A ST. LOUIS
COMMUNITY ERASED
BUT FORGOTTEN
NO MORE
The Brickline Greenway and the work of STLMade Artist Damon Davis will drive discussion around St. Louis’ past, while building a more connected, inclusive future.
CONNECTING THE CITY THROUGH
ART, GREEN SPACE
& GATHERING PLACES
Our district will be artfully integrated into the fabric of the Downtown West neighborhood. We will bring vitality and drive inspiration through inspiring architecture and public spaces, and through creative uses of infrastructure and technology.
While our stadium district is still in development, ultimately it will be home to a diverse selection of restaurants, bars, living spaces and family experiences.
The work of East St. Louis resident and nationally-acclaimed artist Damon Davis will honor the predominantly Black neighborhood whose residents were displaced during the city’s demolition of the Midtown area in the late 1950s. The Brickline Greenway and artwork will be a pivotal part of the new Centene Stadium and district when it opens in 2023.
The once-vibrant Mill Creek Valley neighborhood was home to 20,000 residents, 800+ businesses and 40+ houses of worship before city officials declared the 450 acres would be fully demolished in the name of “urban renewal”. “I’m designing a series of pedestals and portals to represent hourglasses that hold time (represented by soil) still, displayed at the top,” explains Davis. “Just like the soil, we can excavate the stories of these people and put them on literal pedestals for the whole world to see, acknowledge and start a conversation about their stories.”
ABOUT OUR PARTNERS
Great Rivers Greenway has spearheaded this collaborative effort to elevate the Mill Creek Valley story through Davis’ art, but support for the project has come from a variety of organizations dedicated to St. Louis’ continued growth and revitalization, including:
DAMON DAVIS
Damon Davis is an award-winning post-disciplinary artist who works and resides in St. Louis. Spanning across illustration, painting, printmaking, music, film, and public art, Davis has work in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and has exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora Arts (MoCADA) in Brooklyn and the San Diego Contemporary Museum of Art. He is also a 2015 Firelight Media Producers Lab Fellow, a 2016 Sundance Institute Music and Sound Design Lab Fellow at Skywalker Sound, a TED Fellow (2017), and a Root100 Honoree (2017).
The Brickline Greenway’s mission is to “transform St. Louis by connecting people and St. Louis’ most treasured places, creating inspiring experiences and equitable opportunities for growth.” More than just a free, accessible trail where people can exercise, commute or explore, the project’s goals include thinking about equitable economic opportunities for everyone to thrive.
Harris-Stowe State University (HSSU) is a fully accredited four-year institution that offers 31 majors, minors and certificate programs in education, business and arts & sciences. In 2014, HSSU ranked No. 1 in the state of Missouri and No. 47 in the nation in granting degrees in mathematics and statistics to African Americans. The university, which has origins dating back to 1857, offers the most affordable bachelor’s degree in the state of Missouri.
Counterpublic aims to be a beacon of creative thinking and community engagement—an inclusive art platform that expands social, political, and civic horizons. Working in public places, cultural institutions, historic houses, and community gathering spaces, this civic exhibition commissions dozens of artists, collectives, and community organizers to make and present works in St. Louis that engage historical legacies and imagine new futures. The three-month festival also includes active education, research, residencies, performances, publications, public projects, and commissions.
