Cherokee / Benton Park West
CHEROKEE/BENTON PARK WEST
Training: April 26 - September 24, 2008; Community Art and Media Project; Lyndsey Scott, Instructor
Exhibition SITE #1: PPRC Photography Project Gallery
September 16 - October 26, 2008
Exhibition SITE #2: Cherokee Small Business Incubator and Cherokee Street Storefronts;
October 25, 2008 - January 10, 2009
Websites: cherokeestreetnews.org and www.stlcamp.org
Cherokee Street is a dynamic, patchwork quilt of restaurants, boutiques, corner-stores, barbershops, addicts, artists, suits, old timers, and newcomers. It is a palpably unique microcosm: per square block it is as diverse as St. Louis gets. A strong Latino business presence exists on the street, alongside a growing number of art galleries. Behind the storefronts, single-family homes and apartment complexes form a major African-American community. Yet the rich history and the joyful potential for new development juxtaposed with the pain of still-pervasive crime and poverty creates a persistent question: How does neighborhood revitalization reach past surface rehabilitation and into true solutions for a whole community? For five years, the Incarnate Word Foundation has supported deeper health and sustainable growth of the Cherokee Street and Benton Park West neighborhoods. Beyond simple economic success, the positive leadership of the Cherokee Station Business Association is drawing new business owners concerned with creating a safe and vibrant locale. As an artist who works here, I talk to strangers and go to meetings. I introduce and translate. I wonder out loud how to employ creative means to redistribute resources. What constitutes "wise investment?" Is it security cameras or putting digital cameras into the hands of the kids who walk these streets? Once again the Incarnate Word Foundation.s support of a Photography Project gave feet to this question.
Involving as many youth, residents, and business owners as possible in the Project accurately reflected the struggles of the current neighborhood. Because we hoped to promote communication between the cultures present, as well as between business owners and neighborhood youth, the Cherokee Street and Benton Park West Neighborhood Photography Project became a multi-tiered experiment on how photography can bridge the gaps that exist between these dynamic communities. I reached out to two local teachers, Avis Turner of the Cherokee Recreation Center and Judy Gregorc of Roosevelt High School. With their support, we connected neighborhood youth and Roosevelt High School art students ranging in age from 8 to 18 years in a Saturday morning class at the Community Art and Media Project (CAMP) on Cherokee Street. Taking quick notes on French photographer Cartier-Bresson's philosophy of capturing a "decisive moment," we hit the streets to learn through action. As students examined their surroundings with new attention and precision, alleys became treasures, broken windows told a story, and business displays exhibited interesting patterns. We explored the neighborhood's annual Cinco de Mayo festival, abundant community gardens, and the Antique Row History Fair. We also invited local businesses and neighborhood residents to photograph their own lives from their own perspective. The results, seen in the exhibition, were also uploaded to a website and local blog -- a first for the PPRC Photography Project. Due to the good relations we had created with business owners, the exhibition spilled out of the Cherokee Small Business Incubator and into storefronts up and down the street.
--Lyndsey Scott, Artist and Photography Project Instructor
Note: French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004) traveled the world in search of the "decisive moment," that single instant when a photographer can either capture or lose an enduring image.
PARTICIPANTS:
Youth: ages 8-18 (Some lack last names to protect privacy)
Alexis
Jamesha Bankhead
Amelia Burns
Andre Davis
Lucinda Beatriz
Peanut Beatriz
LaTasha Brown
Linda Chatman
LaShaye Henderson
Reggie Hudson Jr.
Kyasha
Aimee Leachman
Marlasia
Najawah
Shirley Petty
Stephen Ross
Tinkerbell
Vergie
Ashley WilliamsJayla Williams
Jermaine Williams
Sierra Wysinger
Teaching Support:
Judy Gregorc, Roosevelt High School
Avis Turner, Cherokee Recreation Center
Businesses:
Liberty Wireless
Black Bear Bakery
Kurtis Kuts
African Bazaar
JJ.s Fashions
Globe Drug
El Chico Bakery
COMMUNITY PARTNERS:
Incarnate Word Foundation
Cherokee Small Business Incubator
Cherokee Station Business Association
Community Arts & Media Project (CAMP)
Cherokee Recreation Center
Roosevelt High School