Grand Grand Center

Sometimes we just want to call up artist Daniel Raedeke and ask him what else the future holds. After all, this St. Louisan has already shown us what art will be like in the year 3000 (that's his ultramodern-looking tree-O, pictured). Fortunately, the immediate future of art in St. Louis is a bit less nebulous, too -- especially now that the Bruno David Gallery opens on Friday, October 21, with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. This grand opening not only celebrates the new gallery's space -- 3721 Washington Boulevard in Grand Center -- but it also celebrates the best in regional art with the show Inaugural Exhibition, which includes offerings from Raedeke, Jenna Bauer (of SCOSAG and Wall Ball fame), Kim Humphries (you may remember his wall-mounted ottomans at the Contemporary Art Museum last year), Christina Shmigel (whose show at Laumeier just closed in August) and the granddaddy of them all, Ernest Trova, among many others.

The free gallery is open every day except Monday. For more information about this show (up until November 13) or the space, which promises more exhibits by both emerging and mid-career artists, visit www.brunodavidgallery.com or call 314-531-3030. -- Alison Sieloff

Find Your Way Back
To Mad Art for Found

THUR 10/20

A list in which a woman weighs the pros and cons of her husband and her boyfriend. A mathematical plan for world domination by cats. An angry scrawl on wide-rule loose-leaf: "It stayed on the grill bitch." A sign for a lost cat that needs its medicine -- because the pet foams at the mouth. These are just a few of the fascinating items that readers have sent to Davy Rothbart's Found magazine. As the guests of Left Bank Books, Davy (pictured) and his brother, Peter, will feature some of the latest Found discoveries (including found film), as well as a reading from Davy's new short-story collection (The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas) and music from Peter, all for free at Mad Art Gallery (2727 South 12th Street; 314-771-8230 or www.madartgallery.com). The doors open at 7 p.m. -- Ian Froeb

Bug the Rep Set
When you attend the party

Some people know lots about theater (it's OK if you're not one of them). Others, they're quite familiar with the partying (that's more your speed, huh?). And the folks in the Rep Set, a "friends" group of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, are knowledgeable about both plays and parties. So learn as you attend the Friday, October 21, performance of Bug presented by the Rep's Off-Ramp offshoot at 8 p.m. at the Grandel Theatre (3610 Grandel Square). Just a little context so you don't freak out: Bug is a play with elements of delusion (something, in addition to partying, you also know well); basically, a paranoid vet meets a drug addict, and bug attacks ensue.

Then after the play, show the Set and the cast how to really party, right there in the Grandel's lobby. Party tickets will set you back $10; Bug tickets cost $23 to $45. And while the play runs through November 6 (visit www.repstl.org or call 314-968-4925 for times, dates and tickets), the post-play partying can only be done on Friday -- so do it and do it well. -- Alison Sieloff

On the Ground

Photographer Joel Meyerowitz had the strange fortune of being permitted to document Ground Zero in the weeks after September 11, 2001. For nine months Meyerowitz photographed the rescue workers, the police and the people inhabiting the area, creating a permanent record of the community that sprang up in the aftermath of destruction. Twenty of Meyerowitz's images make up the exhibit Manhattan and Ground Zero, which opens with a 5-to-8-p.m. reception Friday, October 21, at St. Louis Community College-Meramec (11333 Big Bend Boulevard; 314-984-7632). The show remains up through November 18. -- Paul Friswold