WHITE FLAG PROJECTS IN ST. LOUIS TO CLOSE

According to Andrew Russeth of Artnews, White Flag Projects, a nonprofit space in St. Louis, will permanently close its doors at the end of October. In a meeting on Monday, the organization’s board of directors voted to shut down the venue after its current programming concludes.

In an open letter, founder and director Matthew Strauss wrote: “For the past ten years White Flag Projects has worked to provide context and opportunities to artists at pivotal junctures in their careers, and give St. Louisans a space to engage with these exhibitions in the most direct way possible. While it proved to be a poor fit for this locale, we’re proud of the uncompromised program we produced.”

Strauss cited diminishing attendance and a decline in the space’s ability to connect with local patrons as reasons for the closing. He said, “An institution, regardless of its support elsewhere, cannot be sustained without the interest of the community in which it finds itself, although I’m hopeful that the discourse we introduced here will prove to have had some effect.”

Established in 2006, White Flag Projects has held solo exhibitions for artists such as Ned Vena, B. Wurtz, Coco Fusco, Ajay Kurian, Gaylen Gerber, Lena Henke, and N. Dash. Its current and last show, “Ill Seen Ill Said,” featuring works by Lutz Bacher, Robert Morris, and Banks Violette, will be on view until October 29.