Wak'a Garden

Wak'a Garden is open at Laumeier Sculpture Park in St. Louis, a collaboration between Juan William Chávez and Kiersten Torrez that runs from April 18, 2026, through April 15, 2029. You'll find it in the Outdoor Galleries on the South Lawn, so it's an outdoor walk rather than a gallery visit. It's the second installment of Laumeier's Begin Again series, which marks the park's 50-year history of working with artists and supporting new commissions.

The work is built from the park's own grounds—fallen trees, branches, mud, and rocks reclaimed from the site. It's shaped like an organic, amphitheater-like gathering place that works as both a habitat and a sacred monument to native plants and pollinators. Inside, you'll see ceramic hive-shaped vessels by Chávez alongside a chemical-free teaching garden by Torrez. The two come together under the Andean philosophy of reciprocity and balance between humans and the natural world; in Andean tradition, wak'as are sacred places or natural features understood as living and communicative.

Chávez and Torrez have spent the last 15 years developing social practice projects that look at decolonization, environmental stewardship, and Native and Indigenous Latinx land-growing practices. Laumeier was the first St. Louis museum to support their work with pollinators and native plants, and this installation brings that focus into the park's own landscape. Because it's built from the very ground it sits on, it feels less like something dropped into the park and more like something that grew out of it.

Since it's an outdoor installation, it's worth remembering that it stays open for years—through April 15, 2029—so you can visit it across different seasons and see how the garden changes. You'll find it on the South Lawn in the Outdoor Galleries.