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SEEDS Art Exhibit

04/01/2025

A student artist poses for a photo

A student poses for a photo with her artwork. Photos by Sara Rae Womack.

The Department of Visual and Performing Arts proudly presented the SEEDS Art Exhibit at McNamee Gallery.

The first-annual exhibition opened Feb. 7, 2025, and featured artwork from high school students in the St. Louis Archdiocese, expanding Saint Louis University's support for the arts, and showcasing the talents of our students in the Catholic schools.

A young child examines a piece of pottery in a clear display case.

A young art admirer enjoys the opening reception.

The SEEDS exhibit was a great success, and a wonderful partnership between the Archdiocese high schools and Saint Louis University. The exhibit created a buzz at the high schools and helped to spotlight students who gravitate towards the arts. According to Amy Enkelman Reed, art faculty at Cor Jesu High School, one of her high school students, who is a senior and most likely going to SLU for the sciences, was thrilled to talk with a current SLU student who is double majoring in art. This conversation really was a light bulb moment for the high school student, and the kind of interaction we were hoping for.

Dr. Cathleen Fleck poses with award winner

Chair Dr. Cathleen Fleck poses for a photo with first place award-winner Gabrielle Broyles of Ursuline Academy and parents.  

The student artwork in SEEDS was such high quality. SLU would welcome any of these students to the Studio Art program.

The opening reception was an exciting community event filled with the student artists, their friends, their families and the high school art faculty. Along with SLU studio art faculty and administrators, there were many studio art majors and minors who attended. SLU art faculty and high school art faculty are connected through art galleries, graduate art programs, and other art networks, and the reception was a great opportunity to strengthen these connections.

Everyone who worked on the SEEDS exhibit is thrilled with the inaugural event and looks forward to it for next year.  In addition, we are thankful to the Office of Mission and Identity at SLU for its financial support of the exhibit.

"I applaud the Archdiocese for fostering the arts as a part of their curricula — to allow students to be creative, grow their expressive capabilities, and expand their cultural horizons," noted Cathleen Fleck, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts, in her presentation of the awards. "In whatever future endeavors that these young people pursue, being creative and thinking outside the box will serve them well to face challenges, sometimes fail, and eventually succeed."