Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective presents Peace in the Prairie, an original presentation 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 endangered prairie lands.
Is the path towards peace through Missouri’s native prairies?
2023
Link to the article: https://www.stlpr.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2023-09-29/a-trip-to-the-prairie-connects-young-black-artists-to-nature
Annual Prairie Overnight Trip to Shaw Nature Reserve
June 2, 2023
Story Stitchers went on a Riverboats Cruise at the Gateway Arch!
PAST ACTIVITIES
The film and Peace in the Prairie 2022 were part of a feature article in St. Louis American that has generated additional interest.
For screenings of the film, please contact us at storystitchers@gmail.com.
April 22, 2022
EARTH DAY
World’s Fair Pavilion
Forest Park
Vendors brought information and resources about prairies and native plants, accessing and enjoying the outdoors, and healing from trauma.
Performances and Presentations explored the topics with yoga, presentations, and performances.
Vendors included Cabanne Library, Perennial, Audubon Center at Riverlands, Alive and Well, Missouri Department of Conservation, Powder Valley Nature Center & Tower Grove Park Office, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Power4STL aka The T, Women’s Voices Raised For Social Justice- Lock It For Love, Ars Poetica, CommUNITY Arts, Sierra Club, Missouri Chapter, Audubon Center at Riverlands, Missouri Prairie Foundation, Flora Conservancy of Forest Park, Perennial, and Creative Reaction Lab.
Performances and presentations included Understanding Trauma with Alive and Well, Story Circle with Master Storyteller Bobby Norfolk, Who’s Ready? Music Video Cameos with Troy Anthony, Ars Poetica, with spontaneous poetry, CommUNITY Arts Pop UP performances by MoSTLy Tap, Big Plate Dance + CS Academy, CS Academy Landscapes, and Loukidz.
MAIN EVENT included a Proclamation declaring April 22, 2022 “Peace in the Prairie Day”, signed by Mayor of the City of St. Louis, Tishaura O. Jones, and The Board of Alderman’s Resolution signed by President Lewis Reed, President pf the Boards of Aldermen, both presented by our own Alderwoman Shameem Clark Hubbard from the 26th Ward.
Picnic lunches and dinners prepared by Sugarfire and Story Stitchers presented a 20 minute performance and then, to close out a beautiful day, the film Peace in the Prairie was screened.
Peace in the Prairie is presented with support from Missouri Arts Council, a State Agency, which receives support from the State of Missouri.
Story Stitchers is supported by The Lewis Prize for Music’s 2021 Accelerator Award. The mission of The Lewis Prize is to partner with leaders who create positive change by investing in young people through music.
Additional support for Saint Louis Story Stitchers is provided by the Spirit of St. Louis Women’s Fund, City of St. Louis Youth at Risk Crime Prevention grant of 2021, March For Our Lives Aid & Alliance, Edward Jones Community and Philanthropic Giving, and Kranzberg Arts Foundation.
Saint Louis Story Stitchers is is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. On the web at arts dot gov.
StitchCast Studio Special Edition:
Podcasts in the Park
Recorded Live
Patio outside Kranzberg Education Lab
June 15, 17 and 21
For more details visit: Podcasts in the Park
StitchCast Studio Special Edition: Podcasts in the Park V
Importance of parks and green spaces
Guest: Seth Treptow, Communications & Outreach,
Great Rivers Greenway
Recorded live at Laumeier Sculpture Park, June 15, 2021
StitchCast Studio Special Edition: Podcasts in the Park VI
State of Missouri’s prairies and the work of Missouri Prairie Foundation
Carol Davit, Executive Director
Recorded live at Laumeier Sculpture Park, June 17, 2021
StitchCast Studio Special Edition: Podcasts in the Park VII
Healing Power of Art + Nature
Lauren Ross, Executive Director, Laumeier Sculpture Park
Recorded live at Laumeier Sculpture Park, June 21, 2021
For more details please visit Podcasts in the Park HERE.
