Let's face it, our arts scene is one of the coolest things about St. Louis. (Maybe the coolest thing?) Thanks to tireless efforts from our artists, we have a city full of theater, music, painting, dance and more. But being an artist is hard. We know. OK, we aren't exactly artists here at the RFT, but writing, even journalistic writing, is tough.
We've been there staring at a blank page not sure how to begin. We've been there full of doubt in the middle of a story, wondering if this will ever make sense. We've kept going in the face of sometimes harsh criticism (ahem). This might sound familiar to artists because they face the same and more as they strive not only to build meaningful art careers, but also enhance the city that they call home. That's why we have selected four people who are helping shape the St. Louis arts scene as our inaugural cohort of RFT ChangeMakers.
Our ChangeMakers win a $750 no-strings-attached award to further their art. How did we select our winners? After a call for nominations in May, we reviewed more than 130 submissions. We were looking for artists who were not only doing groundbreaking work but were also building community.
Chad Eivins has pushed the boundaries of analog and obsolete filmmaking with his live concert multimedia displays and videography. Maxi Glamour performs their own brand of drag in the face of political pushback, while Sukanya Mani tries to understand the toll of domestic violence through paper art. And KVtheWriter used music to deal with grief, and create community.
All of them are helping make St. Louis a better place to live, and we're excited to honor them at Art A'Fair, on Thursday, June 23. Two of our winners, Chad Eivins and Maxi Glamour, will be showcasing their art along with other local acts like Alexis Tucci, Dre'Co, Mammoth Piano, Dubb Nubb, Justin Ra, DJ Limewire Prime and more.
We are excited to introduce our inaugural class of ChangeMakers to you and hope that, in a small way, we're able to help them bring even more great art to the city.
