The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis works to enrich lives and inspire curiosity, creativity, and learning through experiences with contemporary art. We showcase work being made today for today’s audiences—art that reflects the world around us, and helps connect us to the most salient issues of our time. We are a launchpad for artists—many of whom go on to critical acclaim as well as a venue for St. Louisans to experience figures of international recognition.
Inspired by the work on view, CAM engages thousands of people inside and outside the museum through a wide array of programming, and nurtures the creative minds of our city’s young people through free, in-depth art education. A site for discovery, CAM is a gathering place in which to view and enjoy contemporary visual culture. We are a welcome space, free to all.
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Innovation is in our DNA. Founded by a group of civic and cultural leaders in 1980, the organization transformed from a small gallery into a major arts institution, opening the doors to our 27,000-square-foot Brad Cloepfil–designed building in 2003. Not having a permanent collection, we are nimble, adaptive, and responsive— both to the global art world and our local community.
Our building is a space for endless possibility, its openness and flexibility enabling us to showcase the most innovative art of our time in unexpected ways, whether inside or outside the museum walls. Street Views, a video series projected across the building’s facade, brings art onto the street—a striking illumination for passersby. The 60-foot-long Project Wall gives artists the opportunity to experiment on a monumental scale. CAM’s courtyard transforms into a space for art explorations, including sculpture, architecture, and environmental art.
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At CAM, we support the artistic community around us and encourage creative dialogue about contemporary art and issues relevant to St. Louis. We are constantly working to redefine what a museum can be to our community and to the world. Since 2004, CAM has partnered with the Gateway Foundation to present the Great Rivers Biennial, an exhibition award program that features three local artists who are selected by a national jury of prominent art professionals.
This unique partnership provides a major platform for emerging and mid career artists in the St. Louis area, offering significant exposure and financial support, with each artist receiving a $20,000 award and solo show at the museum.
Free, in-depth art education programs serve our community’s youngest artists. New Art in the Neighborhood, CAM’s nationally recognized art program, offers advanced skills in contemporary art practice for teens and also gives them direct access to the internationally renowned artists who exhibit at the museum. LEAP Middle School Initiative provides mentorship to pre-teens—an underserved group that rarely receives high-level visual art instruction—and teaches them introductory art skills.
In Teen Museum Studies, an innovative career-based training program, participants experience the inner workings of the Museum as they organize an exhibition from start to finish. These programs stand out for their focus on contemporary art and ideas, an approach often absent from school curriculums. They also give young artists a comprehensive sequence of art instruction—a commitment to education that is a model for museums across the country. These free programs have a long-lasting impact on St. Louis, developing better students, citizens, artists, and art audiences for the future.
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