Koken Art Factory

I’ve only been for private parties (edm shows and Coolfire media’s freakfest) but it’s a nice venue and I’ve watched them improve over the course of the last 5 years. They now have plenty of bathroom space and the overall venue is segregated out nicely for different vibes and areas. The only downsides imo is generally the beer selection is weak (not sure if that is koken or the ppl renting the space) and parking is super scary. The last time I was there they were using the grass lawn across the street so at least there was some security but the guy with the flashlight directing you where to park ended up parking people in! I’m just hoping he isn’t the same guy that directs the planes taxi’ing around the terminals! :-/

I like this place, its a fun place to go for unique events and things. I’ve been to many of the events here and have never had a ‘bad’ time ;)
Love it!

They hosted an event that invited 5 major food trucks INSIDE a warehouse. I loved the idea. I got to try out food from Seoul Taco, Guerilla Street Food, & Chop Shop. Thanks Koken for the opportunity. And a live band to boot.
The space itself is barren and industrialized.

Felt like an über-​underground experience. I attended the Food Truck Meetup here, and it felt like some sort of secret food rave. It was basically an empty warehouse with cement floors. It was raining outside, which built the mystique. I actually kind of felt like I was in the belly of a prison during a rainstorm, sort of like Shawshank Redemption, minus the shit tunnel.
I didn’t see any art, but something about the coolness of an event in an empty warehouse will make you forget about all that.

I was hoping to be able to review an event at Koken vs. the venue, but so be it… Naughti Gras is one of their many premier events. The layout is so primitive and grrr — I love it. It is truly a great venue but is certainly a work in progress.
This year marked our second Naughti Gras experience at Koken. Last year — I believe it was held in a different building or different part as there were multiple rooms and levels — it was like being in a cool yet freaky and fun-​filled maze. However, it was highly congested, drink service took FOREVER, and it was very difficult to watch some of the performances such as Lola Van Ella and her troupe.
This year — the event was held in basically two rooms — one massive room with all the artwork, bars, and main stage and one smaller area that housed the food trucks and secondary stage. I must say it felt much more ‘open’ this year. There was an amazing selection of artwork to view and with plenty of viewing space in my opinion. There seemed to be ample bathrooms as I did not have much of a wait if any at any given point throughout the evening.
The bar service was MUCH better or at least on Saturday evening. There was very little wait at any of the bars. However, the main bar in the center seemed to be lacking in their liquor/​mixer selections. There was a side bar towards the second room (beer & wine only), and that bar was basically wide open most of the night (and the servers were very friendly and entertaining).
My main beef… everything inside with exception to a few vendors and so forth was CASH only yet there were no ATMs anywhere to be found. That was a HUGE miss — esp. if folks came in equipped with plastic vs. paper. I have no idea if there were even any ATMs within a 4 – 5 block radius but sure as sh*t wasn’t going to venture out in the freezing cold to find out. Perhaps the cash only deal was noted somewhere on the event info. but next year… splurge for ATMs — make more moolah.
The rumor on the street was that parking was a disastrous nightmare — I had friends that walked for several blocks in the freezing cold. We arrived approx. 7:30PM and parked right outside the venue… now this could’ve been luck, but I suggest arriving early or even on time. Last year — we arrived maybe 9pm or so and yes… parking was an absolute nightmare.
At any rate — I know Koken does more than Naughti Gras, but this is the one event I am guaranteed to attend every year. We love art and being naughty so works for us. It’s a great experience that I highly recommend attending. BRING CASH! :)

I have never been to the Koken Art Factory — but went this weekend for their Annual Naughi Gras event. What a great space!
There was tons of room, and the art work was hung perfectly to allow large crowds to walk through!
The only complaint I had was it is not setup well acoustically — so any of the live music, people”s voices on the PA system, and so on were bouncing all over the place. Could barely make out anything people were saying!
I think some basic sound treatment would really help with the problem :)
The location is perfect for any large scale event — especially one looking for a more hipster feel ;)

St Louis is one of my favorite cities to spend a weekend in, and cool places like this are a big part of why. I had a friend performing with one of the groups at Naughty Gras, so we stopped by on Friday night. This is a great venue that seems to be just coming into its own. I’m not sure how it is for other events, but for Naughty Gras it was set up with artwork down both sides of the main warehouse space and a stage and bar in the middle of the floor. Having a four sided bar was a great idea (though they should have brought a bigger supply of spiced rum) and I was glad to see Schlafly on tap. The stage was in a good location to be able to see the acts from all over the room. Apparently the bathroom situation was not initially well planned — they were only going to have the two bathrooms that are in the venue. After it quickly became clear that this wouldn’t work, porta-​potties were brought in.
Basically, both the event and the venue seem like they are well on their way to being really, really awesome — right now they are pretty darn good, but it is clear both are young. Key components were looked over that might not be in the next few years — things like the bathroom situation, rum supply, having adequate signage for what all was going on in the space, having a better organized ticket line (though I got my tickets online and picked them up from will-​call with no wait), etc. If in town for this in the upcoming years, I will definitely return, as I think there is huge potential here that will be exciting to watch come to fruition.

