Doug and Kirsten Weaver spent the summer sanding floors in 100-degree heat inside a building on Lucas Avenue, turning the second-floor space above a beauty supply store into something downtown St. Louis didn't quite have yet: an art gallery built around the idea that creative space shouldn't cost artists money they don't have. They're calling it Soil & Oil.
The couple bought the building in May and had been aiming to open by November, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The seed article from STLtoday.com reports the gallery will open Nov. 15 with an art exhibition, live performances and more, while a Nov. 10 forum post on urbanSTL described the gallery as opening Sunday, Nov. 15. The urbanSTL post also places the address at 1320 Lucas Ave., a detail sourced to that forum thread rather than a primary venue listing.
Soil & Oil sits on the second floor of a building whose ground floor is a beauty supply store facing Washington Avenue, with the gallery's own entrance tucked in the rear, per the Post-Dispatch account. The name nods to Doug Weaver's own practice: he works in plant-based artmaking and as an oil painter, according to the same report.
A Decade-Old Dream Takes Shape
Kirsten Weaver told the Post-Dispatch that she and Doug had spent 15 years talking about what they'd do if they won the lottery, and that building a community space was always the dream. She's a social worker who said she knows many artists through her husband's work, and she put out a call for artists ahead of the opening, hearing back from more than 70, the paper reports.
That response shaped the opening lineup. Kirsten booked live performances from singer-songwriter Po Mia, belly-dancing troupe Dance Hipnotique and R&B singer Ivey Amour, among others, according to the Post-Dispatch. A separate account from urbanSTL describes the grand opening as expected to feature work from about 75 selected artists alongside live performances, though that figure comes from the forum post rather than the Post-Dispatch story.
Rethinking How Artists Pay to Show Their Work
The Weavers are structuring Soil & Oil's finances differently than a typical gallery or rental hall. For the opening exhibition, they'll take a 10% commission on art sales rather than charging artists upfront, the Post-Dispatch reports. They're also experimenting with charging event organizers a percentage of ticket sales instead of a flat rental fee.
Kirsten said they don't want participants to lose money by renting the space and covering substantial upfront costs, according to the same account. She added that she and Doug want everyone to feel ownership in what happens at the space. The goal, as the couple put it, is to remove financial barriers so people feel free to experiment and try something new.
That mission echoes language used separately by the St. Louis Business Journal, which reported that the founders hope Soil & Oil will be an affordable option for artists and creative groups, with classes and an artist incubator program planned. Doug Weaver is set to teach a five-week painting class beginning Jan. 12, according to the Post-Dispatch.
From LiveJournal Teens to Downtown Business Owners
Doug and Kirsten's own story stretches back two decades. They first connected in 2004 on the blogging site LiveJournal, reading and commenting on each other's posts before meeting in person in 2006, after their mothers had talked to each other, the Post-Dispatch reports. Kirsten had been living in Missouri; Doug had been living in Oregon. They were married by 2008 and now have a son, Finley.
Doug's path to Soil & Oil runs through the Peace Corps. He served two years as an art, music and drama instructor in Rwanda, he said in an interview with VoyageSTL, teaching students to make paint from crushed chalk and use it to create greeting cards. “After two years of service I returned to St. Louis,” he told the outlet. He went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts in Painting from Fontbonne University and said he has been making his own paints for more than 15 years.
Weaver has built a substantial online following in the years since, saying he has more than 1.3 million followers across platforms, per VoyageSTL — a figure that differs from the Post-Dispatch's characterization of more than 1 million followers across TikTok and Instagram. He posts under the handle @dougweaverart, discussing art, fatherhood and politics, and has documented parts of the Soil & Oil renovation on social media. “You can never have too many third spaces,” Weaver told the Post-Dispatch.
Community Help and a Changing Washington Avenue
The renovation itself became a community effort. Friends helped paint the walls, and an artist donated old darkroom equipment to the space, the Post-Dispatch reports. The couple, who attend events like Tower Grove Pride and Artica, said they want to contribute to downtown and help revitalize Washington Avenue.
That corridor has seen renewed attention this year. A developer told First Alert 4 that businesses, restaurants and residents were moving into the Washington Avenue corridor, citing growth and demand, as the city has also planned raised center islands and curb extensions as safety improvements along the street. Soil & Oil joins Dissonant Works, which describes itself as an experimental art and music event space and gallery in St. Louis and runs a program called Small Room Variations that gives artists space to present extended sets, as another creative outlet in the city's gallery scene.
