Photo Credit: Tyler Small
Five years ago, Sophie’s Artist Lounge opened its doors with a simple idea: create a space where art, music, nightlife, and community could exist together. What began with a small group of resident DJs and artists has grown into something we could have only imagined. Today, Sophie’s is home to a rotating family of nearly sixteen resident DJs and curators, countless collaborators, and a community that has helped shape this space into what it is. On Friday, October 2, from 6–9 p.m., we’re inviting friends, artists, DJs, collaborators, neighbors, and everyone who has ever graced our dancefloor to celebrate five years of Sophie’s Artist Lounge.
Over the years, Sophie’s has grown far beyond simply a place to hear a DJ. Our residents have created their own worlds inside these walls. Programs like A Turn at the Table, Just Peachy, Hitzworld Chan’s House, Motown Throwdown, Press Start, Soultry, and so many others have given artists the freedom to experiment, curate, collaborate, and build something that feels distinctly their own. We’ve watched DJs who first joined us for a set grow into resident artists, event producers, curators, and familiar names throughout St. Louis.
We’ve opened the doors for artists to try new ideas, build audiences, collaborate across disciplines, teach workshops and lessons, and create experiences that might not have existed otherwise. Some nights have been packed dance floors. Others have been markets, tributes, workshops, artist showcases, celebrations of St. Louis culture, or simply a room full of people discovering something new together. Through all of it, Sophie’s has continued to evolve, creating more room for artists to have ownership over what they create and giving people the opportunity to turn an idea into something real.
“It’s really incredible to look around after five years and see how many creative people have helped make Sophie’s what it is. We’ve watched artists and DJs come into this space, build something of their own, take chances, find their people, and continue growing beyond these walls,” says Nanyamka Ewing, KAF Promotions and Events Manager. “To know that so many of our residents and fellow artists have expanded their careers while still calling Sophie’s home is truly special.”
Art Has Always Been Part of the Story
Before the first record spins, before the dance floor fills up, and long after the last song of the night, there is another story Sophie’s has been telling for five years—the art on our walls. Sophie’s was created to be an artist lounge in every sense of the word. Thanks to the incredible work of the KAF visual arts team, the space itself has continually transformed. Each exhibition changes the feeling of the room and gives our community another reason to look around, slow down, ask questions, and experience something they may not have encountered before.
Over the past five years, our walls have held work from internationally and nationally recognized artists alongside artists from right here in St. Louis. We’ve welcomed local showcases, historical exhibitions, emerging voices, established artists, and work representing stories and perspectives from across communities and across the world.
Every year, one of our favorite moments is watching the room turn over again. The walls change. New work arrives. The lighting shifts. The space suddenly feels different, even though it is still unmistakably Sophie’s. The relationship between visual art, music, and people has always been at the heart of Sophie’s, and none of it happens without the artists, curators, installers, and visual arts team who continue to reimagine what these walls can hold.
“Watching Sophie’s Artist Lounge bring visual art, music, and nightlife together over the past five years has been a true joy. Our inaugural exhibition, ‘Fly O’er,’ celebrated the extraordinary breadth of artistic talent in St. Louis, and ‘Send It On’ continues that spirit, bringing another constellation of local art stars onto these walls. What makes Sophie’s so special is the way the artwork lives alongside the impeccable DJs, dedicated staff, and everyone who enters the room,” says Gina Grafos, KAF Chief Curator & Director of Visual and Literary Arts.
Thank You, St. Louis!
When we look back at five years, we don’t just remember events. We remember people.
We remember the first sets and the packed nights, the experiments that turned into traditions, the artists who trusted us with something new, the DJs who found their audience, and the residents who kept coming back with bigger ideas. We remember the nights when everything clicked and we looked around and realized something special was happening and all the people who helped make those moments possible.
Thank you to every DJ who has stepped behind our decks; every artist who has put work on our walls; every curator who trusted us with an idea; every performer, chef, vendor, photographer, host, collaborator, technician, and creative who has contributed a piece of themselves to this space.
To everyone who has walked through our doors, brought a friend, danced until close, discovered a new artist, supported a local vendor, stared at a piece of artwork a little longer than expected, came back the next week, or simply gave something unfamiliar a chance: Thank you for growing with us. Sophie’s would not be Sophie’s without the St. Louis artist community that embraced us, challenged us, collaborated with us, danced with us, and continued to show up.
Celebrate With Us!
We invite all to come celebrate what we’ve built together and everything that’s still to come from 6-9 p.m. on Friday, October 2. For our fifth anniversary celebration, The DJ JMO, one of Sophie’s original resident DJs, returns to help us celebrate by spinning the hits and taking us through some of the sounds that have kept Sophie’s moving over the years. Enjoy happy hour and specialty cocktails.
And we’re not blowing out the candles at 9 p.m. Following the anniversary celebration, DJ PBNJEFFY PRESENTS: CLUB POPSTAR with sounds by DJ $OL & DJ PBNJEFFY, a special edition of Club Jeffy dedicated to keeping Sophie’s fifth anniversary celebration going well into the night. And because every good anniversary deserves a little dress-up, we’re having a Costume Contest. Come dressed as your favorite pop star and step into the spotlight for the night. Grab your crew, channel your favorite pop star, and meet us on the dance floor as we keep the party going well into the night.
