Jeremy D. Goodwin

Opera Theatre of St. Louis will present three short operas, all by artists of color who’ve worked largely outside the opera world. The works address the roots of Black, queer ballroom culture; three important inventors who were Black women, and the Supreme Court battle over a rock band’s attempt to reappropriate a racial slur.

The “Counterpublic” exhibition will include 30 sculptures, films and other artwork reflecting on the injustices faced by people living in the neighborhoods where the work is placed.

The recent promise by St. Louis officials to dedicate $40 million to improve traffic safety is good news to safety advocates, but they stress that fixes are needed urgently.

The owners of the land the Fabulous Fox Theatre was built on say they’re entitled to take the theater over when a 99-year lease ends in January 2025.

The Evolution Festival will bring Brandi Carlile, the Black Keys, the Black Crowes and Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals to Forest Park in late August. Organizers say it could draw 20,000 concertgoers a day, for two days.

The St. Louis Department of Health this week launched HealthStopSTL.com, a website that pulls together information about HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in one place.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis will be just the third theater company to present Dominique Morisseau’s “Confederates,” a time-hopping dark comedy about the burdens placed on Black women.

Indigo K. Sams will become president and CEO of the Center for Creative Arts in February, after 17 years with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis, where she is a vice president.

La Salle Charter Schools, a middle school that serves a predominantly Black student population in the JeffVanderLou neighborhood, will close at the end of the year. Leaders said low test scores caused the school to lose the confidence of its academic sponsors.

The HEAL Center for the Arts, a nonprofit in Grand Center focused on music education, won a $75,000 grant from the Lewis Music Prize. The organization’s leader plans to hire more visiting artists and serve more students.

Facing closure by the Archdiocese of St. Louis, St. Mary’s High School in Dutchtown will reorganize as an independent school affiliated with the Marianist Province. School leaders have raised $3.3 million but need more to ensure the school’s longer-term future.

Shacko and Akim’s debut album, “As Long As You’re Mine,” includes Afrobeat, contemporary R&B and other influences. The brothers moved to St. Louis eight years after fleeing war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Feed My People will expand its services in St. Louis County and Jefferson County with help from a $250,000 grant. The Economic Development Corporation of Jefferson County awarded the money from federal COVID-19 relief funds.

Jazz vocalist Denise Thimes will perform Christmas songs and other favorites when she plays Jazz St. Louis on Wednesday and Thursday.

Kalaija Mallery, the new artistic director of the Luminary in St. Louis, wants the Cherokee Street art gallery to be a social hub for the neighborhood.

Doorways opened a 50-apartment complex in Jeff-Vander-Lou, and St. Patrick Place is making 24 apartments available for homeless people in the Greater Ville. But advocates say more help is needed.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis will produce three short operas by artists of color who seek to expand the boundaries of American opera by incorporating new sounds and stories. A community panel of artists, most of whom work outside the opera field, selected the pieces.

At Literary Death Match, writers compete in a competitive, humor-centric reading series. After more than 500 such events across the country (and the world), the event finally makes its way to St. Louis on Nov. 10.

A day after her family laid Alexzandra Bell to rest, hundreds of students, teachers, parents and other supporters gathered Sunday at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School to pay tribute to Bell and teacher Jean Kuczka. They died last month during an attack on the school.

The 31st annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival runs through Nov. 13 and features more than 250 films.