BEGIN AGAIN: JUAN WILLIAM CHAVEZ & KIERSTEN TORREZ, WAK’A GARDEN
April 18, 2026–April 15, 2029 / Outside 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.
The organic, amphitheater-shaped structure—built from fallen trees, branches, mud and rocks reclaimed from the Park’s grounds—incorporates ceramic hive-shaped vessels and a chemical-free teaching garden. Wak'a Garden serves as a gathering space for reverence, community connection, experiential workshops, and performances that activate the five senses.
Chávez and Torrez’s multisensory installation functions as both a habitat and a sacred monument dedicated to native plants and pollinators. The work features ceramic hive-shaped vessels created by Chávez and a teaching garden shaped by Torrez’s interpretation of the natural habitat.
This four-season planting 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 sounds, 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. By blurring the lines between disciplines, Chávez and Torrez aim to create a vibrant tapestry of mixed-media projects and programs.
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:
Chávez and Torrez 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 future educational 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. and learn about native gardening and pollinators. Hands-on activities include making seeding soil blocks, planting grow bags and no-sew aprons.
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, 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.
