BFA, MFA, A-OK

A question for all you recent college graduates: What, exactly, do you have to show for your four-plus years in higher education? Let me guess — a few hundred Facebook friends, a mountain of debt and a fancy-pants diploma all done up in frilly script. Not so for the long-suffering art students: These budding Rothkos and de Koonings have a portfolio brimming with ideas, and, thankfully, a public space to show them off. White Flag Projects (4568 Manchester Avenue; 314-531-3442 or www.whiteflagprojects.org) hosts FASTX3, its third annual showcase of recent BFA/MFA graduates from St. Louis-area universities and colleges. This year seven artists were chosen from more than 100 submissions, including Washington University MFA candidate Jake Cruzen, who creates installation-paintings, and University of Missouri sculpture artist Eric de Leon Zamuco. FASTX3 opens with a free public reception from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 20, and the work remains on display through Saturday, July 18. The gallery is open Wednesday and Saturday.
Wednesdays, Saturdays. Starts: June 20. Continues through July 18, 2009