Traveling along West Lockwood Avenue, banners hang on light posts proudly declaring Webster Groves as the City of the Arts. The accolade, due, in part, to the city’s prominent theatre, music and art scene, also gets a boost from the liberal arts college that bears its name: Webster University.
“Creativity is a large part of how we [Webster Groves] define ourselves and Webster University is critical to our thinking about ourselves as the City of the Arts,” said Webster Groves Mayor Laura Arnold, who taught for 15 years at the university in the Political Science department.
Through its performing arts programs, Webster University helps students connect with supporting organizations.
The university-owned Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts is the first theater in the United States designed to host both a professional company, including The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (The Rep) and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL), and Webster’s undergraduate Theatre Arts program. Students in the Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts get opportunities to perform alongside professional actors with The Rep and OTSL.
“From student and faculty work, to the Community Music School, to the Rep and OTSL, the arts on campus enhance the arts experience throughout our community.” said Arnold.
For freshman Emma Lynn Wittenauer, the artistic nature of Webster Groves played a role in her decision to attend Webster University. She is a Voice Performance major and plays trombone in the university’s Jazz Collective. Wittenauer chose Webster University because of the art community within and beyond.
“I really wanted an environment that celebrates and cultivates music, art and drama, and that’s exactly where I am now,” Wittenauer said.
Just as the Loretto-Hilton provides a venue for students to apply their theatre skills, two on-campus art galleries present students with opportunities to view artwork and also display their own. The Kooyumjian Gallery in the School of Communications at Sverdrup Hall and the adjacent Hunt Gallery on Big Bend Boulevard are open to the public and showcase student and alumni work, as well as exhibits from local and international artists.
Margaret Fitz, a senior at Webster University, is a Studio Art major, who uses different forms of media to create art. For Fitz, art is vital to Webster Groves.
“[Webster Groves] has the potential to continue to transform and evolve alongside the young artists within it … I feel much more involved within a larger sphere of artists here,” Fitz said.
Community events like the Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival take student and faculty performers beyond campus to engage in the local arts scene. According to Jennifer Starkey, the city’s public affairs and engagement director, such arts-related events not only attract audiences from all over the St. Louis area, but also bring in customers to dine at local restaurants, such as Frisco Barroom, Big Sky Cafe and Cyrano’s in the Old Orchard area, among others.
Starkey also works as the staff liaison for the city’s Arts Commission, created in 2006 by the then-mayor of Webster Groves, Gerry Welch. The Arts Commission promotes and supports the arts and participation in the arts for the benefit of the community.
Currently, the commission is working to redo the “City of the Arts” banners that hang throughout Webster’s downtown and business districts, planning to focus on specific art forms. Among those expected to be featured include Webster University’s Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts, the Community Music School and Webster Arts, an organization dedicated to keeping the arts alive.
“Webster University arts are also critical to our broader community,” Arnold said. “Beyond the inherent value of the artistic experiences provided by students, faculty and organizations located on campus, the arts at Webster University are an important driver of economic activity within Webster Groves. They are good for the soul and the intellect. but also good for our economic health as a community.”
Share this post
