We're back! So excited to be getting back into the groove of First Fridays, and this one is sure to be a great first for 2025!

In the main gallery, as well as the lobby gallery, we will be exhibiting the documentary photographs of our own treasured and talented Assistant Director, Kira.

Kira Lawler is an artist and photographer based in the Midwest. She graduated from the University of Missouri in 2022 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with an emphasis in Photography, as well as minors in Journalism and Art History. Lawler’s work has been shown in downtown St. Louis, the George Caleb Bingham Gallery, and the Columbia Art League in Columbia, Missouri. Her upbringing in the midwestern United States is instrumental in Lawler’s work. Kira draws inspiration from the natural environment, personal relationships and stories, as well as her personal struggles. Her work brings in themes of rurality, religion, emptiness, grief, family dynamics, identity, and whiteness. Her first photo book of this series was released in 2021.

“Road Ends in Water” is a deeply personal and ongoing photo series by Kira Lawler. This project began before the Covid-19 shutdowns and documents the struggles Kira and her family faced before, during, and after the pandemic. This series is a love letter to her family and where she was raised, as well as a farewell letter to childhood and a life once lived. “Road Ends in Water” began as a way to document the nostalgic feelings associated with her grandma’s house and hometown, but transformed into a desperate attempt to capture the last moments of a bygone era as her and her family dealt with sudden changes and grief within a short period of time. “Road Ends in Water” references both the first images that inspired this project, as well as the feeling of looking forward and not knowing what comes next. The images in this project are silent and often empty, sometimes with no clear subject, as they represent the feelings of isolation and loss that come with life changes and growing up. There is permanence in these images. They don’t fade like memories, they don’t fall into disrepair like buildings, they don’t age like people. Someday, they may be all that is left of a certain place during a certain time. This project is a way for Kira to confront her aversion to change, and to accept what comes ahead. As time passes, much like it always does, Kira would like this project to serve as a collection of feelings and memories associated with a specific point in her life that she can revisit long after it is gone. Kira hopes these images will invoke feelings of familial love and nostalgia in others down the line, even after all the people, places, and memories have long been gone.

From our stage you'll be treated to Missouri's Country Sweetheart, Chloe Hoecker. Via Americana and alternative country, influenced by Miranda Lambert, Johnny Cash and Kaitlin Butts, Chloe is making a big name for herself, all over Missouri and beyond! Originals and covers, with an undeniable sweetness and truth - these two young women, Kira and Chloe are deeply connected to their roots, and will likely touch some of yours.

You'll be treated this time to some extravagant sweets provided by the one and only Laura Vientos, owner of Dough X Batter Bakery. Get ready for her "bestsellers" cookie bar (gooey butter, salted midnight cocoa and brown butter oatmeal) and the seasonal cookie, which is salted caramel mocha.

Wait, there's more! A gorgeous almond tart and raspberry filled chocolate cupcakes too!

The bar will be open with local beers and Serenity Valley Wines, as well as soft drinks and sparkling waters. And, as always....the gift gallery will be chocked full of new and wonderful fine art and crafts. MANY Valentine options!

See you in the gallery!