Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective presents Peace in the Prairie,
an original performance exploring the concepts of peace and
violence, juxtaposing urban life as experienced by African American
people living in the city of St. Louis, Missouri and the state’s unique
endangered prairie lands.
Is the path towards peace through Missouri’s native prairies?
Saint Louis Story Stitchers
The artistic components for Peace in the Prairie include the creation of music, stories, and video. The work represents a collaborative exploration of the psychological and physical differences involved in a peaceful natural environment and an urban environment where violence is common. The resulting work will be unique to Missouri, generated by local artists reflecting on loss, resilience and rejuvenation in nature and in the human experience.
Story Stitchers Artists in Residence Troy Anthony, KP Dennis, Bobby Norfolk, Ntegrity, and Superhood and contributing artist Susan Colangelo explore the experience of violence affecting black families in St. Louis through organized collaborative learning experiences and sharing, recording some of these stories.
The artists have explored and recorded native prairie landscapes via trips to Missouri prairie reserves including Prairie Day at Shaw Nature Reserve of the Missouri Botanical Garden in Gray Summit, with the Missouri Prairie Foundation at Prairie Star Restoration Farm in Osage County, Prairie State Park in Mindenmines, Missouri in Barton County near Joplin, and Dunn Ranch Prairie of The Nature Conservancy in Hatfield, Missouri. During creative sessions, artists generated an original work that adds to the critical artistic discourse, contributes to the archived experiences of the state’s African American community and archives an endangered natural resource through art.
Peace in the Prairie expands the artistic body of work of African American artists, addresses the community’s need to make sense of violence while seeking peace, supports the exploration of new natural settings by both artists and audiences, and supports the greater understanding of Missouri’s unique natural heritage in its endangered prairie lands.
The project is supported by a grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health. The Foundation is a resource for the region, working with communities and nonprofits to generate and accelerate positive changes in health. As a catalyst for change, the Foundation improves the health of Missourians through a combination of partnership, experience, knowledge, and funding.
The project is supported by Missouri Arts Council, a State Agency.
The project presented with support from Kranzberg Arts Foundation where Saint Louis Story Stitchers is a resident organization.
