Joy Hitchcock - In my Back Pocket  

As I write this note, I’m at home, nestled on the couch, a gray and black hound dog curled up on my left, and a newborn across my lap schnuffling in her sleep, a faint squeak or smile escaping from her from time to time. When I have the energy or presence of mind to think as I’m trying to do now….I’ve been thinking a lot about work. The work that I am doing, and the work that I’m not doing at the moment. My work has looked very different the last 8 weeks during this new chapter of motherhood. 

In many ways the work of mothering feels small. A small person, “small” tasks of feeding, changing, rocking, cleaning, laundering, small amounts of sleeping. But those small tasks are of course momentous. They are the foundation of my daughter Zipporah’s very life.

I feel keenly aware of the paradoxical messaging of a culture obsessed with productivity, and the waves of self-care sentiments attempting to recalibrate. I’m tempted to struggle for professional validation more than ever as a woman in the workplace and a woman mothering. I’m tempted to feel guilty about all this work I’m giving to just one small person, or all the work that I will be giving others instead of her at times. I’m tempted to feel guilty about the work I’m not doing right now at Intersect…that I should be making a “bigger” impact, or that I could have been more prepared for this absence. I’m tempted to feel guilty about feeling guilty…. I also think about how sweet it is to be cocooned in this bubble of family leave, the “reality” of professional work suspended for a time. I think about the utter joy and contentment of doing all this mundane work to sustain a precious new existence. 

This is probably all the postpartum brain chemistry mush talking, and I’m sure all these feelings are cataloged in some textbook somewhere, but in the midst of the guilt and joy, on this small personal level, art has been a momentous comfort. Art has given form and some sort of reflective solidity to that which would otherwise seem a swirling ungraspable blur.

This quilt by Joy Hitchcock, part of our current exhibition, has swaddled my soul during this complex time. Its curving organic edges, hazy impressions of place, people, objects, and memories offer me an intimate glimpse into the artist's personal history that feels nostalgic and familiar. The pockets, gathered, saved and memorialized, generously hold space for me to tuck my own story into their safekeeping. This scrapbook of sorts reminds me with hand sewn tenderness to pull out all the encouragements people have shared that are tucked away in my back pocket. Encouragements lightening the weight of a capitalist reality–that work is both calling and curse. Encouragements from dear friends and artists and grandmothers to rest, to savor, to embrace a new normal. Encouragements to give grace, as I have been given grace. Wisdom that “this too shall pass,” a mantra from my own mother to at times be resilient, and at others be present for that which is fleeting. Encouragements from my faith that I am attended to by One who cares for even the smallest of sparrows. 

These “small” pieces of wisdom, tucked away in my back pocket, are the very foundation of how I think about the kinds of contributions I make to the world, the kind of work environment I want to create for my colleagues, for my Zipporah, and for every person who is touched by the small work at Intersect. The gift of maternity leave has allowed me to so fully pour into one small person to whom my work is life changing. It encourages me to continue pursuing a model of working at Intersect that is akin to mothering, where we pour into people and place with persistence, not perfection, one small act at a time. We swaddle them in encouragement and grace and generosity. Instead of guilt or striving for “big impact” we savor the “small” stuff of each child’s day, each artist’s vision, each member's ideas, each viewer’s reactions, each plant’s value, each pollinator’s efforts, and each sidewalk crack in this small spot of St. Louis. This smallness of what can pass from me to you, and from you to another, is the life changing  foundation of our very community.  This is the kind of work we are about, the work of smallness. The work of encouragement. The work of love.  

As I write this note, I’m up too late, my small strength diminishing. Zipporah will wake soon, her small persistent belly needing to be filled yet again by the work of nursing. I write this as a small sentiment for myself to savor this hazy, challenging, joyful moment; for Zipporah to tuck it in her back pocket someday, and I hope for you to be encouraged in the work you are doing right now, even when it feels small. I’m grateful for that small work and for you carrying it out. 

I am eager to return to my work at Intersect soon. It will look different, no doubt, but it will be richer, and deeper, and smaller – all for a more tender now, and a more beautiful future to come.  

Together, 

Sarah Bernhardt

Foliose by Hollie Regalo, Sky Containers by Anna Schenker, Color Swatch by Katie North and Blaze (Grid #01) by Michael Winters

Currently on View: Field Guide 

February opened our current exhibition which explores the ways in which we discover and exchange knowledge that transform our experience of looking at the world.  Field guides transfigure the invisible to the seen, the foreign to the familiar. A field guide helps us differentiate and identify what is valuable from what could be dangerous.  In an era of ever-shortening attention spans, art can be a field guide to help us pay attention, to help us be astonished.  Field Guide features work by over 30 artists from all around the United States, each with their own unique ways of looking at and understanding the world around them and helping us, the viewer, to understand and appreciate it too!

Learn more about the show from this HEC TV interview featuring our executive director and the curator for Field Guide, Sarah Bernhardt.

We celebrated the opening with a Dovetail Reception that featured a sticker scavenger hunt, a daring 5 course menu by William Pauly of Confluence Kombucha, and a responsive soundscape crafted by artist Alex Braden

CALL FOR ART

The call is out for our next show, Evidence of Joy, curated by April Parviz. Joy doesn’t always seem apparent, sometimes it requires we search it out in the things around us. By practicing looking for joy, artists become habitual joy detectives who can share that joy with others through their art. And that is precisely what we are looking for! We want to see artwork made in joy, artwork made upon discovering evidence of joy, and/or work that is just pure joy to look at!  Any 2-D, 3-D, poetry, writing, or performance work will be considered.

