Stuff My Dad Says, Jessica Hunt. Photo courtesy of the artist

"There is nothing like a gleam of humor to reassure you that a fellow human being is ticking inside a strange face." –Eva Hoffman

 From physical humor to surreal absurdity, deadpan satire to macabre hyperbole, from low-brow to high-brow, puns or parodies, there are so many diverse outlets for this important function of human society, humor. But apparently humor is no joke. Research demonstrates its powerful capacity to create empathy and stimulate self-reflection. Humor, tied to the specifics of culture and combined with individual personality, creates a sharp double-edged sword that can—in one swoop—unite, and in another divide, at times bridging and at times delineating social boundaries. Research suggests that couples who share a similar kind of humor have more successful and long-lasting relationships. Research also suggests the effective capability of humor to disarm and motivate people around difficult social issues, lowering resistance to persuasion and promoting social bonding between individuals of differing ideologies.  Every good joke gets better when explained.

Art museums and galleries parade as pantheons of preciousness and prestige—places where humor has not always been welcome. The art world has always thrived on creating in and out groups. Those who can and can’t. Those who get it, those who don’t. Those who play the game, those who undermine, and those who don’t give two hoots. From the historical relegation of artistic humor to political cartoons, to a contemporary palette for only irony and mockery, can we have a real, even joyful, laugh and still call something serious art?  Viewers and artists alike may struggle to navigate the line between sensitivity and not taking themselves too seriously. Can we find ways to experience art and humor as connective, rather than divisive?

While we may (or may not) be suckers for a good joke, we also recognize noxious ideologies of bigotry that can insidiously inhabit jokes and cartoons can be downright offensive outside of their historical moment. The jokes grandpa told may not be PC anymore.  The reels and memes of today may be the calloused embarrassment of tomorrow.  Does humor have a place in conversations of inclusion and kindness? Can we appreciate grandpa’s humorous efforts even if he hits our funny bone? While humor is perpetually becoming démodé it is also perpetually renewed. We can always laugh at ourselves anew. And perhaps humor in art can help us befriend that gleam of humanity in another smiling face.

Sarah Bernhardt 

Founder and Executive Director

Works by Jessica Hunt, Josh Steinbauer, Tina Borchert and Michael Fleishman

Our current show, Funny Bone, explores and celebrates humor in the arts!

Come chuckle, groan, guffaw, giggle, and roll your eyes along with us as we take in  the work of 26 artists from around the country. 

Funny Bone runs from September 5th-November 4th

Sample a 5 course cupcake menu by chef Tai Davis (Link) and a painfully humorous modern dance piece by Keli Hermes of Leverage Dance Theater at our Dovetail reception Tuesday, October 3rd from 6-8pm.

Registration link below.

Fashion5: uniFORMity: curated by Kasper Woldtveldt and Sarah Bernhardt and featuring new and original fashions by Michael Drummon, Victoria Cates, Manuel Garcia, Jahleel Griffin, and Leonard Stewart II

This summer marked two important anniversaries for Intersect Arts Center! We celebrated 10 years as an organization, and 5 years inhabiting this incredible space at 3636 Texas. Our summer exhibition, Fashion 5: Uniformity, celebrated some of the many community partners who were part of making Intersect what it is today!

Our Fashion5: uniFORMity curators, Sarah Bernhardt and Kasper Woldtveldt. Photo courtesy of Brea Youngblood

Curators Kasper Woldtveldt and Sarah Bernhardt selected five local fashion designers to create unique and original fashion pieces in response to five “uniforms” from people at community partner organizations including a pastor from Holy Cross Lutheran church, a dancer from Ballet Olin Mexican folkloric dances, local chef William Pauley, a tuckpointing apprentice from Harambee, and principal Kayla Case from Momentum Academy.  Designers were challenged to reimagine those 5 uniforms with a new fashion interpretation drawing on the aesthetic and social foundations of each piece of clothing.

