The Luminary

The Luminary The Luminary is an incubator for new ideas in the arts founded in 2007 as a forum for artistic research, production and presentation.

The Luminary is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit founded in 2007 as a forum for artistic research, production and presentation, conceived in response to both our immediate and international community, alongside our audiences, and in dialogue with artists.

Join us for a conversation with Bryan Walsh about the power and practice of artist collectives on June 13th.Drawing from...
05/28/2026

Join us for a conversation with Bryan Walsh about the power and practice of artist collectives on June 13th.

Drawing from his experience founding and working within Screwed Arts Collective, Bryan will share insights on practical ways to start a collective, build strong collaborative relationships, and create opportunities outside traditional frameworks. 

Bryan Walsh is an abstract painter based in St. Louis, MO, USA. He has maintained a studio practice on Cherokee Street since 2008. He is a co-founder of the Screwed Arts Collective, and since 2013 has shared the Screwed Arts studio with fellow Collective members and others. In February 2024, he opened Fifteen Windows Gallery on Cherokee Street, showcasing contemporary work by both St. Louis-based artists and artists from around the U.S.

Since 2019, he has been the Artist Coordinator for Paint Louis, the international graffiti festival. He is also a 2012 graduate of the Regional Arts Commission’s Community Arts Training Institute (CAT).

RSVP now in the link in our bio.

This program is part of Emerge, The Luminary’s professional development series designed to equip artists with practical tools, critical dialogue, and a supportive network to sustain their creative practice.

05/28/2026

in april, artists, singers, organizers, friends, and newcomers gathered at for a recording session led by Sam Hamilton as part of the central sound work in To Avoid Drowning, Become the Ocean, opening this summer at The Luminary.

here, Sam prepares the group for a thirty-minute durational recording that will become a core component of the exhibition. the work demanded stamina, breath, and sustained collective attention, asking participants to engage their bodies as instruments capable of producing a shifting sonic landscape together.

thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed to this evolving work. more soon.

🎥 documentation by Jeanna Ross

🌀 🌱 the future doesn’t arrive on its own. it’s built collectively through artists, experimentation, and the people willi...
05/26/2026

🌀 🌱 the future doesn’t arrive on its own. it’s built collectively through artists, experimentation, and the people willing to gather around new ideas.

help us raise a glass to some of st. louis’ most exciting new artistic projects and ideas at our annual futures fund awardee celebration & announcement, aka summer social.

join us on thursday, june 4 from 5–8 pm for an evening of dancing, custom cocktails, a “selfie-serve” photo backdrop, delicious treats, and good company. remarks begin at 6:30 pm.

free and open to the public. rsvp via link in bio.

futures fund is administered with generous support from the andy warhol foundation for the visual arts.

can’t make it but curious to learn more about futures fund? visit theluminaryarts.com

JUNE FIRST THURSDAY 🌞 6.4.26as the weather heats up, stay cool on Cherokee Street at another First Thursday : galleries,...
05/19/2026

JUNE FIRST THURSDAY 🌞 6.4.26

as the weather heats up, stay cool on Cherokee Street at another First Thursday : galleries, studios, and small businesses/independent spaces staying open late along the entire street

art / vintage / food / and more. everything within walking distance.

Thurs, June 4, 5-8 PM

Don’t forget to grab a drink along the way!







us




Additional participating businesses in the comments below ⬇️ 💚

05/09/2026

Get to know Sam Hamilton ahead of their upcoming exhibition at The Luminary.

This trailer for Te Moana Meridian, Sam’s experimental opera, offers a glimpse into Sam’s interdisciplinary practice, which uses video, performance, and speculative storytelling to question inherited systems of power and imagine new ways of orienting ourselves to one another and the world.

In this five-channel operatic video installation, Sam imagines relocating the world’s prime meridian from Greenwich, London to the South Pacific Ocean. Established in 1884 at the height of British imperial power, the line still reflects a colonial system that positions London as the world’s center.

In shifting the meridian to the ocean, Te Moana Meridian asks what it means to center connection instead of empire.

See Sam’s new installation, To Avoid Drowning, Become the Ocean, opening at The Luminary on June 26.

Check out our link in bio to see the fullscreen trailer for Te Moana Meridian on Vimeo.

