Local Artists
Continuing Gordon Matta-Clark's legacy of engaging artists, the Pulitzer presents three projects: Urban Expression, led by Chicago artist Theaster Gates; Urban Evolution, led by St. Louis artist Robert Longyear; and Urban Renewal, led by St. Louis artist Jenny Murphy. In partnernship with local community agencies and schools, these projects offer new ways of appreciating Matta-Clark's art through experience.

Urban Evolution: Robert Longyear
Urban Evolution is an after-school program with high school students interested in the arts. Lead by St. Louis-based artist Robert Longyear, the project will primarily take place in a building in the Grand Center district of St. Louis, serving as both studio and inspiration for the students’ work. They will learn about the evolution of the district, thereby deepening their understanding of place and how creativity can heal and inspire.

Urban Expression: Theaster Gates
Urban Expression is a workshop promoting reading, writing, and artistic skills for at-risk youths. A shared initiative with ACCESS Academies’ Succeeding with Reading program, this project will involve Chicago-based artist and 2010 Whitney Biennial participant Theaster Gates, whose neighborhood-inspired work celebrates culture and promotes social inclusion. St. Louis artists Stewart Halperin, Janie Ibur, and Juan William Chávez will guide students from Holy Trinity Elementary School in explorations of their daily lives using photography, writing, and art.

Urban Renewal: Jenny Murphy
Urban Renewal involves clients from Employment Connection St. Louis, an association that assists adults with limited opportunities to self-sufficiency through employment. Under the guidance of local artist Jenny Murphy, the participants will salvage bulk trash items and learn ways to transform them into treasure. These re-purposed items will be returned to the community on a donation-basis to encourage interactions between potential consumers and the craftspeople behind the objects. The idea of not assigning prices to the objects will introduce questions of how we value objects and how we demonstrate that value.
Latest Content from All Artist Projects
- Urban Evolution: Robert Longyear
About Robert Longyear
Robert Longyear is a St. Louis-based artist, who received his BFA in design and metalsmithing from University of Kansas in 2000 and is currently pursuing his MFA at SIU-Edwardsville. He is the Community Outreach Manager and Metals Studio Chair at Craft Alliance. He considers himself an “urban tourist,” who – like Matta-Clark – is drawn [...]
- Urban Expression: Theaster Gates
Creative Writing Sessions
[Janie Ibur is the creative writing instructor for this project.] I read about Juan’s (a teaching artist in this project) intention to have the kid’s draw collaborative sketches, moving from station to station for short periods of time and adding on to each others’ drawings so that at the end the end they’d each have group [...]
- Urban Renewal: Jenny Murphy
New Connections
Over the first, second, and (for some people) third workshops all the artists worked persistently to remove the old paint and finish from their chairs. Once the wood was showing its original grain, it was time to begin assembly. Some people planned to keep the original structure of their chair and make small changes to [...]

