Here's the Cool Stuff Citygarden Is Giving Away to Celebrate Its Expansion

By Sarah Fenske on Wed, May 8, 2024 at 1:21 pm

COURTESY OF CITYGARDEN

Workers lift a key piece of a new sculpture, White Ghost, in place at Citygarden.

Perhaps you've heard Citygarden is expanding? Everyone's favorite climbable downtown sculpture garden is gaining three new and two returning sculptures, which you've probably already glimpsed driving by or on social media.

The installation will be complete by Memorial Day weekend — and they're inviting the public to a big celebration. The free public party takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 25.

And it will involve not only the formal unveiling of the five sculptures now being installed, but also some seriously cool swag. Working with creative director Bob Schuster, five artists created bespoke versions of the kind of products artists usually don't mess with, just for this celebration — windbreakers, fanny packs, beach towels, picnic blankets, kites and custom color-changing lemonade cups. They'll all be on display in a cart made by local artist Brock Seals. And if you follow Citygarden and the Gateway Foundation on Instagram and show up for the party, you could win them. Simple as that!

"This collaboration to celebrate the expansion of Citygarden really comes down to one word for me: connection," says Schuster, who's a principal/creative director at Hello And. "The two city blocks fully connecting, the experience connecting with the new and existing sculptures, and the graphic artists each designing a unique connecting pattern that represents their perspectives. All of this applied to materials that allow Citygarden visitors to connect with the park. It has been exciting and fulfilling to see all of this come together, and I know that the work from everyone will pay off when we get to hand out these pieces and celebrate the expansion with the whole St. Louis community on May 25."

The artists, by the way, include Shannon Levin, Karina Tiller, Anna Karpinski, David Rygiol and Marco Cheatham. Check out their handiwork below, and then keep scrolling to see images of the five sculptures now being installed.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF CITYGARDEN

Mechanical Planet (2017) by Jan Kaláb, shown at its recent installation at Citygarden. The statue and four others will be formally unveiled on May 25.

Says Gateway Foundation Executive Director Dr. Heather Sweeney, “Not only does the expansion make the park more usable and cohesive, it continues the Citygarden collection with the addition of some pretty spectacular pieces of art that visitors can interact with and be inspired by for years to come.

"The focus of the Gateway Foundation is to foster and support cultural and artistic activities devoted to improving the quality of life for St. Louis residents, and these investments in Citygarden enhance our downtown neighborhood and business district in a real way.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF CITYGARDEN

"Art plays a crucial role in uniting St. Louis, and Citygarden beautifully embodies that spirit," says artist Marco Cheatham. "This idea of unity in communal art inspired my concept for this collaboration. I'm looking forward to flying this kite with my family and son, and to see it foster connections for other families in our community."

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Here Are the Cool Artist-Designed Pieces Citygarden Is Giving Away

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PHOTO COURTESY OF CITYGARDEN

That's a custom cart designed by Brock Seals, which will display all the artist-designed pieces at the May 25 celebration — before they're given away, of course!

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