"When you invest in an organization like Webster Arts, you're not just investing in the organization. You are investing in the community," said Webster Arts Board President Patrick Murphy. "Webster Arts has been around for 20 years. Everybody associates us with the art fair. About three years ago, we took a big leap as an organization and leased a space at Big Bend and Lockwood. This enabled us to grow in various ways, to have more events, to have a street presence, to better engage the community, and to be more visible."
Webster Arts Gallery, located at 2 Summit Ave. in Webster Groves, is a community event space for classes and workshops. "We bring in leading artists from the community, like Marilynne Bradley, the watercolorist, and Michael Silverman, the musician," said Patrick. We have conversations about their art, their lives, and how community life and art intermingle. People leave feeling refreshed, looking at life differently."
One of Webster Arts' newest community engagement events is Art & Found. "We take over 50 pieces of good art from people's attics and basements and pieces donated by significant artists," explained Patrick. "We wrap the art in brown paper and place it throughout the community for people to find. The message on the packaging encourages people to take the art home. It is cool because it's a fun way to discover art. We want to do the unexpected. We want to do the unusual. We want to keep coming up with creative ideas that evoke a feeling of wow in people because that's what art should do. Art should be a fun, gentle knock on your head to get you thinking differently."
Patrick credits the staff and the board for the evolution of the organization. "It has been wonderful because Webster Arts is returning to the heart and soul that it had from the very beginning," said Patrick. "But today, we have more resources, more investment and support, more recognition, and it can only get better. There's no end to what we can become because there's no end or limit to human imagination."
www.webster-arts.org