Malcolm Farley's Play Ball 2009 Art Exhibit At Crowne Plaza

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Thank you MLB All-Star game for bringing an array of great events to St. Louis this month.

From July 1-15 Play Ball 2009: A Visual Retrospective of Baseball will be at the downtown Crowne Plaza Hotel.  This exhibit is, in the simplest description, art for charities.  Live paintings, shows, and auctions will all be hosted over several days to raise money for charities such as the ALS Association, the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids Foundation and the Susan G. Komen Race For the Cure.

The entire event is based around the artist Malcolm Farley. He has been called “America’s Artist” and has a love for painting “America’s game.” He is the perfect artist for the baseball crazy city of St. Louis and the baseball-frenzied atmosphere that will be taking over with the arrival of the All Star game.

The Play Ball exhibit will be open to the public from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily with extended hours during All Star week. 50 pieces created by Farley will grace the elegant lobby of the Crowne Plaza for public viewing. The public will also be able to purchase pieces from his collection, "America's Game".

Farely has a talent for “live,” in the moment painting. He was painted 6 Super Bowls from the sidelines, live onstage at the Grammies and at the Democratic National Convention as Barack Obama accepted his nomination. Farley will be putting this talent on display for St. Louis with live painting events during the Play Ball exhibit’s stay. Each evening Farley will be painting live on stage at 6:00 p.m. in Crowne Plaza’s Atrium Lounge. The finished piece will then be auctioned at 9:00 p.m. with proceeds benefiting that day’s charity. In addition, St. Louis greats such as Lou Brock, Bob Gibson and Ozzie Smith will be on hand to sign their "special piece" when Farley paints them.

Farley is known as a philanthropist and has raised over a million dollars in order to “give back to a world” that has given him “so much”

"I am very excited about PlayBall 2009 and the opportunity to support national and local charities,” Farley said.

Check out Play Ball's event calendar to choose a time to stop by and enjoy the exhibit.

Image courtesy of Malcolm Farley's website.