Let's make something special for St. Louis!

Graphic design by artfarmstl.comArt Saint Louis is out to further the vitality of our city in a fresh way! We are in the final stages of creating a new cultural and social destination in one of our city’s treasured historic buildings, the Park Pacific building at 1223 Pine Street in downtown St. Louis. Working with architectural and design firm Lawrence Group, owners of the Park Pacific building, local coffee roaster Mississippi Mud Coffee and Niche Interior Design and Home Furnishings, our goal is to create a gallery/café hybrid, a place our community will repeatedly visit to enjoy dynamic exhibitions of local art and an inviting atmosphere in which to meet, study and relax. The gallery will feature sofas, tables and chairs in the heart of the exhibition areas, outdoor seating, free WiFi and a coffee shop serving locally-roasted brews. We want our new gallery to be an inviting point of connection between artists and audiences in St. Louis, a playground for the ideas, conversations and connections that shape our community.

CROSSING THE FINISH LINE

With early financial support from the artist community and from the Whitaker Foundation, we began construction and renovation work the gallery/café in May and are continuing that work with plans to open to the public in July. Through volunteer labor and pro bono professional services, we have worked hard to reduce construction costs to a bare minimum. Necessary repairs include framing, plumbing, floor repair, electrical, IT, signage, HVAC, drywall and painting. These construction costs total $58,570. An additional $15,000 is needed to help cover what remains of these expenses and enable us to continue visual art programming in St. Louis. To raise these much-needed funds and sprint to the finish with this project, we're turning to the innovative crowd-funding platform Kickstarter.com. All funds raised through our Kickstarter campaign will be exclusively dedicated to covering remaining construction-related expenses on this project.

HOW DOES KICKSTARTER WORK?

12-oz bag of Mississippi Mud fire roasted coffee beans. One of many awards available to our Kickstarter backers!Part of what makes Kickstarter unusual (and exciting) is that it’s an all-or-nothing funding platform. Our Kickstarter goal is $15,000. Art Saint Louis must collect enough pledges through Kickstarter.com to reach that goal by July 13, 2013, or else our backers’ credit cards will not be charged and no funding will be generated. But that’s not going to happen! We’re confident in the generosity of the St. Louis community and the value of this project. With your help, we will do it! And thanks to our café partners, Mississippi Mud Coffee Roasters, we've got some fantastic rewards for our Kickstarter backers. Pledge levels start at $20 and include FIVE delicious, locally-roasted coffee beverages-hot or iced, lattes, dark or light roasts.... And many other rewards await Kickstarter backers who pledge more. Click here or on the Kickstarter logo below to learn more and get involved!