Cultural arts specialist invites O'Fallon seniors to gallery talks and workshops

Britney Sievers, the City of O'Fallon’s cultural arts specialist, told the Senior Resident Advisory Committee on May 12 that the city is expanding arts programming aimed at older residents, including a visual-thinking workshop on June 10 and an opening reception for three municipal galleries on May 16.

Sievers, who introduced herself as the city’s cultural arts specialist, said the city’s galleries are at City Hall, the Krekel Civic Center and the Renaud Center and that most recently booked artists have been regional: “So my name is Britney Sievers. I’m the cultural arts specialist here with the city of O’Fallon,” she said. She described the June 10 session as a guided conversation led by Crystal Gerwich that will encourage attendees to “take a closer look on the pieces on display and uncover new layers and meaning together.”

The opening reception on May 16 will begin at City Hall, with artist talks at 5:30 p.m., followed by visits to the other galleries in an art-crawl format. Sievers said the exhibitions feature artists from roughly a two-hour radius and highlighted an upcoming Annie Campbell ink workshop and partnerships with O'Fallon Theatre Works, which offers senior ticket pricing for plays and musicals. She encouraged seniors to sign up for workshops by May 23.

Committee members asked about travel between venues and whether the city would provide transportation; Sievers replied that attendees will generally drive between sites and that no standardized transport will be provided. A member also requested promotional graphics; Sievers said she would forward graphics to committee contacts.

The committee was invited to the full slate of gallery events and associated workshops and was told the arts staff is working to better integrate seniors into gallery programming and theater productions. The recreation staff and arts specialist agreed to share event details with committee communications channels for wider outreach.