Begin Again: Juan William Chávez, Wak’a Garden
April 18, 2026–April 15, 2029
Begin Again: Wak'a Garden is a new commission by 2026 Visiting Artist in Residence Juan William Chávez and 2026 Kranzberg Exhibition Series Artist Kiersten Torrez. The second installment in Laumeier’s Begin Again series, the project honors the Park’s 50-year history of collaborating with artists and supporting commissions and exhibitions.
The organic, amphitheater-shaped structure, built from fallen trees, branches, mud and rock reclaimed from the Park’s grounds, features ceramic vessels and a chemical-free teaching garden. Wak'a Garden serves as a gathering space for creativity, community connection, educational workshops and live performances.
As a collaboration, Chávez and Torrez’s multisensory installation will serve as both a habitat and a sacred monument dedicated to native plants and pollinators, featuring four-season plantings, ceramic hives, and a teaching garden guided by Andean principles of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and balance with the natural world. Chávez will craft the ceramic hives, while Torrez interprets the natural habitat.
Over the past 15 years, Chávez and Torrez have developed nationally recognized social practice art projects that foster community building and promote ecological awareness. Their collaborations explore themes of decolonization, environmental stewardship, Native and Indigenous Latinx land-growing practices, and the cultivation of native pollinators and plants through art installations, native bee gardens, workshops, performances, and publications.
Wak’a Garden invites visitors to reconsider their relationship with nature, emphasizing how care for the land can benefit the ecosystem and generate cultural and creative meaning. “By blurring the lines between disciplines,” Chávez and Torrez note, “we aim to create a vibrant tapestry of mixed-media projects and programs.”
Wak’a Garden also act as a host site for experiential workshops, knowledge-sharing zines, and performances that engage the senses. Chávez and Torrez will lead free education programs on native plants, land conservation, and beekeeping. Additional programming includes a sound performance by Los Angeles–based artist Alan Poma at Laumeier After Dark on November 8, and a limited-edition zine featuring conversations between Chávez and Poma.
Debuting on Saturday, April 18 with Art & Nature Day
Exhibition opening at 11 a.m. with a conversation with the artists and Curator Dana Turkovic at noon.
Juan William Chávez. Preparatory sketch of Wak’a Garden, 2026. Colored pencil on paper. Laumeier Sculpture Park Commission.
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“Laumeier Sculpture Park has been foundational to our art practice and careers. They were the first museum in St. Louis to support our social practice work with pollinators and native plants. Our project, Wak’a Garden, feels like a full-circle moment—it reflects how our practice has grown and expanded over time. Having this opportunity to work with Laumeier again is especially meaningful, as it brings us back to our roots where our practice first began.”
- Chávez and Torrez ”
Laumeier Sculpture Park’s ongoing operations and programs are generously supported by St. Louis County Parks and Recreation; the Regional Arts Commission; the National Endowment for the Arts and the Missouri Arts Council; among other corporations, foundations, individual donors and members.
2026 Exhibitions are supported by Whitaker Foundation, Ken and Nancy Kranzberg, Joan and Mitchell Markow and Two Sister’s Foundation, Emily Rauh Pulitzer, and Mary Ann and Andy Srenco.
Begin Again: Juan William Chávez, Wak’a Garden is supported by PNC Foundation. Juan William Chávez and the Visiting Artist in Residence Program are supported by Windgate Foundation. The Visiting Artist in Residence Program is sponsored by 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis.
Kiersten Torrez is the 2026 Kranzberg Artist. This fund, generously provided by Ken and Nancy Kranzberg, supports the presentation of new work by one or more St. Louis area artists per year.