You are cordially invited to a tea party!

Please join us for high tea to celebrate the progress of our newest “open air space”, located at 1818 State Street. We will have iced tea and sandwiches compliments of our neighbors at The Garden Gate Tea Room.

Our galleries will be open, so you can check out Exhibition #25 and wander our gardens at twilight!

About the space:

The genesis of the reimagining of 1818 State Street in Granite City as an open-air exhibition space was a response to the restrictions faced by artists and artist-run exhibition spaces as the Covid 19 pandemic gutted the very social infrastructure that both nurtured and fostered creative, artistic communities.

Situated within the “campus” of art spaces and curated native plant gardens of the Granite City Art and Design District (G-CADD), 1818 State presented an opportunity to transform a dilapidated commercial building into a dynamic, multi-level exterior exhibition space that not only provided a Covid-safe environment for art exhibitions, but also liberated the artist from the confines of the conventional white box platform. Trees will be planted in the lower level of the building with functional bridges hovering above, offering visitors a unique experience of looking down upon the trees.

The development of 1818 State will witness a variety of both artists and arts-related organizations playing different roles. The lead project design is being executed primarily by a duo of two artists/designers, Christopher Carl of Studio Land Arts (www.studiolandarts.com) and Joshua Howell. Upon completion, the formal exhibition schedule will include local, national and international mixed-media artists, sculptors, and musicians as well as exchanges with both local art collectives and university fine art programs.