Local Artists' Horizons Broadened by Trip Abroad

A diverse collective of St. Louis artists are fostering an ongoing cultural exchange between the U.S. and Indonesia.

Headed by Davide Weaver, the executive director for the St. Louis Artists' Guild in Clayton, the St. Louis Artists Abroad group . Highlights from the trip included spending time with Mario Blanco, a famous Indonesian artist and owner of the Antonio Blanco Renaissance Museum in Ubud, Bali; enjoying the hospitality of the king of Ubud, Bali; and exhibiting artworks at the Renaissance Museum and the National Museum in Jakarta.

The artists received special treatment while abroad—not just for being foreign visitors, but for sharing culture and ideas with locals through their art. The night of the St. Louis artists' exhibit opening at Blanco's museum in Bali, the king of Ubud welcomed the St. Louisans and more than 450 gallery visitors in grand fashion, Weaver said. Blanco provided top-notch hospitality for his guests, hiring dance troupes and other entertainment.

"For the artists, they told me it was like living in a dream," Weaver said. Mario Blanco "took care of us like we were royalty."

"It was absolutely amazing," abstract painter Timothy Wagner said. "I've been back now for a week and a half, and I'm still trying to think of words to describe it."

The Overland resident was not alone in his near-speechlessness after the extravagant three-week journey.

"I feel fundamentally changed since I got back. I feel like I'm still processing everything," St. Charles painter Dan Jaboor said. "I've traveled abroad, but not with a focus on art like this . . . the level of respect we got over there was great because we were artists."

Although Wagner was not among the St. Louis artists who sold a painting during the trip, he did not return home with his full collection.

"I know a couple people sold some work, and that's cool, but I have the pleasure of giving (Mario Blanco's) wife a painting," Wagner said. "It was so surreal. It was like, 'This is why I'm here.'

"At the end of the trip, (Blanco) said we were all pretty much family to him," he added.

The nation's president is partly to thank for the Americans' strong reception in Indonesia, Weaver said.

"Our president of the United States, Barack Obama, was there 14 days before we were," Weaver said. "We were received by the Indonesian government as the first artisans from the U.S. to be representatives."

Weaver said he sees the group not merely as a band of traveling artists but as a representation of American culture.

"What better group of people is there to represent cultures?" Weaver said. "Artisans throughout history have been studied to understand culture."

Weaver argues that the time for artists to represent the country is now, and he said America should be known across the globe for more than its military might.

Talk of a 2011 return trip to Indonesia has already begun.

Group members published pictures of Indonesia on the St. Louis Artists Abroad Facebook page while overseas. Also on the page are details about the group's Jan. 15 Impressions of Indonesia exhibit at Soulard Art Market, where the artists will show and sell works produced in and inspired by their trip.