296. Lauren Ross: Executive Director of Laumier Sculpture Park
b'
Lauren Ross, Executive Director of Laumier Sculpture Park, stopped by to speak with Nancy about the park and the current and upcoming exhibits, including Salutary Sculpture, which runs through May 15th, 2022. -------\\xa0
Founded in 1976, Laumeier is one of the first and largest dedicated sculpture parks in the country.\\xa0In 1968, Mrs. Matilda Laumeier bequeathed the first 72 acres of the future Laumeier Sculpture Park to St. Louis County in memory of her husband, Henry Laumeier. In 1976, local artist Ernest Trova gifted 40 artworks, with an estimated market value of approximately one million dollars, to St. Louis County for the formation of a sculpture park and gallery. Laumeier Sculpture Park opened as part of the St. Louis County Department of Parks and Recreation system on July 7, 1976. One year later, Laumeier Sculpture Park was officially incorporated.
Today, Laumeier Sculpture Park is an internationally recognized, nonprofit arts organization that is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and operates in partnership with St. Louis County Parks. Projects and programs are supported by the Mark Twain Laumeier Endowment Fund, the Regional Arts Commission, the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Missouri Arts Council and the Arts and Education Council of St. Louis. Laumeier presents more than 70 works of large-scale outdoor sculpture in a 105-acre park located in the heart of St. Louis County. Free and open daily, Laumeier serves 300,000 visitors of all ages each year through sculpture conservation, education programs, temporary exhibitions and public events. -------
In 2015, Laumeier closed its first major capital campaign, Sculpting the Future, culminating in the renovation of the Laumeier\\u2019s 1917 Estate House into the Kranzberg Education Lab and the construction of the new Aronson Fine Arts Center for exhibitions, programs and events. -------\\xa0
'