Michael Drummond, When the Mad Hatter meet Dr. SCOBY 2 and Leonard Stewart II Dystopian Construction. Photos courtesy of Megan Kenyon

For our Dovetail celebrations, we invited the amazing staff at Perennial helped to fabricate an upcycled red carpet for guests to strut their own personal style, photographer Brea Youngblood captured all of the amazing fashions present, the five designers helped us to select and award a variety of fashion awards, dance companies Leverage, Resilience and Ballet Ollin graced us with insightful performances, Pacia Anderson delivered a poignant spoken word piece, and DJ Stan Chisholm kept the energy going with his incredible vinyl collection and mix table! To top it all off, chef William Pauly of Confluence Kombucha created and served an incredible five course menu inspired by each uniform.

Many thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate with us, and to all the support throughout the last 10 years! We look forward to many more years serving you and this community with the arts!

Dovetail Recap

On August 15th, we hosted a Dances of India, one of the oldest classical Indian dance companies in the US, celebrating its 46th Season. Those gathered learned about the expressive movements and the ancient Indian stories they have told for generations. 

In addition to the performance, a North Indian menu was crafted  by Satish Kumar of House of India, with music provided by Raghu and Sandhya Pandurangi, classical Indian musicians and founders of the Anu-Rag School of Music. 

And a huge thank you to Dances of India, House of India, and the Anu-Rag School of Music and all of our guests for making the night so special. Thanks to Christina Schempf who organized the event, and whose love of music shared in community brought everyone together for a wonderful moment of cultivating deeper appreciation and love for the cultures that make our world and city a beautiful place!

Jada Dorsey, our Gyo Obata Fellow for Summer 2023. Photo courtesy of Jay Scherder.

This summer, Intersect had the great privilege of partnering with the Regional Arts Commission’s Gyo Obata Fellowship. Our intern Jada helped with so many things this summer, and we are going to miss her now that she is headed back to school to finish her senior year at Washington University! Jada explains about the fellowship, and recounts some of what she learned this summer:

When applying for the Gyo Obata Fellowship (hosted by the Regional Arts Commission and Gateway Arts Foundation) this March, I had no idea what my summer would be like. I only knew that I would learn new skills, be exposed to new careers where artists thrive, and receive mentoring and professional development to help me along the way. During the summer, I got all this and more through Intersect. When touring the building on my first day, I instantly fell in love with the vintage charm, the high windows, and more specifically, the dance studio. I was amazed that a place like Intersect could exist. It’s a community anchor and a hub for budding artists who need a place to establish themselves. It’s also a spiritual haven that welcomes all souls. Here, I felt safe to be creative, to connect, and to share my faith without being judged. This was something new for me, unprecedented. I was used to being corralled and stifled in my previous jobs and schooling. But here, there’s a sense of freedom and collaboration.

The main goal of Gyo Obata is to expose undergraduates to the arts administration field by placing them with host sites for the summer in hopes that the students will learn more about arts administration. That I did! I learned about putting on community events and the consideration that comes along with making sure that every attendee feels welcomed when they walk through the door. I also learned and experienced what a loving and productive staff looks like. By the third week, I found myself looking forward to the Wednesday meetings where the staff laughs, shares their gratitudes and inspirations, has fun, and of course, does work. Nearing the end of my internship, I’m just so grateful to have been placed here in a loving, nurturing community that has a passion for people. It’s truly a beautiful mission of Intersect, to take people of all races, genders, ethnicities, and backgrounds and help them find the connection point, the intersection, in which they find that their experiences all connect in some way, shape, or form. My time here may come to an end, but I will always treasure Intersect and the people I met here in my heart. My experiences at Intersect created a new crossroad for me, a new intersection point, and from here, there are many roads to travel. I hope that one leads me back to here.

Alena Hughes throwing on pottery wheel. TAP students picking out glazes for projects. Photos courtesy of Jill Kuanfung

Intersect’s Teen Apprenticeship Program (TAP) kicked off in late June and ended early August. The program assigned mentors to twelve teens from the community and gave them the opportunity to explore photo making, music production, drawing/painting, sculptural art, and textile/fashion design. Along with mentoring, the program also featured guest speakers that inspired and encouraged the young artists. Alena Hughes, young sculptural artist, expressed that, “everyone was so nice to me here. You guys are like family to me, and I really appreciate it.” During her time in the program, Alena learned how to work on the poetry wheel, shape vases and bowls, glaze them, and fire them in the kiln. Zola Cutler, also a sculptural artist, expressed her gratitude for the program. “I want to stress how important it is for a place like this to exist. It’s just so nice even being and feeling like you have a place to connect with other artists that really care and are motivated and driven. I’ve had so many good conversations here. It feels good. I’m never afraid to talk to anyone.” Zola created a fountain for their first time and is very proud to show off her explorations in pottery. Both Alena and Zola’s work, as well as the rest of the teen’s pieces, were displayed in a pop-up show August 25th at the Intersect Arts Center Gallery.

