Pulitzer Arts Foundation facts for kids
The Pulitzer Arts Foundation building. To the left is the Continental Life Building
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| Established | 2001 |
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| Location | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Type | Art museum |
| Founder | Emily Rauh Pulitzer |
| Public transit access |  MetroBus |
The Pulitzer Arts Foundation is an art museum in St. Louis, Missouri. It shows special art exhibits and hosts public events. People often call it "the Pulitzer." You can find it at 3716 Washington Boulevard in the Grand Center Arts District. A famous Japanese architect named Tadao Ando designed the building. The best part? It's free to visit!
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History of the Pulitzer Arts Foundation
The Pulitzer Arts Foundation started in 2001. It was created by Emily Rauh Pulitzer. She and her husband, Joseph Pulitzer Jr., first wanted a place to show art from their own collection.
In the early 1990s, the Pulitzers asked Tadao Ando to update an old car factory in St. Louis. This area was known as Grand Center. Sadly, Joseph Jr. passed away before the project was finished. Later, Emily Rauh Pulitzer asked Ando again. This time, she asked him to design his first public building in the United States.
The first art show featured works from the Pulitzer family's collection. It included art by famous artists like Roy Lichtenstein, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, and Andy Warhol. After that, the museum started showing art from other collections too. This is how most of their shows have been since.
From 2001 to 2014, the museum was called The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts. It has shown many different types of art. These include minimalist art, Buddhist art, and modern art. They also had shows for single artists like Dan Flavin and Richard Serra. At the Pulitzer, art is shown without labels on the walls. This helps you connect with the art directly.
The Building: A Work of Art
The Pulitzer Arts Foundation building was finished in October 2001. It took four years to build and almost ten years to plan. It was the first public building in the U.S. designed by Tadao Ando. He won the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1995.
Ando's design focuses on natural things like light and water. He also uses a lot of concrete. The concrete parts of the building were made right there. They used special methods that were new in America at the time. People say the building is a calm place to look at art. It also helped make St. Louis's old city area better.
In June 2014, the building got bigger. They changed storage and office areas into two new public art galleries. Ando and his team helped with the plans. The public space grew from 6,800 square feet to about 10,400 square feet. The museum reopened on May 1, 2015. It had three art shows at once, featuring artists like Alexander Calder and Richard Tuttle.
Exciting Exhibitions
The Pulitzer Arts Foundation is a "non-collecting museum." This means it doesn't own a permanent collection of art. Instead, it shows temporary art exhibitions. It's known as "one of the loveliest places in the country to look at art."
The first show in 2001 only had art from the Pulitzer family's collection. Since then, the museum has shown art from many different times and styles. The art is often set up to work with the building's design. Tadao Ando wanted to create a place where art feels alive.
Sometimes, artists themselves choose the art for a show. For example, Glenn Ligon curated "Blue Black" in 2017. He was inspired by a sculpture by Ellsworth Kelly with the same name. Kelly himself curated a show in 2002. The Pulitzer also shows art that isn't seen very often. This includes old Japanese drawings and sculptures by Medardo Rosso.
Permanent Art on Display
Three artworks are always on display at the Pulitzer.
- Ellsworth Kelly's Blue Black is a tall sculpture. It's 28 feet high and stands under a skylight in the main gallery.
- Richard Serra's Joe is a large, twisted sculpture made of special steel. It's in the courtyard outside the building.
- Both Kelly's and Serra's works were specially made for the Pulitzer. Emily Rauh Pulitzer asked for them before the building opened.
- Later, the Pulitzer bought a sculpture by Scott Burton called Rock Settee. It sits facing the building's outdoor reflecting pool.
Both Kelly and Serra worked with Mrs. Pulitzer and Tadao Ando to place their art. Ando said that these artists brought their own ideas into the spaces he created. This made a unique art space.
Public Programs and Events
The Pulitzer offers many public programs. These events often connect to the art on display or to community projects. They include:
- Music concerts
- Meditation sessions
- Discussions and talks
- Live performances
- Poetry readings
- Educational activities for all ages
The Pulitzer also works with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. They have chamber music concerts where the music matches the art. They also work with a local music group called Farfetched for live music shows.
In January 2014, the Pulitzer held a special week of events called Reset. This happened between art exhibitions. It started with a temporary art piece by David Scanavino. The week included fun, interactive events like a breakdancing contest, yoga, and family activities. Reset also featured a U.S. premiere performance by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.
The Pulitzer has also helped new performances debut. These include poetry by Claudia Rankine and a sound event by composer David Lang. They also hosted a project by artist Aram Han Sifuentes called the Protest Banner Lending Library. In 2016, a German architecture group called raumlaborberlin brought parts of an old St. Louis house into the museum's main gallery.
Community Connections
The Pulitzer often creates projects and programs to involve local communities. They want to invite many different people and groups to take part.
They worked with Prison Performing Arts and Washington University in St. Louis on a program called Staging. This program invited homeless veterans and people who used to be in prison. They spent weeks in the galleries. They learned about theater, got job advice, and studied art. It ended with a public performance where they shared their views on the art.
In 2014, the Pulitzer started PXSTL with the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. The first PXSTL project, called Lots, turned an empty space across from the museum into a community area. It hosted dance, music, photography, food, and meditation. The second PXSTL project looked at the life of a building.
