Giving Tuesday 2023

Dear friends,

There is no other organization that empowers and champions Saint Louis’ regional visual artists like Art Saint Louis (ASL).

Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 28, is Giving Tuesday and we are asking for your financial support. As we enter this season in which many of us celebrate and come together, we ask that you consider how you can respond to the call to support our region’s contemporary visual artists by making a generous monetary gift or commitment to Art Saint Louis.

Every gift to, membership fee, and every art sale made at ASL directly supports and goes to our region’s artists to champion their work, increase access and awareness to, and provide year-round exhibition and honoraria opportunities.

What does this mean?
    •    In the past year, over 20,000 individuals came to downtown Saint Louis to view original works of visual art created by hundreds of our area’s contemporary artists at ASL. This is in part, due to our unique model of presenting work in a space that encourages the visitor to linger for coffee, tea, quiet space and community through our Catalyst Coffee Bar and study and lounge areas, being an ideal way to reach new art patrons.
    •    70% of every sale in our physical and virtual galleries goes to the creating visual artist. No non-profit in our area matches this sales breakdown for artists.
    •    Every time ASL utilizes the image of a work in our exhibits in printed form (membership gift note cards, etc.) we pay an honorarium to the regional artist(s) who created the work.
    •    Every juror for our blind jury exhibitions represent regional expertise in visual art and are specialists in their field, bringing quality and diverse perspectives to every ASL exhibit each year and are paid an honorarium for this labor.

In the past year, this looks like over $19,000 directly going in the hands of our region’s artists and designers because of ASL and our programming.

These fiscal acts are concrete examples of our commitment and understanding that art is more than content. Art is valuable, moves, and shapes our culture. Art is labor, and this specialized, affective labor must be paid -- but we simply cannot do this without your help.

Our efforts connect and benefit artists and the audiences their work impacts by helping artists achieve professional success while deepening our community’s understanding and enjoyment of contemporary visual art -- but we simply cannot do this without your help. Thank you, in advance, for all you continue to do for ASL as we propel our programming forward toward our 40th year of delivering our mission of community, opportunity, exchange and impact through regional visual art.

In gratitude,
Francesca Passanise
Executive Director