ART & NATURE DAYS
Art & Nature Days at Laumeier Sculpture Park bring families, friends, and individuals together for a celebration of creativity in the great outdoors. Through hands-on art activities, engaging demonstrations, and seasonal experiences, visitors can explore the deep connections between art, nature, and community. These events encourage time spent in green spaces, which supports overall wellbeing, sparks creativity, and offers moments of joy and connection. 2026 Art & Nature Days coincide with Laumeier’s Begin Again: 50 Years and Counting exhibition series, celebrating half a century of creative discovery, nature appreciation, and community.
Each Art & Nature Day will feature a collaborative time capsule activity and a family-friendly, "I Spy...In the Gallery" BINGO card, located in the Aronson Fine Arts Center.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7 / FREE
10 a.m.-4 p.m. / Exhibition Opening / Aronson Fine Arts Center
The public is invited to celebrate the opening of Begin Again: 50 Years and Counting.
11 a.m.-2 p.m. / Drop-In Puppet Making Workshop/ Kranzberg Education Lab
Create your own unique puppet alongside members from the Puppet Guild of Greater St. Louis! This activity pays special tribute to RiverFaces, a community arts initiative from 1984–1987. Learn more about Laumeier’s history with RiverFaces below.
11 a.m.-2 p.m. / Family Play Space / Kranzberg Education Lab
Come play with us! Stop by our Family Play Space to explore loose parts play activities featuring fabric and wood, get cozy in our library corner, and enjoy open-ended creative play for all ages.
12-12: 30 p.m. / Gallery Talk / Aronson Fine Ars Center
Join Curator Dana Turkovic at noon as she provides insight of Begin Again: 50 Years and Counting.
1-2 p.m. / Interactive Indoor Gallery Tour / Aronson Fine Ars Center
All ages are invited to investigate selected works from Begin Again: 50 Years and Counting through hands-on activities, alongside Laumeier’s education team.
ABOUT THE HEADER PHOTOS:
From 1984-1987 Laumeier Sculpture Park participated in RiverFaces, a community-based arts initiative centered on large-scale puppetry and mask-making.
RiverFaces, a three-day outdoor workshop in the making of large-scale puppets and masks, was held as part of the downtown “RiverFaces 1984” festival and parade. More than 250 participants of all ages devoted two hours daily to projects of this workshop, from which came a 30-foot papier mâché puppet as Laumeier’s entry in the parade.
Research indicates RiverFaces refers to a community arts organization, co-founded by Debra Drexler and Ann Julien, that created positive local identity through free art workshops and parades with giant puppets and masks between 1984 and 1990.
In preparation for the fourth annual RiverFaces parade, Laumeier in conjunction with RiverFaces, Inc. and Craft Alliance, co-sponsored training workshops for artists, art teachers, and other adults who would design and construct monumental puppets to lead an October parade. Artists Susan Bostwick, Debbie Drexler-Shaw, Carol Eder, Ann Julian, and John Ruppert led the workshop attended by fifty adults.
Laumeier registered more than 250 youth participants in the RiverFaces puppet and mask-making workshop for children. What started as an effort to provide a summer art experience for city and county children grew into a well-attended program, with Laumeier Sculpture Park serving as a key host site.
FUTURE ART & NATURE DAYS - SAVE THE DATE!
APRIL 18: ART & NATURE DAY + EXHIBTION OPENING
Explore the opening of Begin Again: Juan William Chávez, Garden Wak’a, Laumeier’s 2026 Visiting Artist in Residence, in collaboration with 2026 Kranzberg Exhibition Artist Kiersten Torrez. Programming includes a gallery talk with the artists and Curator Dana Turkovic, a guided migration bird walk, nature-inspired play in the Family Play Space, and a native pollinator and plant workshop led by Torrez.
OCTOBER 3: ART & NATURE DAY + EXHIBTION OPENINGS
Mark the opening of Begin Again: Ursula von Rydingsvard, Untitled and Begin Again: Alison Saar, Honey Chile’ with a gallery talk between Alison Saar and Curator Dana Turkovic. Take part in hands-on art activities using natural materials inspired by Garden Wak’a and creative play in the Family Play Space.