Deadline to submit is 5/15/24, and you can submit your application or read more about the call on the call for art page on our website!

Evidence of Joy will open on July 15th and run through October 27th. Our gallery hours are Tuesday - Saturday from noon to

Mark your calendars, the Dovetail reception for Evidence of Joy will be August 6th from 6-8pm!

(Unsung, by Kathryn D’Elia, Stuff Dad Says by Jessica Hunt)

We invited audience members into the fun by posing a series of questions by each piece in the show that members then got to vote on by sticking googly eyes to the wall…and with that many googly eyes floating around, some of them found their way around our building!

You can learn more about the show by watching this interview with HEC TV!

(all images courtesy of Washington University Religion and Politics Center)

For The Women’s Chapel we partnered with Washington University St. Louis’ Religion and Politics Center for a panel discussion event. We enjoyed a thoughtful dinner curated by Alex Braden and his team, and listened to the artist, Megan Kenyon, as well as Washington University Professors Marie Griffith and Heather Bennett, discuss many of the themes and ideas brought up in the show. (You can watch the talk here). Many thanks to Marie Griffith, Hannah Pierce, and Debra Kennard from the Politics and Religion Center who collaborated on the panel discussion and made it a great night!

A Note from Aida Hasanovic, our Education Director:

As we draw close to the end of the school year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, our community, for your continued and unrelenting support. Our afterschool program continues to grow into a nurturing environment where students can explore the intersection of art, mental health, social-emotional learning, and community engagement. This year, our curriculum integrated therapeutic art techniques, mindfulness practices, and group discussions to foster resilience, empathy, and self-awareness. 

We really emphasized social emotional learning throughout the art making process. Students discovered how a figural sculpture can express emotions and show body movement. Through making these sculptures we explored questions such as: how do we notice other people? How do we understand what they may need from us? How do other people express emotions? Similarly, we had students make their own plaster masks. We asked them to think about how they could communicate a message about themselves using a mask. What message would they want to send to the people around them? How might they use colors and symbols to do that? We hope that our students will see art as a means of understanding and interacting with the world around them as they become more self-aware, caring, responsible, and engaged people..

May is always a bittersweet month for me. Bitter as goodbyes and endings can be hard. Sweet because we get to see just how much our students have grown throughout the program. By embracing the child’s natural curiosity and learning styles, and by integrating rich educational activities into their routines, we lay the groundwork for a lifetime of curiosity, resilience, and joy in discovery. 

Warmly, 

Aida Hasanovic 

Director of Education

(Below are some images taken from the Artventures Talent Show! We are so proud of all of the hard work and creativity of our Artventures students!)

This summer, we are once again running our Teen Apprenticeship Program for youth ages 13-19. Students can choose from a variety of mediums, like ceramics, woodworking/sculpture, visual art, photography, creative writing, and graphic design. Students will work on individual and collaborative projects, learn about art careers, and participate in an end of summer gallery show! You can register for the program here or email Aida Hasanovic at aida.intersect@gmail.com if you have any questions.

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

Several of our studio artists (both past and present) are featured in The Luminary’s summer exhibition Considering St. Louis. From the Luminary’s website: “Considering St. Louis is the culminating exhibition of a year-long research project that centers St. Louis’ artists, artistic spaces, and institutions, and how they contribute to the artistic landscape and ecosystem of this beloved Midwestern city.” The show is curated by Ciera McKissick, and features work by 30 St. Louis artists, including current studio artists Carrie Gillen, Simiya Sudduth, and Taylor Yocom, and is open to the public from May 31-July 20th.

Emily Mueller, one of our studio artist, opened her own art documentation business. If you are an artist or curator looking to document work here in St. Louis, message her on Instagram @instagram.com/camera_workk

Another studio artist, Neeka Allsup, and our very own Sarah Bernhardt both have shows up at Lambert airport! You can find Neeka’s work, Secret Planet by the Moving Walkway in Terminal 2 from now through September, and Sarah’s work Manna in the Terminal 1 Kling Family Gallery (by the exit to concourse C) from now through July.

From Lambert’s write up about Neeka’s work: “Neeka Allsup’s invented landscapes transport you to another world while standing on the moving walkway. These vivid, dreamy paintings are full of light-hearted imagery that comes from the artist’s subconscious dreams yet are consciously created with an eye toward decreasing waste and materials.”

Also from Lambert’s write up about the work, “Don’t forget to look down! While the vitrines may look empty, you will be pleasantly surprised as you walk upon these beautiful and reflective pieces of art carefully organized and designed by St. Louis native, Sarah Bernhardt. Manna explores the synergy between Wonder and Knowledge. In particular, through this lens, Bernhardt studies the capacity for incredibly small moments of wondering at nature to be restorative and sustaining, even awe-inspiring, for the human soul.”

Taylor Yocom has a closing reception for her show flowers, scraps, and pink tape at Prairie Lights Bookstore in Dubuque, Iowa May 18th 4-6pm! If you happen to be in the area, definitely check out the show!

Simiya Sudduth recently completed a new mural project here in St. Louis! You can find it on the side of Sincerely, the Craft, over on Locust street.

Dave Pfanstiel has some new work up at Pipers StL. Drop in, grab a coffee, and check out his work!

And, if you happen to be in New York between now and the end of May, you will definitely want to check out the work of Carrie Gillen at the JoAnn Artman Gallery! Lots of amazing paintings in that show you won’t wanna miss!

Coming up in June, Leverage Dance Theatre will have their performance, Of Matter, Mind, and Spirit, over at Holy Cross Church on June 7-9, and 14-15. You can learn more about the show and purchase tickets on their website, leveragedancetheater.squarespace.com/