The St. Louis Arts Chamber’s art parks project has been awarded a stipend for projects addressing social cohesion.
The St. Louis Arts Chamber’s STL ArtParks project has been selected for a $1000 stipend award from the WE-Making Story Repository. The WE-Making program is an initiative of the University of Florida Center For Arts and Medicine. This grant was funded with support from the Kresge Foundation. In addition to the grant, the STL ArtParks project will be featured as a case study in the Arts and Creative Placemaking (WE-Making) Repository to facilitate field-wide learning about how to use the arts to address COVID-19 recovery and racial justice efforts in America.
The STL ArtParks project is transforming vacant lots in the neighborhoods north of Delmar Boulevard into art parks and community spaces. By using the arts to address vacancy, STL ArtParks is improving property values, reducing crime, and increasing neighborhood pride. The Arts Chamber’s pilot park on 5902 Clemens includes a native flower garden housing sculptures created by apprentices from St. Louis ArtWorks, a walking path decorated with a mural, and an open space for farmer’s markets and other community events. Partners and collaborators included Violence Prevention Convention, Forest ReLeaf, Brightside St. Louis, the West End CID, and Pocket Parks.
The Center for Arts in Medicine is housed in the College of the Arts at the University of Florida, in Gainesville, Florida. The College of the Arts fosters creative activity, scholarly and artistic excellence, and innovation across disciplines. They achieve the university’s mission by training professionals and educating students as artists and scholars while developing their critical thinking and inspiring a culture of curiousity and imagination. Established in the College of the Arts in 1996, the Center. Provides a framework for interdisciplinary collaboration among faculty and students, healthcare providers, clinical artists, and local and global communities. The Center develops and affects interdisciplinary research studies and educational curricula on all levels and serves as a national model for arts in health research, education, and training. The Center for Arts in Medicine is committed to advancing research, education, and practice in health, locally and globally. The Center for the Arts in Medicine believes that arts, culture, and health are integral partners in the realization of healthier, more equitable lives of all people.