Photos courtesy of Jill Kuanfung

Camp Recap 

From the end of July to early August, Intersect hosted nine children in their summer theater camp. This year, the young thespians put on “Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti.” Working with the mentors, each child was able to gain experience in prop making, costume designing, and acting. During this time, the mentors also worked to boost the children’s confidence and nurture creative expression through group activities and teaching them new skills like sewing and cardboard crafting. The experience culminated in a family and friends performance on Friday, August 4th.

Connect the Arts! 

Intersect Collaborates with digital platform CTA to share jobs, grants, opportunities, and nurture connections between the creative community in STL and nationally.   

Get connected here!  https://www.intersectstl.org/opportunities

Danielle Ridolfi in her studio. Collage Work by Danielle. Photos courtesy of the artist.

Danielle Ridolfi is an illustrator and designer and a recent graduate of Washington University’s Masters in Illustration and Visual Culture. With a background in clinical psychology focused on children and young adults, her work is often directed by theories of learning and child development. She uses processes that investigate the natural and material world, often using a variety of collage processes in her work. You can learn more about Danielle and her work at her website or by following her on Instagram at @dani_ridolfi

Collage of the Artist and Adventures of Wynk: Josephine Baker. Photos courtesy of the artist.

Shevaré Perry is an artist, fashion designer, poet, and educator whose work explores a variety of themes, including womanhood, beauty, and Black history. She uses a variety of mediums to create, and is the inaugural artist for the Saks Fifth Avenue gallery here in St. Louis. She is also the program lead for the Gyo Obata Fellowship through the Regional Arts Commission, which helps create diversity in arts administration through strategic mentorship between college students pursuing careers in the arts and local arts organizations (including Intersect!) You can learn more about Shevaré and her work on her website or by following her on Instagram at @shevare_theartist. 

Megan Kenyon is an interdisciplinary artist and also the administrative assistant here at Intersect! She is a recent graduate of Washington University’s Masters of Fine Arts in Visual Art program, where she began developing her current body of work exploring women’s experiences in  the Evangelical church.  Megan utilizes a collaborative approach and her own experiences as a practicing Christian to critique patriarchal and nationalist forms of Christianity in America. Through photography, collage, paint, and text, she seeks to tell a complex story of those inside the church who still practice their faith, but are concerned by the impact of spiritual abuse and who want to create a better way forward. Her show, The Women’s Chapel, will debut much of this work here at Intersect in December! You can learn more about her work and her upcoming show by following her on Instagram at @servantscrystudios 

In addition to new members, there are several members of our studio community who received grants from the Regional Arts Commission this year! Congratulations to Taylor Yocom, Tiffany Sutton, Sarah Knight, Simiya Sudduth, Phillip Padilla, and Linnea Ryshke!

Speaking of Sarah Knight; Sarah’s work is featured in the inaugural show of NON-STNDRD, the newest gallery space over at STNDRD in Granite City. The show features a variety of artists in a unique raw architecture space, and is up through the end of October! To find out more about the show, check out their instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stndrdexhibitions/

Taylor Yocom, one of our studio artists, has a short film in this years St. Louis International Film Festival! Her film, these flower were for you will be featured during the festival in November. Tickets go on sale in October, so check out https://www.cinemastlouis.org/sliff/festival-home to buy tickets and see which venue her film will be playing in!

Stuck on a Line, Jon Young. Photo courtesy of the artist

If you happen to be in LA between now and November 4th, you will want to check out studio artist Jon Young’s solo show at Rusha Gallery! Jon’s show “One Eye Closed” is now open, and features many new pieces as well as some previous favorites! You can learn more about Jon’s work and the exhibition at this link: https://www.rusha.co/exhibitions/jon-young

Join us Saturday, November 11th for our fall festival featuring a local makers market, free community bonfire and grill out, local beers, arts activities, petting zoo, and live music!

Sign up to volunteer.