Sneaker culture is more popular than ever, and that’s why St. Louis entrepreneur Karl Lewis' Lace Gods brand has been part of a month long "sneaker museum" on Cherokee Street. It’s all happening under the umbrella of Aaron Fowler's ongoing N2EXISTENCE project with The Luminary, a collaborative effort with the STLMade movement. Lace Gods is a sneaker brand that produces custom street wear, specialized sneaker paint jobs and accessories. The shop is open through February 22, and it has featured pop-ups with other sneaker artists and aficionados such as Brock Seals and R.Lamar. A variety of vintage and limited edition sneakers have been sold on consignment as well as sneaker cleaning services. Lace Gods is open from 11am-5pm today through Monday at 2834 Cherokee Street in the N2EXISTENCE storefront.

N2EXISTENCE is a project of The Luminary by yearlong artist in residence, Aaron Fowler, and made possible by STLMade. The Cherokee Street shared storefront is the first part of the acclaimed artist’s largest series of projects to date and the first solo presentation in his hometown of St. Louis. Fowler is picking up the practice of speaking a new future into existence, as an aspiration of hope, for himself, his family and his city in this moment of traumatic change. The storefront is a space in which a growing group of participants from around the region can present their work to the public and collaborate directly with the artist to create new works to share. For Fowler, N2EXISTENCE is "a movement to create cultural change, inspiring people to use their passions to manifest new realities of freedom.”

The Luminary is an expansive platform for art, thought and action. Since its inception, The Luminary has been a home for art that engages the pressing issues of the present. Through an active roster of exhibitions, residencies, performances, publications and gatherings, The Luminary is a point of convergence for diverse publics, cultivating thoughtful platforms for exchange, supporting forward-moving art and ideas, and attempting to model a more equitable and interconnected art world as an institution of our time.