Liminal
The final exhibition at Saint Louis University's MOCRA celebrates 33 years of this first-of-its-kind museum and affirms the ongoing engagement of contemporary art with religion and spirituality.
March 1 – May 31, 2026
- Opening reception – 2 – 4 p.m., Sunday, Mar. 1,
Free and open to the public - MOCRA: A Celebration – 2 p.m., Sunday, Apr. 16,
Details forthcoming
In a liminal phase,
we transition from one status to another,
a condition of uncertainty and possibility.
What was familiar passes away;
what is to come has not yet arrived.
We may reflect on the past and envision the future.
MOCRA enters into a liminal phase with this, its final exhibition. The museum will close permanently at Liminal’s conclusion.
Since opening in 1993, this first-of-its-kind museum has pursued an expansive and inclusive exploration of the spiritual and religious dimensions in contemporary art. Together, MOCRA’s 80-plus exhibitions and well-regarded collection have encompassed more than 300 artists from across the world. Our programming has included lectures, conferences, films, music and dance performances, community gatherings, and the MOCRA Voices media platform.
MOCRA is a unique expression of SLU’s mission. In this former Jesuit chapel, tens of thousands of visitors from the campus community and the broader public have found a welcoming space for discovery, reflection, inspiration and connection. All of this has been made possible through the efforts of those who have worked at MOCRA and countless others who have contributed talent, time and financial support to the museum.
Liminal features artwork by 47 artists, with many pieces familiar to regular MOCRA visitors. In addition, MOCRA Director David Brinker invited contributing curators Jessica Baran, René Paul Barilleaux, Aaron Rosen and Summer Sloane-Britt to select works by artists not previously exhibited at the museum and place them in dialogue with works from the MOCRA collection.
Liminal celebrates 33 years of this first-of-its-kind museum and affirms the ongoing engagement of contemporary art with religion and spirituality.
The Artists
Explore the Exhibition
Gallery Guide
Coming soon
About the Curators
David Brinker
David Brinker has been MOCRA's director since 2019. First volunteering at the museum as an undergraduate student, then joining the staff in 1995, Brinker has been deeply involved in every aspect of the museum’s operations and growth. He has overseen important initiatives such as the MOCRA Voices podcast, and curated or co-curated numerous MOCRA exhibitions.
Jessica Baran
Jessica Baran has been working in the St. Louis arts community for 20 years. She has published widely as a poet and art writer and has organized numerous curatorial projects at venues ranging from nonprofit alternative spaces to museums. She’s also an educator and currently teaches poetry writing at Washington University.
René Paul Barilleaux
René Paul Barilleaux has been a curator for over 40 years, focusing especially on the work of artists outside the mainstream or at mid- and late career. From 2005 to 2025, he led the curatorial department at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, where he most recently served as head of Curatorial Affairs. With a background in studio practice, Barilleaux’s curatorial interests lie in incorporating innovative presentation techniques to engage audiences in challenging and unexpected ways. Early years at the Museum of Holography in New York thrust him into the world of alternative and non-traditional institutions. Since then, his exhibitions and publications have won awards, including an AAMC Award of Excellence in 2020 for "Transamerica/n: Gender, Identity, Appearance Today." In 2024, Barilleaux organized at MOCRA the exhibition "Open Hands: Crafting the Spiritual." While recently retired from the McNay, he is currently organizing a 20-year survey drawn from acquisitions he made for the museum's collection, opening in March 2026. A native of Lafayette, Louisiana, Barilleaux shares his life with his husband, Tim Hedgepeth, and their dog, Lucy.
Aaron Rosen
Aaron Rosen, Ph.D., is a writer, curator and nonprofit leader, respected internationally for his work in the public humanities, interfaith dialogue, and the arts. He is executive director of The Clemente Course in the Humanities, a national nonprofit delivering transformative, free college courses to underserved communities. Rosen is also visiting professor of Sacred Traditions & the Arts at King’s College London, where he taught previously. He served as director of the Henry Luce III Center for the Arts and Religion in Washington, D.C., and began his career as a fellow at Yale, Oxford, and Columbia universities. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. Rosen has curated dozens of exhibitions and is founding director of the not-for-profit Parsonage Gallery in Maine. He is the author or editor of 13 books, including "Spiritual Traces," "Brushes with Faith," "What Would Jesus See?," and "Art & Religion in the 21st Century." Photo by Lisa Helfert.
Summer Sloane-Britt
Summer Sloane-Britt is an art historian and curator based in Los Angeles. Her research centers on the intersection of photography and liberation movements through a global lens. Her dissertation explores the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) photography department, emphasizing their innovative contributions to the 1960s Black Freedom Movement. She has held positions at the National Gallery of Art, the Grey Art Gallery and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Duke University Press, Open Book Publishers, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Museum of Modern Art have published her writing. She received her Ph.D. in art history in 2025 from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. She has served as the program director of the Billie Holiday Theatre's Black Arts Initiative and is assistant professor of contemporary U.S. art history at Occidental College.