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Finalists chosen, public to have say in contest to invigorate Grand Center lot

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: An empty Grand Center lot is one step closer to becoming a center for community engagement. And before the process is over, the public will contribute to discussion about choosing from among those vying to transform the space.

Three finalists have now been selected for the PXSTL contest, a partnership of The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts and Washington University’s Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. San Francisco design collective Rebar; Freecell Architecture of Brooklyn; and artist Oscar Tuazon, who works in Paris and Tacoma, are in the running. Each hopes to be chosen to create a new look and feel through art and architecture on the lot at 3713 and 3719 Washington Blvd., across from The Pulitzer and east of the Bruno David Gallery.

“What we wanted in the three finalists was a real range of candidates and a range of experience,” Pulitzer executive director Kristina Van Dyke said.

Several St. Louisans were among the 60 applicants for the contest, announced in February. While no local talent is in the final lap, there are several ways the project could engage people here. It could have similarities to the Pulitzer’s 2008 Light Project.

“The Light Project was interactive in that people were asked to bring lamps and they participated in the progress of it,” Van Dyke said. “Or the designers could produce something that invites the public to become more interactive once it’s produced.”

On Tuesday, July 30 at 7:30 p.m., the public can learn about the finalists in an event to be held on the lot. The PXSTL Public Charrette (an architectural term for discussing a project) will include presentations by the finalists, a question-and-answer period, a food truck and complimentary beer.

The decision in the PXSTL project (an acronym for Pulitzer, Sam Fox School, and St. Louis) is expected in August. The winner will receive a $50,000 budget and $10,000 honorarium. Installation will happen in spring 2014. The project will open to the public that summer and remain in place for six months.

“The ultimate hope is that it will make us all think in new ways about the empty lots that pop up in the city of St. Louis, and we can start to think of them as an opportunity and a canvas to experiment with,” Van Dyke said.

Nancy is a veteran journalist whose career spans television, radio, print and online media. Her passions include the arts and social justice, and she particularly delights in the stories of people living and working in that intersection.