📷 Trailer for Sam’s presentation of Te Moana Meridian in 2023 at Converge 45, a Portland, Oregon based arts biennial.

The Luminary’s Summer Social is back! ☀️Join us June 4th to celebrate some of St. Louis’ most exciting new projects and ...
05/05/2026

The Luminary’s Summer Social is back! ☀️

Join us June 4th to celebrate some of St. Louis’ most exciting new projects and ideas, as we announce this year’s Futures Fund awardees.

There’ll be dancing, custom cocktails, a selfie photo backdrop, delicious treats and (of course) you.

Doors at 5. Remarks at 6:30 PM. Free and open to the public. RSVP link in bio.

The Luminary’s Futures Fund one of St. Louis’s largest grant-making initiatives for artists, and is generously supported through The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

✨Approaching Soon! Futures Fund Cycle 8 Deadline✨The deadline to submit your application to Futures Fund Cycle 8 ends TO...
05/04/2026

✨Approaching Soon! Futures Fund Cycle 8 Deadline✨

The deadline to submit your application to Futures Fund Cycle 8 ends TOMORROW!

Be sure to submit your application by 11:59pm, Tuesday, May 5 for a chance to receive up to $8,000 for new, visual-artist led projects within the St. Louis region.

To learn more about Futures Fund Cycle 8, visit our website through the link in our bio.

✨ Meet the Jurors: Futures Fund Cycle 8 ✨The Luminary is thrilled to introduce–Malik Fabian-Mahmud, Kathy Cho, and Thea ...
05/01/2026

✨ Meet the Jurors: Futures Fund Cycle 8 ✨

The Luminary is thrilled to introduce–Malik Fabian-Mahmud, Kathy Cho, and Thea Spittle–the jurors who will be reviewing applications for Futures Fund Cycle 8. Each artist, thinker, and cultural leader brings a unique perspective, expertise, and shared commitment to supporting bold and thoughtful work within the St. Louis arts landscape. Please find abbreviated bios for each of our jurors below, with their full bios shared on our website.

Malik Fabian-Mahmud (he/him) (b. Saint Louis, MO) is a photo-based artist whose practice centers on exploring his heritage & identity through digitization and documentation–transfiguring memory, and preserving histories across generations.

Kathy Cho (she/they) is a curator who supports the practices of living artists by producing exhibitions, events, images, and writing to collectively archive loose narratives of lived experiences. Ongoing research includes expanding the visual and dialogic lexicon of diaspora artists, and exploring the physical and digital architectures of affect. Her accumulation of experiences in artist-run spaces, event production, studio management, and archives continues to inform how she approaches working with artists and cultural producers with care.

Thea Spittle (she/her) is an independent curator and writer based in Akron, Ohio. She collaborates alongside artists to produce exhibitions, publications and public programs for the greater Northeast Ohio community. Spittle holds a Master of Arts in Curatorial Studies from the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York and a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Spanish from Hamilton College, Clinton, New York. 

To learn more about Futures Fund and apply, visit our website through the link in our bio.

✨ Meet the Jurors: Futures Fund Cycle 8 ✨The Luminary is thrilled to introduce the jurors who will be reviewing applicat...
05/01/2026

✨ Meet the Jurors: Futures Fund Cycle 8 ✨

The Luminary is thrilled to introduce the jurors who will be reviewing applications for Futures Fund Cycle 8. Each artist, thinker, and cultural leader brings a unique perspective, expertise, and shared commitment to supporting bold and thoughtful work within the St. Louis arts landscape.

Meet Malik Fabian-Mahmud

Malik Fabian-Mahmud (he/him) (b. Saint Louis, MO) is a photo-based artist whose practice centers on exploring his heritage & identity through digitization and documentation–transfiguring memory, and preserving histories across generations.

Beyond his artistic practice, Fabian-Mahmud is the Co-Founder and Community Organizer of Five Dolla Cam, a collective that hosts artistic workshops, exhibitions, and social gatherings–creating accessible spaces for creative learning and community connection.

To learn more about Futures Fund, visit our website through the link in our bio.

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2701 Cherokee Street
St. Louis, MO
63118

Opening Hours

Wednesday 12pm - 5pm
Thursday 11am - 5pm
Friday 11am - 5pm
Saturday 11am - 5pm

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+13147731533

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