“One Love,” created by community members and teens from the Ferguson Youth Initiative under the direction of lead artist Annie Martineau, will go on display at Gallery 210 this Saturday on UMSL’s North Campus. (Photo courtesy of the Ferguson Youth Initiative)
Along with sparking a national movement two years ago, Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, Missouri, led to much local response among members of the St. Louis community. For some, that involved paintbrushes.
“Stay Strong Ferguson Tree” by Darcy Edwin
The work of a wide variety of amateur and professional artists soon appeared on boarded-up storefronts in Ferguson and in the South Grand neighborhood, transforming broken windows into striking works of art during the fall of 2014.
A few of those colorful, large murals are now headed to the University of Missouri–St. Louis campus as part of the collaborative community exhibition “Outside In: Paint for Peace.” The first will be installed Aug. 27 as part of Gallery 210’s 45th anniversary celebration.
Titled “One Love,” the 8-foot-by-20-foot mural will be unveiled Saturday just outside of Gallery 210, coinciding with the opening of the gallery’s “Exposure: 10 Years” exhibition the same day. It will remain on display on campus through early December.
“Only Light and Love Can” by Veronica Delgado, Heidi Lung, Emmet Pey, Dominique Begnaud and Onnie Harrison
Community members and teens from the Ferguson Youth Initiative painted “One Love” under the direction of lead artist Annie Martineau.
In September, leading up to and during the U.S. premiere of “Miriam Makeba: Mama Africa the Musical,” two more Ferguson murals will be on display at UMSL. From Sept. 6 to 19, visitors to the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center will be able to view “Stay Strong Ferguson Tree” and “Only Light and Love Can,” both originally created along roadways in Ferguson.
“Outside In: Paint for Peace” is a partnership of COCA, the Center for Creative Arts, in collaboration with UMSL, the Ferguson Youth Initiative, Missouri History Museum, the Vaughn Cultural Center, Sheldon Art Galleries and Carol Swartout Klein, author of the children’s book “Painting for Peace in Ferguson.”
UMSL’s own Jackie Lewis-Harris, a cultural anthropologist, is curator of the community-driven exhibition.
