BEGIN AGAIN: JUAN WILLIAM CHAVEZ & KIERSTEN TORREZ, WAK’A GARDEN
April 18, 2026–April 15, 2029 / Outdoor Galleries: South Lawn
Juan William Chávez. Preparatory sketch of Wak’a Garden, 2026. Colored pencil on paper.
Begin Again: Wak'a Garden is a commission by 2026 Visiting Artist in Residence Juan William Chávez and 2026 Kranzberg Exhibition Series Artist Kiersten Torrez. The project is the second installment in Laumeier’s Begin Again series, which honors the Park’s 50-year history of collaborating with artists and supporting new commissions and exhibitions.
Built from fallen trees, branches, mud, and rocks reclaimed from the Park’s grounds, Wak’a Garden functions as both a habitat and a sacred monument dedicated to native plants and pollinators. Designed as a multisensory space, the organic, amphitheater-shaped structure serves as a gathering place for reverence, community connection, experiential workshops, and performances. It features ceramic hive-shaped vessels created by Chávez and a chemical-free teaching garden shaped by Torrez’s interpretation of the natural habitat.
Chávez and Torrez will help cultivate and care for this four-season planting, which follows the Andean philosophy of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and balance between humans and the natural world. In Andean traditions, Wak’as are sacred places, objects, or natural features—such as mountains, springs, or stones—that are understood to be living and communicative rather than inanimate.
Wak’as communicate when activated by sound, movement, environmental signals, rituals, and collective experiences. A core principle in relating to Wak’as is reciprocity: humans offer care, respect, and symbolic gifts, and in return, Wak’as provide guidance, protection, alignment with the environment, and opportunities for self-realization.
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.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Over the past 15 years, artist and cultural activist Juan William Chávez and master gardener Kiersten 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, zines and publications.
LOCATE WAK’A GARDEN
Juan William Chávez 4 Digital Rendering of Wak’a Garden, 2026. Laumeier Sculpture Park Commission.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS:
By blurring the lines between disciplines, Chávez and Torrez aim to create a vibrant tapestry of mixed-media projects and programs. They will lead free educational 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. Check back for updates on upcoming Wak’a Garden-based opportunities.
UPCOMING PROGRAM:
Join us for the debut of Wak'a Garden
Saturday, April 18 / South Lawn / Free
Exhibition opening at 11 a.m., followed by an introduction by Curator Dana Turkovic and a special artist-led performance with Juan William Chávez and Kiersten Torrez at noon.
As part of Art & Nature Day, get creative at the art activities area curated by Torrez from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Learn about native gardening and pollinators while making seed-starting soil blocks, planting grow bags and creating no-sew aprons (while supplies last).
Photo of the artists. Juan William Chávez. Preparatory sketch of Wak’a Garden, 2026. Colored pencil on paper. Laumeier Sculpture Park Commission.
“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.”
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 & Kiersten Torrez, 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.