I’ve been here a handful of times for various events… notably the notorious «Naughti Gras» event for the past 2 years now. I must say that I liked it better last year. I am not sure why. It was in a different building which seemed to be a bit smaller when you first walk in, but then if you walked down to the basement-​y area (old not-​so-​renovated warehouse buildings) it was a bit larger and had a great stage area for the burlesque show. I think maybe one of the reasons why I didn’t like it as much this year was due to the fact that I was only able to stay for an hour or so and thus missed all of the probably awesome shows on Saturday night. Yeeeah. Lame! :(But I was glad to be able to go at all. I wanted someone to go with me because I HATE that super-​sketchy area surrounding this place and at night, by yourself, it’s kinda creepy not to mention freeze-​ass, nipple-​stiffeningly cold!!! LOL.
But since none of my friends could go with me I managed to bring (drag) Sean who was reluctant to go since these types of events are not really his «scene» per se. (Adult stuff, that is…) Since he had work Saturday night, we could only stay for a little while but it was enough time to view every piece of artwork on the walls, grab a drink, a bite to eat from the food trucks, and check out the stuff for sale. Like I said, I wish I could have stayed for the shows but oh well. Last year, their shows were amazing! The burlesque dancers make me wish I worked out just to be able to perform some of the insanely cool acts and pole-​dancing type stuff they did.
Also it was freezing inside the building. I purposely wore a really crazy, over the top, scandalous dress for the occasion and was miserably cold the entire time. Checking my coat was a mistake, and they told me it would be free but it was actually $ 1. LOLwhut. They then informed me it was because no one tipped the night before so they started to charge for it. Oh. OK.
In general, I didn’t think my experience was worth $ 15. I could have sworn that last year it was only $ 10 to get in, and when I didn’t even have the exact amount, they still let me in anyway because there was no ATM close-​by and I didn’t want to walk in the cold, dark, night by myself back to my car or to the nearest convenience store. At least they were understanding about it.
At any rate!!! I would probably go back again but maybe when it’s warmer outside and I can find a person to go with. I think they will have more events soon so I’ll look out for those. They’re adjacent to Shameless Grounds which is cool although I’ve never really been there. It’s def on my list of places to try for light food/​coffee. I like that the crowds here are pretty cool and open-​minded about their sexuality. That’s awesome and I wish more people were like that. But there can also be some very strange individuals here so you have to be aware of that, haha.

This is a very cool space. I was here for a night called the Carnival of Curiosities and it was curious for sure. Part entertainment, part people watching, part art enjoyment, I am glad I went. The art area is well spaced and filled with a mix of media … photos, paint, metal, fabric … something for everyone here and actually has a painting I have really considered buying … and I never buy art. But that’s art right? When it hits you it hits you and I have nothing on my walls at home. With Shameless Grounds connected to the gallery, you can easily get a coffee or meal to settle your stomach with.
The main entertainment area is a basic warehouse space, fairly rough with a bar at one end and a small stage at the other and couches and other seating on the perimeter of the floor that is in front of the stage. The lighting this night was dark with just enough coming in from the bar end to add a cool vibe to the whole evening. The show itself was very unique and interesting as promised.
I highly recommend anyone attend an event there if they get a chance.

Huge open space! 2 Big bar areas. Non smoking inside, but there are heated tents as you enter where you can smoke. Has a coffee and espresso bar. Has a coat check. Kinda hard to see the stage unless you are standing right in front. The tables are rickety. The bathrooms are a nightmare. But having a blast at Naught GRAS, the erotic art show! The entertainment makes all the little annoyances worthwhile.

I’ve been to Koken numerous times for different art shows. This is a huge warehouse with several rooms in which to display art or hold various events.
It has a very cool atmosphere, if not a bit rough around the edges, with a pretty decent stage on the main floor and a couple of bars.
There is also a basement room with a bar that is really, really dark. I’ve heard a few smaller local acts and found the acoustics to be a bit lacking down there.
Upstairs, there are studios which artists and photographers rent.
There is usually a smoking tent outside for those of you who have to light up.
They’ve recently added on a coffee shop on the Sydney side of the building.
This building is forever a work in progress and we’re very glad we live so close!

Just had a blast at koken. This is my first time here (for the Matthew dear show, which was fantastic btw). I have heard of this place for ages before. Like Abby said it is raw for the lack of a better word, a primitive space inside a large warehouse building in the part of town that is dead after dark. The bar and the dance floors are both basic. Bar is cash only. Drinks were 4 – 6 a piece and my jack and coke was strong!!! It sent me spinning rest of the night… in a good way :)
Since this particular show was 18+ the crowd was very young. I caught glimpse of some boots w rainbow furs, a half naked dude, some hoola hooppers w mad skills and bedazzled hoops, just all over the place randomness you prob wont see at other places in the Lou.
The floor isn’t even so watch your step. There are some comfy looking ottomans over the place. The women’s bathroom doesnt have doors on its stalls, just curtains that remind me of forever 21 fitting rooms.
I had a great time at koken and will return next time a dj I want to see shows up here.

Koken Art Factory is tucked away behind Jefferson and Gravois in Benton Park. It doubles as an artist/​event space. I discovered Koken a few years ago, when the RFT hosted it’s 30^th «Best Of» party there.
The space itself is very large. And raw. It’s an old warehouse and besides the main bar area, has not been renovated. But that’s what makes it an ideal place to host grassroots events. As long as you don’t blow the place up or set it on fire (not sure if it even meets fire code standards), whomever wants to use the space has the freedom to do whatever s/​he wants! The space is sectioned off into different rooms or areas so there could be multiple things going on at the same time. I’ve been there for live art shows, concerts and a mini-​rave.
If you want to get a taste of what one could possibly put on at Koken, I’d recommend hitting the Riff Raff’s Halloween Art Show. They make great use of the space with a «Jack the Ripper» feel to the place. Also, PBR occasionally hosts events there as well and they like to have a variety of entertainment for their patrons.
For the right event, Koken would be a great venue. If you were interested in using the space, then I would suggest going there to see the place first. If you don’t get enough «stuff» or people to fill the place, your event could tank pretty quickly!