Nichole bridges

Outstanding Arts Professional

As the Morton D. May Curator at the Saint Louis Art Museum, Nichole Bridges stewards collections and presentations of art from Africa, Oceania, and the Indigenous Americas. Nichole has over 20 years’ experience as a curator, scholar, and educator generating installations, exhibitions, and publications that enhance knowledge and excite the public about art and artists from around the globe. Nichole began her career as a museum educator teaching pre-K through 12th-grade students in museum galleries and public-school classrooms in New York City. In St. Louis, Nichole has curated reinstallations of the art museum’s African and Oceanic galleries and exhibitions, such as: “Currents 109: Nick Cave” (2014), “Aso Oke: Prestige Cloth from Nigeria” (2023), and “Narrative Wisdom and African Arts” (2024). Nichole earned a B.A. in Fine Arts (Art History) and French at Amherst College, her M.A. and Ph.D. in Art History at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and was a Fulbright Scholar in the Republic of Congo.

Nicole Freber

Arts Innovator

Nicole Ambos Freber is the Managing Director of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL), where she leads a team responsible for the company’s fundraising, marketing, and community engagement.
Committed to creating spaces of belonging for artists and audiences, Nicole led the engagement strategy for OTSL’s groundbreaking New Works Collective, an initiative designed to disrupt Opera Theatre’s usual commissioning process by placing the company’s decision-making power in the hands of St. Louis community members. OTSL received more than 300 applications from a diverse group of creatives across the three-year pilot -- many of whom were new to opera -- and commissioned nine innovative operas selected by a collective of local artists, activists, and storytellers.
As OTSL develops a new performing arts center in Clayton, Nicole is working collaboratively with an acclaimed design team and local stakeholders to create a space that will connect, inspire, and strengthen the St. Louis community.

Kristin Johnson

Major Contributor to the Arts

Kristin is deeply committed to enriching the cultural and creative fabric of her community. Alongside her work at Edward Jones, she channels her passion for dance and arts education into active service with organizations that inspire expression, learning, and innovation. She currently serves on the boards of the Center of Creative Arts (COCA), the St. Louis Fashion Fund, and Mercy Hospital St. Louis. Through these roles, Kristin champions initiatives that support artistic growth, elevate education, strengthen healthcare, and foster community development. Her volunteerism reflects a personal purpose rooted in creativity and connection—believing that the arts not only transform individuals but also strengthen the communities they touch.

Helene Meyer

Community Impact Artist

People living with mental illness—and their families and friends—often ask: Who is at risk for suicide? How can suicide be prevented? What are the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease? Where can we find help? Helene Meyer understands these urgent questions firsthand. After twenty years of finding the right combination of medication and therapy, she gained the freedom to help others. Despite a troubled early life, Helene moved forward, earning a Bachelor’s Degree from Washington University in St. Louis and certification to teach English and Spanish in Missouri. She taught high school for thirty years and presented Slaying Dragons at Grand Rounds at Washington University’s School of Psychiatry.

In 2011, Helene founded Slaying Dragons, a nonprofit theater organization dedicated to destroying the stigma of mental illness. Through theater and music, the organization creates a safe space for honest conversation. Slaying Dragons now prioritizes addressing rising youth suicide rates and continues seeking new venues and partners.

Maria Ojascastro

Outstanding Teaching Artist

Maria Ojascastro is Visual Artist and Well-Being Instructor who uses the transformative power of visual arts with diverse audiences to celebrate what connects us rather than what sets us apart. She teaches victims of trauma, individuals with developmental delays, significant medical conditions, and learning disabilities, as well as neurotypical and gifted students for the Center of Creative Arts, Prison Performing Arts, PALM Health, the Cancer Support Community, Kemper Art Museum, Siteman Cancer Center and other cultural, medical, and educational institutions. Her passion project is the Arts and Healing program that brings writing, visual arts and theatre to individuals transitioning out of the criminal justice system. She completed the Anthropedia Well-Being Coach training, holds a Master of Fine Arts from Washington University in St. Louis, studied at the Santa Reparata International School of Art in Florence, Italy, and is a proud alumna of St. Mary's College of Notre Dame.

Aisha Sultan

Outstanding Working Artist

Aisha Sultan is an award-winning filmmaker, syndicated columnist and features writer. Her work has appeared in more than a hundred publications and earned numerous national honors. She has written and produced several films, hosted a television series and taught writers the power of sharing diverse stories. Her work explores social change with an emphasis on education, families and inequality. One of her films made the case for freedom for Patty Prewitt, a Missouri grandmother incarcerated for 38 years. The governor granted Prewitt clemency in 2024. Aisha followed the struggles of single mom in north St. Louis homeschooling her children during the pandemic. The mom received an outpouring of support and earned her diploma. She wrote about a Senegalese imam wrongfully detained for six weeks by immigration officials. He was released after her story was published. The Society for Features Journalism has honored her commentary and writing as among the best in the country.

Photo credit for all Honoree headshots: Lois Ingrum