MATI (Music at the Intersection) is moving! Beginning in 2026, the festival and conference will take place the third weekend in July, exiting St. Louis’ increasingly crowded September events calendar, as well as avoiding future Rosh Hashanah and high holiday conflicts.  Save the date as MATI returns July 17-19, 2026, with five main stages, including The Fabulous Fox Theatre (new), The Sovereign, The Big Top, Jazz St. Louis, and Sophie’s Artist Lounge. MATI is taking full advantage of Grand Center Arts District’s world-class music and art infrastructure to deliver a fully walkable indoor-outdoor summer festival experience. MATI is now offering $99 (all fees included) weekend GA passes as a blind pre-sale at MATIstl.org or direct through MetroTix. With the new indoor main stages format (The Fabulous ...

Programs and Partnerships Coordinator Shantalle Ruiz joined KAF in April 2024 as an intern and was promoted to her full-time role in June 2025. She was introduced to the Foundation and Music at the Intersection (MATI) by a friend. She began exploring the website and previous festival lineups and was inspired to see something so vibrant and community-centered happening right in the middle of the city. While keeping an eye out for the next MATI announcement, Ruiz came across the opportunity for a Community Engagement and Impact Internship with KAF that immediately resonated with her. She’s thrilled to have grown that role into a full-time position and to be part of an organization that continues to evolve—expanding access to the arts, supporting artists at every ...

The High Low Gallery presents a new exhibition, “MAIN STREET: The Lost Dream of Route 66,” featuring photographs by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Edward Keating, on view through Sunday, March 15. The exhibition is accompanied by Keating’s eponymous book of 84 photographs (Damiani, 2018). MAIN STREET is the result of 11 years of travels along Route 66 — the 2,400 mile stretch between Chicago and Santa Monica. Called the “mother road” in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, Route 66 has inspired countless artists and writers, including Andy Warhol and Jack Kerouac. Following the path of migrant farmers and others, Keating has ventured westward and back along Route 66, documenting the lives of Americans along the way. Keating approaches the route as both a journalist and memoirist. ...

The Grand Center Arts District is officially a finalist for Best Arts District in the country in the USA Today “10 Best” Readers’ Choice Awards. This flagship awards program highlights the nation’s best of the best in various travel and lifestyle categories, including destinations, food and drink, and attractions. A panel of experts nominates in each award category, with the final set of nominees selected via editorial review by USA TODAY 10BEST editors. Once the nominees are announced, the public is invited to vote for their favorites over a period of four weeks. In addition to the Grand Center Arts District, the following St. Louis cultural institutions have also been named as finalists: Pulitzer Arts Foundation Best Art Museum Laumeier Sculpture Park Best Sculpture Park City Museum Best Immersive Art Experience ...

The Wednesday Night Jazz Jam at The Dark Room has been a staple of KAF’s community programming for over 13 years, bringing the art of jazz within reach for people of all ages and backgrounds and helping to preserve and cultivate jazz music in St. Louis. Musician, composer and educator Bob DeBoo, who has led the Jazz Jam since its inception, is stepping away, and as of this month, legendary St. Louis drummer Demarius Hicks has taken the helm of this special weekly event. Hicks will head a core trio that also includes bassist Christopher Thomas and guitarist Eric Slaughter. They will be joined by select rising-stars and St. Louis jazz legends, as well as Nationally-recognized artists touring through the region, to provide the opening ...

Director of Special Events Becky Hale celebrates 10 years with KAF in February. She came to the foundation through a longtime friendship with Executive Director Chris Hansen, who reached out to her in 2016 when he was looking for someone to manage the private events department. Hale jumped at the opportunity. During her tenure, KAF’s event venues have grown to nine dynamic spaces that host everything from weddings to nonprofit galas to corporate events and more. Hale deftly manages these events to ensure clients focus on enjoying themselves and entertaining their guests. If you’re looking to plan an event, reach out to Becky at becky@kranzbergarts.org. What is your favorite part of your job at KAF? I truly love my job. I have been in the industry for ...

Human rights and peace with justice advocate Francie Broderick shares photos of political murals in Belfast and Derry and helps put them in context. While there have been literally thousands, they change over time reflecting whatever issue is current and pressing and originate in the heart of the working class neighborhoods created by local groups and individual artists. The most famous are in the Derry City Bogside and are collectively called The People's Gallery.  During the height of the conflict, British soldiers would fire plastic bullets at the works in progress and throw buckets of paint on the murals. Broderick concentrates on murals painted in nationalist areas for this presentation. Mural content changed over time from plastic bullets, hunger strike, solidarity with other struggles, rise ...

Since its opening in October 2025, The Key Burger Bar & Boogie has become a new favorite in Midtown. This month, The Key expands its offerings with new programming series in dance, sports and music, including the following. Infinite Latin Dance at The Key, Thursdays from 7:30-8:30 p.m.: Big news for Latin dance lovers in St. Louis. Starting this month, Level-Up Thursday Bachata lessons with Dan Sadicario and Chloe Grabenhorst moves to The Key featuring lessons every Thursday evening from 7:30-8:30 p.m., with a social every second and fourth Thursday from 8:30-11:30 p.m. The classes are a blend of 40 percent Salsa, 40 percent Bachata and 20% everything else. All levels are welcome ((primarily intermediate) and beginner support is available. Enjoy dancing in this unique space designed ...

A large-scale steel sculpture titled “Everything Under the Sun” has begun installation in a KAF-owned lot at the intersection of Delmar Boulevard and Leonard Avenue, at the northeastern edge of the Grand Center Arts District. The concept for the installation was inspired by the roughly east-west orientation of St. Louis streets and their alignment with sunrise and sunset throughout the year. The installation includes a monumental steel sculpture that will allow sunlight to filter through in perfect alignment with the city’s street grid during sunrise and sunset on specific days each year. The experience will be enhanced with regular public programs tied to sunrise and sunset and community experiences on the site. The project comes out of a multiyear collaborative initiative, Design Openings, launched last ...

If you happen to visit the St. Louis County Library’s Clark Family Branch, be sure to stop by the KAF Gallery on the main floor to view works by Kranzberg Artists in Residence. The exhibition presents recent work by past and present Kranzberg Arts Foundation Visual Artists in Residence including: Felia Davenport, José Garza, Mee Jey, David Kirkman, Moraa Nyaribo, B.J. Parker, Sarah Paulsen, Norman Spencer, Vincent Stemmler and Kenneth Randle, as well as renowned St. Louis artist and Brock Seals. The selection highlights each artist’s conceptual range, material exploration, and ongoing creative evolution—reflecting the diversity and excellence of artists living and working in our region. Together, they embody the spirit and cultural impact of the Residency’s mission in St. Louis. Launched in 2021, the Kranzberg ...