Look for StitchCast Studio on major podcast platforms.
Peace in the Prairie is unique to Missouri, generated by local artists and residents reflecting on loss and resilience in the human experience and rejuvenation in nature.
Leading Story Stitchers artists in residence Troy Anthony, KP Dennis, Ntegrity, Quinsonta Boyd, and Master Storyteller Bobby Norfolk, contributing artist Susan Colangelo, and special guest artists, legendary St. Louis soul vocalist, Roland Johnson, and videographer Meghan Kirkwood, Assistant Professor of Art in the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, joined by leading performing artists from Story Stitchers Youth Council, will treat you to a memorable and inspiring journey.
Since 2016, the artists have explored and recorded native prairie landscapes via trips to Missouri prairie reserves including Shaw Nature Reserve of the Missouri Botanical Garden in Gray Summit, with the Missouri Prairie Foundation at at Linden’s Prairie in Mt. Vernon, Missouri and 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.
Peace in the Prairie expands the artistic body of work of African American artists in the Collective, addresses the community need of understanding 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 native prairie lands.
For Missouri citizens, Peace in the Prairie gives voice to citizens suffering from the effects of gun violence, bridging rural and urban cultures. “Gun violence includes homicides, suicides, and accidental shootings resulting in injuries and death. In 2017, Missouri had the fifth-highest firearm death rate in the nation (per capita). The homicide rate in St. Louis continues to be far higher than the national average and roughly double the rate of cities of comparable size and geography. In addition, suicides have increased 36% from 1999 to 2018 in the state (the 19th highest rate in the nation). Firearms account for 61% of suicide deaths in Missouri, making it the leading means of suicide by a wide margin. Gun violence in all its forms leaves lasting scars on communities, affecting overall health and well-being,” explained Jessi LaRose, a Senior Strategist for Initiatives at Missouri Foundation for Health. https://mffh.org/our-focus/gun-violence-prevention/
For Missouri’s prairies, Peace in the Prairie brings exposure and greater awareness of the intrinsic natural beauty of the region, historically and currently, to new audiences. According to the Missouri Prairie Foundation, a tall grass prairie is an ecosystem dominated by grasses, with some non-woody, flowering herbaceous plants in the mix, and 10 percent or less of tree cover. “More than one-third of Missouri was prairie once upon a time,” says Doug Ladd, director of conservation science for the Missouri Nature Conservancy. “Fifty percent of St. Louis city and county was prairie, managed largely by Native Americans.” Less than one half of 1 percent of the original tall grass prairies remain in Missouri, making them one of the most endangered habitats in the world” (‘Restoring the prairie, Missouri’s endangered habitat’, by Hilary Davidson from St. Louis Public Radio, 2013).
Peace in the Prairie
Videography
Susan Colangelo, Troy Anthony, Superhood, Meghan Kirkwood, Quinsonta Boyd
Audio Engineering
Ntegrity, Chris Pendleton, Superhood
Poetic Interludes
K.P. Dennis
Storytelling
Fireside Chat — Bobby Norfolk, Master Storyteller
Music
Featuring KP Dennis
with Stitchers Youth Council members Branden, She’Kinah, AnnaLise, and Emeara
Available on iTunes, apple music, and spotify and major music platforms.
Dance
Rich Gzelka
Recorded and produced by Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective for Peace in the Prairie 2020. Copyright Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective. All rights reserved.
Missouri Waltz
Featuring Roland Johnson, St. Louis soul and funk legendary vocalist
Missouri Waltz was first published in 1914 and adopted by adopted by the Missouri General Assembly as the on June 30, 1949 as the official Missouri State Song
Lyrics revised by Susan Colangelo, 2019
Recorded and produced by Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective for Peace in the Prairie 2020. Copyright Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective. All rights reserved.
Featuring KP Dennis, Ntegrity and Troy Anthony
Video Editing by Superhood, Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artist in Residence
Filming by Artist in Residence Troy Anthony, Contributing Artist Susan Colangelo, and members of the Stitchers Youth Council
Available on SPOTIFY, iTunes, Apple Music
Recorded and produced by Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective for Peace in the Prairie 2019. Copyright Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective. All rights reserved.
