About | Artscope St Louis

Welcome to Artscope, a St. Louis-based nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering emotional well-being, intentional inclusivity, and environmental harmony through imaginative art, dialogue, and visionary play.

Our mission is to provide children with access to the arts in a supportive and failure-free environment. We believe that creativity is a skill that can be developed with practice, and we are committed to helping children build confidence in their own creative abilities.

At Artscope, we value visionary play, self-actualization, intentional inclusivity, creativity, environmental harmony, and collaborative opportunities. These core values are at the heart of everything we do, from our arts education programs and summer camps to our community outreach and events.

Our history dates back to 2002 when Artscope was founded by Saint Louis artist Jenna Bauer. Originally named the Saint Louis City Open Studio and Gallery (SCOSaG), we provided children and adults with an inclusive environment to explore creativity. In 2014, we changed our name to Artscope while maintaining the same mission and vision.

Today, Artscope is the only arts education program in St. Louis City permanently located in a natural environment. Our home is the cozy cottage in Tower Grove Park, where children spend as much time as the weather allows exploring their surroundings, inventing new games, and connecting with friends. We are proud to be a technology-free zone, providing a rare space in our modern world.

Artscope's programs serve primarily children and youth, including yearly arts education programs and summer camps. We also provide arts education for community organizations and events throughout St. Louis City. As a 501(c)3 public charity listed with the IRS under the legal name South City Open Studio and Gallery for Children, your donations are tax-deductible.

About Artscope

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OUR MISSION

At Artscope we foster emotional well-being, expansive and intentional inclusivity, and environmental harmony through imaginative art, dialogue, and visionary play.

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Core Values

OUR CORE VALUES

Visionary Play

We believe play fosters imaginative engagement with the natural world, our communities, and each other. At Artscope, we encourage visionary play, or play that pushes students to dream beyond their limitations and build the future they want to live in with whatever they want.

Self-Actualization

While we are always connected to communities, we also value the importance of individuality and self-realization. We foster opportunities for students to explore their own identities, values, beliefs, and ideas through art in order to strengthen their senses of self and others.

Intentional Inclusivity

We choose conscious inclusivity, which requires us to be intentional, accessible, and expansive as we engage all races, religions, ethnicities, physical abilities, neurodiversities, learning differences, gender identities, and gender expressions.

Creativity

We foster a love for creative thinking. We value creativity as a practical skill required for problem solving, solution oriented thinking, and experimentation.

Environmental Harmony

We understand our connection to and dependence on the natural world. We value sustainability and our relationship to urban and natural landscapes.

Collaborative Opportunities

We value sharing ideas in generative ways. We create space for children and adults to explore, build, and generate new ideas together. We understand that nothing happens in isolation. We are constantly in community, thinking about community, or informed by our communities.