials common to graffiti, norm4eva works in an abstract style, creating colorful, highly detailed public art pieces inspired in part by surrealist painters of the 20th century.
“I want people to have beautiful moments in front of the walls that I paint. I want my work to be part of those memories that people have,” said norm4eva.
Organizers said they want to increase foot traffic at City Foundry but also to further establish the complex as a space for community gathering. City Foundry is on the lookout for more artists and performers who’d like to participate, including theater troupes and circus performers. The Kranzberg Arts Foundation is helping recruit performers.
Visitors don’t need to buy anything to stroll through the Live Art Mart and savor the experience, but some artists will offer their work for sale.
“This program is designed to bring magic to the people. That’s very special to me,” said Gavin Yang, a Washington University student who sometimes performs card tricks and other illusions for people walking around downtown or waiting for tables in restaurants.
“One of the reasons I do magic is to be able to share it with other people,” he added.
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