Mission Statement

Our mission is to create meaningful engagement with the most relevant and innovative art being made today. We are a welcome space, free to all.

The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (CAM) opened its groundbreaking building in 2003, to create meaningful engagement with the most relevant and innovative art. Over two decades, CAM has showcased nearly 700 artists, hosted 260+ exhibitions, reached 550,000+ visitors, and hosted 100% free learning and engagement programs benefiting tens of

Over the last twenty years, CAM has produced 28 collaborative exhibitions in its Education Galleries with local students, artists, and community groups. These exhibitions include work by students in year-round ArtReach Partnerships at Vashon and Sumner High School, New Art in the Neighborhood, CAM’s nationally acclaimed studio art program for teens, and LEAP Middle School Initiative, a program in which students work with artists to become immersed in contemporary art issues and practices, developing greater critical awareness about themselves and the world. In Teen Museum Studies, an innovative career-based training program, participants experience the inner workings of the Museum as they organize an exhibition from start to finish.

These initiatives have yielded impressive outcomes, with 100% of program participants graduating high school, most continuing to college, and many excelling in creative fields. Recent survey results reflect the impact, with 100% of teen program participants reporting exposure to new ideas, 92% improving art skills, and 88% enhancing self-confidence and self-expression through CAM’s programs. By actively collaborating with local schools and community organizations, CAM ensures inclusive access to contemporary art.

Impact

CAM nurtures the creative minds of our city’s young people through free, in-depth art education. In New Art in the Neighborhood, our nationally acclaimed studio art program for teens, and LEAP Middle School Initiative, students work with artists to become immersed in contemporary art issues and practices. In Teen Museum Studies, an innovative career-based training program, participants experience the inner workings of the Museum as they organize an exhibition from start to finish. These programs have proven long-lasting impact—developing better students, better citizens, and better artists and art audiences for the future.

This commitment to our community has been the perfect fit for Dana Brown, who has provided continued grant support for our educational and immersive Middle-School art reach programs.

Our youth arts education programs in schools through ArtReach (artist-led, curriculum-based K-12 classes, tours and workshops); and onsite through LEAP and New Art in the Neighborhood (after-school, studio art intensives for grades 6-12), and Teen Museum Studies (summer curatorial career development program for grades 9-12 exposing students to all departments of the Museum). These immersive mentorship programs provide opportunities for young people to learn from local, national, and international artists, culminating in professionally installed student exhibitions at CAM.

Program goals are focused to:
– Foster teen artistic/cultural literacy and continued museum/arts engagement;
– Provide opportunities for personal development that improve students’ teamwork, creative/critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and self-confidence;
– Offer young people a safe space for growth and career exploration; and
– Encourage students to become lifelong learners through arts exposure.

These programs primarily serve St. Louis Public School (SLPS) students, many of whom are underserved and economically disadvantaged (18% experiencing homelessness, 74% free lunch eligible). SLPS students identify as 78% Black, 6% Hispanic, and 3% Asian and 13% White.

ArtReach Partners Vashon and Sumner High Schools, two Title I SLPS Promise Zone schools in which we offer year-round instruction, are both within a mile of CAM. Vashon and Sumner (99% BIPOC enrollment) are currently unaccredited, are among the most economically disadvantaged in the state, and are lowest-performing, with Math and Reading proficiency and graduation rates in the bottom 50th percentile of all MO schools. (https://dese.mo.gov/school-data). Through ArtReach Intensives, we equitably focus resources in nearby Title I schools and/or those with >80% BIPOC student enrollment, including CVPA, Clyde C. Miller Career Academy, and Cardinal Ritter College Prep.