“Trusted Messengers” exhibit showcases diverse and innovative works of art created to promote confidence in COVID-19 vaccines
(St. Louis, MO) — Through a unique partnership between public health and the arts, Saint Louis-BASED Saint Louis Story Stitchers was one of 30 arts and culture organizations that received support from the CDC Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts to develop works of art to educate the public and inspire confidence in COVID-19 vaccines. The participating organizations used their chosen art forms to translate public health information about the safety and importance of immunizations into an accessible, memorable and diverse body of work. An exhibit at the David J. Sencer CDC Museum in Atlanta, GA entitled Trusted Messengers: Building Confidence in COVID-19 Vaccines Through Art is now showcasing original pieces from six of these organizations, including Saint Louis Story Stitchers.
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“Story Stitchers artists were honored to be selected for this exhibition and pleased to see the work continue to be useful to public audiences. In St. Louis, our project generated bus kings, bus shelter posters, billboards, social media and radio ads, reaching 70 million people in the spring of 2022. The project was created by a collaborative group of youth and adult artists who generated work around the concept of worthiness and caring for one another in a campaign called, “I GOTCHU,” said Susan Colangelo, executive director of Saint Louis Story Stitchers. “Through a partnership with St. Louis Public Libraries and St. Louis County Libraries, Story Stitchers held multiple “Story Circles” that featured live performances and public discussions with health care providers about Covid and the vaccines. Visitors to the museum exhibition will see examples of a marketing of the Story Circles, a bus king, video ads used on social media, and posters from bus shelters.”
For more information on Saint Louis Story Stitchers’ project, visit the project page: website.
“Our talented partner organizations have created meaningful, innovative projects that engaged and informed community members,” said Catherine Zilber, MSc, vice president for infectious disease programs at the CDC Foundation. “This new exhibit features impressive art and uplifting messaging that demonstrates the crucial role the arts can play in communicating about important public health issues.”
Trusted Messengers: Building Confidence in COVID-19 Vaccines Through Art exhibit will run through March 2023 and also features work from Studio Two Three in Richmond, VA; West Michigan Center for Arts + Technology in Grand Rapids, MI; Vermillion Cultural Association and Creative Care in Vermillion, SD; Community Music School of Springfield and the Springfield Cultural Partnership in Springfield, MA; and the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL.
For more information about the exhibit or the David J. Sencer CDC Museum, please visit their website.
The CDC Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization created by Congress to help the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) save and improve lives by unleashing the power of collaboration between CDC, philanthropies, corporations, organizations and individuals to protect the health, safety and security of America and the world.
Funding for this effort is made possible through a subaward from the CDC Foundation and is part of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) financial assistance award totaling $2,500,000.00 with 100 percent funding from CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CDC/HHS or the U.S. Government.
About Saint Louis Story Stitchers:
Saint Louis Story Stitchers is a nationally recognized Artists Collective known for high quality art and innovative youth violence prevention programs.
The 501(c)(3) organization is located in the City of St. Louis, Missouri. Our mission is to document Saint Louis through art and word to promote understanding, civic pride, intergenerational relationships, and literacy.
Artists work alongside 16–24-year-old underrepresented youth who are 98% Black and living in underserved areas of the St. Louis region to collect stories, reframe and retell them using the arts and storytelling to promote a better educated, more peaceful and caring society.
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.
Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective Website: https://storystitchers.org/
Link to Stitchers Youth Council Application: https://storystitchers.org/stitchcast-studio-podcaster-page/
On social media (twitter, tiktok, instagram) @storystitchers
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