Happy New Year! After a hugely successful holiday season, the KAF staff is rested and ready to bring it in 2026. We have a full year of thrilling programs, exhibitions, performances and development activities on the horizon—all in service of our mission to provide the essential infrastructure for the arts to thrive in the St. Louis region.
On the music front, our latest development, The Sovereign, run by Old Rock House owner Tim Weber, has an incredible lineup of shows slated through May 2026 with tickets currently on sale and more being booked every day. Weekends at The Key are heating up January with some of the best party bands in St. Louis, including Proud Larry, Ghost Kitchen and Laka – the Tina Turner Tribute. The Dark Room continues to be a mainstay of the St. Louis music scene with weekend performances by some of St. Louis’ top musicians in Jazz, Soul, Hip-Hop, Latin and more; while Sophie’s Artist Lounge serves up inspired weekly sets by resident DJs.
KAF’s Visual and Literary Arts programming will bring more thrilling exhibits in 2026, highlighting St. Louis artists, including members of Kranzberg Artist in Residency Program (KAIR) in Visual Arts. New commissions are planned for The Walls Off Washington as well, adding to the more than 30 current murals by local and international artists on view in the district. The Key will also be further developed as an interdisciplinary venue rooted in movement, sport, music, and visual storytelling in the coming months. Within the literary arts, the popular High Noon speaker series will be expanded and more deeply integrated with gallery programming. Our first event of the year kicks off this Thursday, as St. Louis poet Matthew Freeman reads from his new book, Dopamine and the Devil.
Our Programs and Partnerships department remains steadfast in its efforts to refine systems that strengthen creative equity, expand infrastructure, and build lasting trust in our community in 2026, including deepening ties and growth with St. Louis’ Latino and Asian communities, broadening on-the-ground reach, and scaling our Community Ticket Program to further access to the arts among our most vulnerable populations.
The ArtWorQ initiative workforce development program, launched in fall 2025 with the goal of connecting St. Louis job seekers with careers in the arts and entertainment industry, recently graduated its inaugural cohort and will continue to grow and expand in the coming year, creating
a pipeline to jobs for low to moderate-income individuals in the city and county of St. Louis, as well as the entire Missouri region.
And, of course, stay tuned in the coming months for exciting news and announcements about MATI 2026.
Whether you visit one of our galleries, take in a show at one of our great venues, visit with our team at a community event or simply follow us here or on social media, we can’t wait to share more of St. Louis’ incredible arts scene with you over the next year.
