ALTON - The inaugural Alton Art Expo is going to be weird, and organizer Charles Mooneyham wouldn’t have it any other way.
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Mooneyham, owner of Mooneyham Art, has spent the last six months planning the expo, scheduled for 12–7 p.m. on Saturday, March 29 and 12–5 p.m. on Sunday, March 30, 2025, at Milton Schoolhouse. He and co-organizer Stephen Scordias are excited to launch the event to benefit Centerstone, an organization located in Alton that combats mental health and substance use disorders, while also celebrating all the authenticity of Milton Schoolhouse and the artists who have come together to make the expo happen.
“Can you get any more Velvet Underground than this place?” Mooneyham said. “It is so Warhol. And that’s been my goal, just to make it Warhol. Keep it freaking Warhol.”
Mooneyham “came into this town loud” a few years ago, working as crisis hotline clinician while his husband, Jon Ross-Mooneyham, built his business as a professional tarot card reader. Both men are artists, but Mooneyham forewent painting for 20 years to build his career in the behavioral health field.
Mooneyham is open about his story of survival; after he lost several loved ones to suicide, he, too, made an attempt, and was saved by the same hotline he would go on to work for. Nowadays, Mooneyham is a professional artist, but he was still looking for a way to help people when he came across Centerstone.
The Art Expo is free to the public, but donations to Centerstone are encouraged. You can donate monetarily or bring essential items like nonperishable foods, socks, underwear and pet food. Centerstone will have a booth onsite with information about their work, and all donations will stay in the Alton service area.
“The biggest thing I wanted to accomplish with this art fair is to normalize the access of behavioral healthcare, as well as making it publicly known that there is help out there, here,” Mooneyham said. “There are resources locally. Centerstone has a complete holistic wraparound approach to where they do behavioral health, medicinal health, and they also help with social work, right down to if the person doesn’t have cat food or dog food.”
This theme — helping others — is a major part of the Art Expo. The artists will keep 100% of the profits they make from selling their work, but many have chosen to donate toward Centerstone, as well.
A lot of them have their own stories of surviving through art. Mooneyham pointed out that art begets community, and many people cope by creating.
“Every single person involved with this, from the curators to the artists to the local community that’s helping, I think the one common denominator is they’re all humanitarians by nature,” Ross-Mooneyham added. “These are people that are naturally called, even if I need help myself, to help my fellow humans.”
Over 30 artists will be showcasing their art at the Art Expo, including Natalie Welborn of Welborn Paper Cuts. She highlighted the “nostalgia” that many people feel toward Milton Schoolhouse and noted that Milton is donating the venue space for free. Welborn is excited to connect with other artists from across the St. Louis Metro region and beyond.
“My philosophy in life is you can learn something from every single person, no matter what,” she said. “So having that approach and getting to come to these events is really exciting.”
Fine Line Studios, an organization that works with individuals with intellectual disabilities to create and sell art, will be at Milton during the expo with 30 artists of their own. The Fine Line Studios space will also act as a sensory-friendly area.
Musicians will be playing throughout both days of the expo. Mooneyham worked with Psychedelic Symphony, a “serendipitous” partnership, to organize the musical lineup. His one request is that everybody “keep it grassroots, keep it acoustic, keep it weird.”
You can see a full lineup of artists and musicians at the official event Facebook page. Pig on a Wing will be onsite providing food, and Maeva’s will be slinging coffee and tea.
In addition to helping others, the Art Expo champions authenticity. Mooneyham believes that “Zoomers are sick and tired,” with questions about what’s real online and most of their art, music and books stored somewhere “in the cloud.” He thinks young people want to move back into a more sincere, hands-on approach to life and art.
“I think people are starving for that authenticity in our culture,” he explained. “Now, everything’s so utilitarian, so functional, so go, go, go, and sterile. And people are, like, starving. They want the culture. They want the color. They want life, and they want it to be authentic and real.”
That urge — for authenticity, for connection, for life — is the main pull of the expo. Mooneyham, Scordias, Ross-Mooneyham and Welborn hope to see a lot of people come out to the event. They believe it’s a celebration of the weirdness of Alton, the local community of artists and, most importantly, helping other people see the light.
“I’ve been on both sides of that [crisis hotline] phone. And I want people to know that you can be on both sides of that phone, too,” Mooneyham said. “Just because it’s like this now doesn't mean it has to be like this tomorrow. There are people out there that are more than willing to help you.”
For more information about the Alton Art Expo, visit the official Facebook event page. As many of the exhibits focus on mental health, parent discretion is advised. To learn more about Centerstone and their services, visit their official website at Centerstone.org.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Check out this article on RiverBender.com for information about local resources. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
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