Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective
Artists in Residence at Kranzberg Arts Center
A 501c3 Non-Profit Organization
We erase real and perceived divisions through cultural exploration and arts practice — by stitching together our city.
The vision of the Saint Louis Story Stitchers is that all teens in Saint Louis will be engaged in the city’s diverse artistic community.
The purpose is to document St. Louis through art and word to promote understanding, civic pride, intergenerational relationships, and literacy.
Collective members create and sell original videos and publications focused on the stories of the people of St. Louis. A social enterprise based on publishing supports our mission.
We produce artworks, projects, publications and public forums that make visible the spirit and experiences of the people.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Susan Colangelo, President
Artist & Adjunct Faculty, Washington University
Waheed Abduhl Muhaimin,Vice President and Treasurer
Co-Owner, Wholistic Wellness and Fitness
Katherine Story, Secretary
Washington University Student, Latin Studies
Dr. Ebony Carter
Clinical Fellow, Washington University/BJC
Ellen Boyne
Manager, CAIT, Washington University
Gail Rock
Special School District Teacher, University City High School
Chris Hansen
Director, Kranzberg Arts Center
Dr. Devora Tulcensky
Psychologist
Mary McGinley
Campus Book Manager, Campus Store, Washington University
ARTISTIC DIRECTORS:
Jamie KP Dennis, Urban Music Program
Jarmel Reece, Videography and Video Commissions
HISTORY:
Founded at Northside Workshop in August, 2013 by the following founding Collective members:
Denise Ward Brown is an accomplished and highly acclaimed video documentarian. Ward-Brown edited “The Inheritance” which was screened at the St. Louis Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts: Dreamscapes Competition & Screening and received Best Experimental Film Award at the 2012 Female Eye Film Festival, Toronto, Canada and won the Best Use Of Color at the 20th Stella Artois St. Louis International Film Festival. Her latest video documentary “Jim Crow to Barack Obama (JC2BO)” received the Best Runner-Up Documentary Award at the 2013 San Francisco Black Film Festival and the Best Feature Length Film Award at the 2013 St Louis Filmmakers’ Showcase. At the 2013 St Louis International Film Festival, “JC2BO” opened for the ‘Human Rights Sidebar’, which focused on human-rights issues in the U.S. and the world. “JC2BO” also was an Official Selection at the 2013 St Louis Black Film Festival. Denise is an Associate Professor at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, Washington University in St. Louis since 1991. Currently she is Board member of St. Louis Chapter of the Media Communications Association – International.
Juan William Chavez is an artist and cultural activist explores the potential of space through creative initiatives that address community and cultural issues. His studio practice incorporates unconventional forms of beekeeping, agriculture, and architectural interventions that utilize art as a way of researching, developing and implementing creative placemaking projects. Since 2010, Chávez has focused on socially-engaged projects and collaborations in North Saint Louis. His projects include the Pruitt-Igoe Bee Sanctuary, BEEHIVE: Food Incubator and Northside Workshop.
He has received awards and grants from Creative Capital and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Juan is Founder and Director NorthSide Workshop, a non-profit art space dedicated to addressing cultural and community issues in North Saint Louis.
Susan Colangelo is a project artist who works in a variety of media including photography and stitching. Through her work with public schools she has led arts-based workshops focused on cultural awareness, inclusiveness, respect and literacy. She specializes in large community-school-university projects such as A Flag for Athens, ASAFO! Flying King’s Colors and AZA! A Celebration of Contemporary African Music and Dance at The University of Georgia, that use the arts to connect and build understanding between various groups of people in new ways. Her most recent projects include The Why of Tillie’s Corner and The Saint Louis Storybook Photo Booth. Susan is a lecturer at Washington University in St. Louis, a Nine Network Community Producer and serves on the boards of Women and the Kemper at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, The Woman’s Club of Washington University, and Volunteer Committees of Art Museums of the U.S. and Canada.
http://szcola113.wix.com/susan-colangelo
Jamie “Mr. K.P.” Dennis is a teaching artist and freelance musician. He has a background as a professional touring RAP and recording artist. KP was the lead artist in the group Out of Order in the 1990’s, has served as a freelance artist and educator for the Missouri History Museum, and the Mathews-Dickey Boys’ & Girls’ Club in St. Louis. KP is founder and CEO of Lead Works Productions which creates, records and produces original songs, including the well-known CD Rappin’ History. His Urban Music Program enables inner city youth through moral, cultural, music, and literacy education. Currently housed at Rebuild Foundation in Hyde Park, the program provides a productive, friendly, and artistic safe haven for middle and high school at-risk youth. KP has received numerous awards including the United States Congressional Award Bronze Medal, the Outstanding American Youth Foundation Award and the 2005 “Silver Telly” Award for his Baseball in the USA performance on the Higher Education Channel.
http://www.leadworkproductions.com/
Marilee Keys has created a body of work that includes site-specific installations and intimate studio works. Her art evolves from her immediate environment – recycling common materials. Marilee grew up in Idaho and has lived in LA, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Auburn, AL and St. Louis MO. Recent exhibitions include 1708 Gallery, Richmond, VA; Jule Collins Smith Museum of Art, Auburn, AL; Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta, GA; Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL; The Brogan Museum of Art and Science, Tallahassee, FL; Alabama State Council on the Arts, Montgomery, AL; and Space 301 / centre for the living arts, Mobile, AL.
Her work has been featured in many publications including New Art Examiner, Art Papers,Architectural Record, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In 2004 she received an Individual Artist Fellowship Grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts. Keys lives and works in St. Louis, Missouri.
marileekeys.com
Kiersten Torrez is an arts organizer focused on innovative sustainable practices. She has aided in developing community-based projects such as Beautification of Vacant Space, the Pruitt-Igoe Bee Sanctuary and Team Cookbook (creative workshops designed to community build through the sharing of recipes and stories in Old North Saint Louis). Torrez is currently planning a Year of Listening, a series of socially engaged events focused on co–generating programs to address the physical and social dimensions of the Old North Saint Louis neighborhood. Kiersten is Director of Programming & Sustainability at NorthSide Workshop, a non-profit art space dedicated to addressing cultural and community issues in North Saint Louis. NSW programming focuses on incorporating socially engaged art and education with the goal of fostering social progress.
Sylvia A. Wright & John A. Wright, Sr. are retired educators and long-time residents of Missouri. Assisted by Sylvia, John is the author of fifteen books, twelve on local history. Discovering African American St. Louis: A Guide to Historical Sites, by John, was voted best paperback in St. Louis by the St. Louis Post Dispatch. John has received numerous awards including the St. Louis Book Award by the St. Louis County Historical Society; Historian of the Year by the St. Louis Argus in 2005; Missouri Pioneer in Education by the Missouri Department of Elementary & Secondary Education in 2010; National Award in Public Communication Category by Freedom Foundation in 2004 and Life-time Achievement Award by the St. Louis American Foundation in 2006. Sylvia serves on the board of Women and the Kemper at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum. John and Sylvia’s most recent book is Extraordinary Black Missourians: Pioneers, Leaders, Performers, Athletes, & Other Notables Who’ve Made History, published in 2013 by Reedy Press.