America the Beautiful
Featuring Roland Johnson, St. Louis soul and funk legendary vocalist
with Stitchers Youth Council members Branden, Jawaad, Rachel, and Emeara
Lyrics Katharine Lee Bates, 1895
Music Samuel A. Ward, 1883
Audio Engineering by Demil Johnson aka Superhood
Mastered by Preston Jones at Sawhorse Studio, St. Louis, Missouri
Video Meghan Kirkwood
Video Editing Susan Colangelo
Filmed with permission at Missouri Botanical Garden’s Shaw Nature Reserve, Gray Summit, Missouri during Saint Louis Story Stitchers 4th Annual Prairie Trip in 2019.
Recorded and produced by Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective for Peace in the Prairie 2020
Bios
Troy Anthony joined Story Stitchers as an Artist in Residence in 2018. Anthony started plays classical and bass guitar. He joined the Army at the age of 17 where he has achieved the rank of Sargent First Class and is currently retired from the 1st Infantry Division Band. He support Story Stitchers as both a visual artist and musician. He currently resides in East Saint Louis, Illinois and maintains a photography studio in St. Louis, Missouri.
Emeara Burns, serves as the Steward Family Foundation Program Director at Story Stitchers Stitchers since 2019. Burns is a performing artist, poet and songwriter. She is a graduate of Central Visual and Performing Arts High School and is a featured leading youth artist at Story Stitchers since 2015, performing original work created at the Stitchers Storefront Studio at Washington University, Harris Stowe University, Annie B Casey National Conference at Union Station, Sheldon Concert Hall, .ZACK Theater, and 60 other venues throughout the city of St. Louis. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri.
Susan Colangelo, the Story Stitchers President & CEO, MFA, LSU ‘83, is the founding president of the Saint Louis Story Stitchers Stitchers Artists Collective and currently serves as president and CEO. Susan brings 30+ years of social justice arts practice experience and work with six school districts as an artist and consultant to the organization. Specializing in large scale community-school-university programs, she developed WOW! World of Wonder for West Virginia University, bringing the arts to 20,000 school children, and coordinated the first contemporary African music and dance concert at the University of Georgia. Susan is an advocate of literacy and a proponent of reading aloud to the young. She brings creative work in photography and videography to the project as a contributing artist (pro-bono). Colangelo lives in St. Louis, Missouri.
K.P. Dennis, Story Stitchers Artist in Residence and co-founder, and serves as the lead rap artist. He is the multi-talented director of Save Our Sons, Urban League of St. Louis, with over 22 years of professional music recording and performance experience and 7 years as a teaching artist. Dennis has a background as a professional touring rap and recording artist. “Mr. K.P. (Killa Poet)” was the lead artist in the group Out of Order in the 1990’s, has served as an educator for the Missouri History Museum. Dennis has received awards including the United States Congressional Award Bronze Medal and the Outstanding American Youth Foundation Award. Dennis lives in St. Louis. Missouri.
Superhood is an audio engineer, photographer and videographer with over 25 years of experience in the hip hop world. Super was the editor of the Who’s Ready? music video
produced by Story Stitchers in 2018 and was audio engineer for the Pick the City UP song, produced by Story Stitchers in 2016. He edited To The Prairie music video in 2019 for Peace in the Prairie. He is based in Atlanta, St. Louis and Chicago.
Roland Johnson is— “One of the smoothest voices you’ll ever hear. A seasoned treasure of the rich soil of the Saint Louis Rhythm & Blues scene.”
Drawing inspiration from the 1960’s reminiscent of Otis Redding & James Brown, Roland Johnson turns out Ballads to Booty Shakers and everything in between with an authenticity that captivates profoundly. Roland joined Story Stitchers in 2019 as a featured Guest Artist for Peace in the Prairie.
