Arts & Culture

In the 1970s and ’80s, the St. Louis band Tracer was one of the area’s premiere exponents of fusion-style jazz. On Thursday, Sept. 11, the re-formed Tracer will launch Jazz at Holmes Series. The annual fall series also will include tributes to John Coltrane, Charles Mingus and Gaslight Square.

It can be plain or embroidered, a single hue or richly patterned, a bold statement or a humble custom. In “Unveiled,” Chicago-based playwright Rohina Malik explores the significance of the traditional Muslim hijab through the lives of five contemporary women who choose to wear it for the Edison Ovations Series at Washington University Saturday, Sept. 27.

Since the shooting of Michael Brown, the eyes of the world have turned to St. Louis. Over the last several weeks, associate professor Bob Hansman — one of the area’s most prominent community activists — has quietly ushered hundreds of students through the neighborhoods of north St. Louis, chronicling the racial, social and urban histories that have shaped conditions on the ground.

Look. Listen. Inhale. Exhale. In “December,” David Marchant explores the fragmentary nature of memory and the rhythms of human breathing. On Sept. 4, 5 and 6, Marchant will present “December” as part of “Dance Close Up.” The intimate concert will showcase 10 new and original works by dance faculty in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

Today, for the first time in history, the majority of the world’s population lives in cities and urban areas. This fall, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum will present “Encountering the City: The Urban Experience in Contemporary Art.” The exhibition, which encompasses a wide range of media, explores how artists respond to, and grapple with, our rapidly changing urban landscape.

As chair of the Architectural Association in London, Alvin Boyarsky was among the most influential figures in 20th-century design education. This fall, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum will present “Drawing Ambience: Alvin Boyarsky and the Architectural Association,” the first public museum exhibition of drawings from Boyarsky’s private collection.

​The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum will launch its fall season Friday, Sept. 12, with “Drawing Ambience: Alvin Boyarsky and the Architectural Association,” the first public museum exhibition of drawings from the private collection of one of the 20th century’s most influential design educators. Also opening Sept. 12 will be “Encountering the City: The Urban Experience in Contemporary Art” and “Picturing Narrative: Greek Mythology in the Visual Arts.”

Participants in the free summer workshop Theatre for Social Change used their own experiences as well as the ideas of Brazilian director Augusto Boal to explore ways of effecting positive social change. Here, spectator Frances Hubbard-Smith (left) works with Annamaria Pileggi, who directed the workshop.

The sukkah is a small temporary dwelling constructed each autumn for the Jewish festival of Sukkot. This fall, the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, in partnership with St. Louis Hillel at Washington University, will sponsor “Sukkah City STL 2014: Between Absence and Presence,” a national design competition and exhibition.

Jeffrey McCune, PhD, has been named director of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program at Washington University in St. Louis. Funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in New York, the program aims to increase diversity in higher education by encouraging talented but underrepresented students to pursue doctorates in the humanities and social sciences.