PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective is a nationally recognized artists collective known for high quality art and innovative youth violence prevention programs.Mission: To document Saint Louis through art and word to promote understanding, civic pride, intergenerational relationships and literacy.Goal: To promote a better educated, more peaceful and caring region through storytelling.History: Once upon a time there was a stitcher who liked to embroider stories from the newspaper. One day she was stitching about two sisters who were shot on their porch in University City. One sister died. Two brothers were arrested for the crime. The stitcher reflected on the power of stitching throughout history, of the Aids quilt and quilts on the Underground Railroad. She determined to join with others to create change. In August 2013 eight artists gathered in Old North St. Louis and founded the Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective - to make change. Today the organization is a 501(c)(3) registered in the State of Missouri. Susan Colangelo, a social justice artist, has served as founding president and executive director from 2013-present (2021).The Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective is artists and minority youth ages 16-24, working together to create social change with a focus on gun violence prevention. Stitchers collect stories, reframe and retell them through art, writing and performance to promote understanding, civic pride, intergenerational relationships and literacy. Projects create a platform for community engagement through an artistic lens and with it the Saint Louis Story Stitchers work to shift perceptions and realities and bring hope to the Saint Louis community.Saint Louis Story Stitchers current focus is aimed at addressing pressing public health issues including gun violence through contemporary storytelling. Projects create a platform for community engagement through an artistic lens and with it the Saint Louis Story Stitchers work to shift perceptions and realities and bring hope to the Saint Louis community.We erase real and perceived divisions through cultural exploration and arts practice - by stitching together our city.The work captures a very important piece of Black history and archives it through printed word, performances, art and recordings while training the next generation to become actively engaged citizens. Programs bring positive messages on education, conflict resolution, and public health issues faced by American teenage youth and have the potential to be a force multiplier, rippling into families, schools and neighborhoods offering solutions to common urban problems. Story Stitchers is nearing a tipping point towards systems change for teens and young adults to have a safe center to learn skills, meet, create, and move safely into productive adulthood.Through its unique program focused on excellence in the arts, youth leadership, and outreach through community service, Story Stitchers is building a program that also effectively represents evidence-based practices in youth violence prevention.Story Stitchers activities build and strengthen youth leadership, peer-to-peer education, adult-youth mentoring, youth resiliency and pro-social behaviors such as civic responsibility.
If you're searching for a way to ignite productive and meaningful discussion and dialogue about gun violence, race, and social justice among teens, this is a treasure trove! The opening transcription of a community discussion between police, government, teens and parents provides a deep dive into the multiple perspectives and concerns that inform the play, and also serves as a template for conducting similar conversations in other communities. The play script, which comes from the powerful and authentic voices and stories of the people of Saint Louis, speaks directly to urban youth in their own language, probing their own experiences, responses and questions. This material lays a strong foundation for exploring a difficult and emotional topic with respect and love. -- Not Another One Reviewed by Sherry Norfolk, Kennedy Center National Teaching Artist, Author, Storyteller