Meghan Kirkwood Assistant professor, Kirkwood earned a BA from Grinnell College and a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design before completing her MFA in Studio Art at Tulane University. She has received numerous fellowships, including funding to participate in artist residencies through the National Park Service, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Lakeside Lab (Iowa). Kirkwood’s photography has been exhibited throughout the United States, as well as in Europe and South Africa.
Branden Lewis, Stitchers Youth Council leader, is leading performing artist, poet and songwriter. Lewis is a graduate of Central Visual and Performing Arts High School and is a featured leading youth artist at Story Stitchers since 2017, creating and performing original work created at the Stitchers Storefront Studio at Washington University, Harris Stowe University, Annie B Casey National Conference at Union Station, ZACK Theater, and 50 other venues throughout the city of St. Louis. He lives and works in St. Louis, Missouri.
Ntegrity joined Story Stitchers as an Artist in Residence and part-time employee in 2018, lives in St. Louis. Missouri and is committed to the project. Ntegrity is a recording artist, songwriter, producer. Ntegrity has been professionally recording, engineering and producing for over twelve years. In December 2015 Ntegrity graduated from Extreme Institute as valedictorian with a degree in Recording Engineering, and Production with management & Avid Pro Tools 110 certified. He released his album, View from the Inside Out, in November, 2018 at Harris Stowe University. He lives in St. Louis, Missouri.
Bobby Norfolk, Story Stitchers guest artist since 2017, three-time Emmy award winner and master storyteller; lives in St. Louis. Missouri and is committed to the project. In 1979, Bobby made his first appearance as a storyteller at the St. Louis Storytelling Festival. In television, Bobby won three Emmy awards as the host of the CBS TV show “Gator Tales”. Bobby was given the national Circle of Excellence Oracle Award, an honor presented by the National Storytelling Network, which recognizes the very best storytellers in the nation. Bobby has won the prestigious Parents Choice Gold Award. He has co-authored eight children’s books. He serves on the St. Louis Storytelling Festival Advisory Council and is a featured artist in festivals word-wide. He lives in St. Louis, Missouri and joined Story Stitchers as an Artist in Residence in 2017.
Acknowledgements
Story Stitchers would like to express our sincere thanks to the many friends and contributors who care deeply about Missouri’s people, the state’s endangered prairies, and the arts. Thank you for sharing your stories and memories, your knowledge and opinions, the parks and lands under your care, and your support and friendship. We look forward to continuing our work together and with new friends and supporters in the coming years. To get involved please email us storystitchers@gmail.com.
Thank you to Carol Davit, Executive Director of Missouri Prairie Foundation. The Foundation protects and restores prairie and other native grassland communities through acquisition, management, education, and research. Thank you to James Faupel, restoration ecologist at the Litzinger Road Ecology Center, a division of the Missouri Botanical Garden, who is always teaching us new wonders of the prairie. He has been working with Missouri native plants for over 14 years and greatly appreciates their ecological importance. Of all the native plant habitats, James appreciates the value of the prairies of Missouri most.
Thank you to the park rangers at our local parks, Missouri State Parks, and Gateway Arch National Park, for sharing your knowledge of the land with us.
Bookings for gallery exhibitions or lectures with screenings are available.
Prison and juvenile detention program managers are encouraged to reach out.
Please contact us to inquire.
About Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective
The Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective is a non-profit organization engaged in urban storytelling. The mission of Saint Louis Story Stitchers is to document St. Louis through art and word to promote understanding, civic pride, intergenerational relationships and literacy.
Collective artists work alongside twenty 16-24-year-old urban youth to collect stories, reframe and retell them using the arts to promote a better educated, more peaceful and caring society. Saint Louis Story Stitchers are a resident organization at Kranzberg Arts Foundation where members rehearse, present and perform in the Foundation’s first-class spaces. The Collective also maintains the Stitchers Storefront Studio in the historic Loop District for recording, editing and publishing. Current projects focus on public health issues including gun violence.
