Inquiry and Research in Arts-Based Community Development 1

Born in St. Louis, MO and raised in Minneapolis, MN, Tabatha Pate is a patient teacher, loving daughter, doting aunt and imaginative storyteller. Her family has lived in Pagedale, MO for more than 30 years. She is currently working on her A+ Certification in Computer Technology at Ranken Technical College where she maintains President’s List status. She is also a member of Phi Theta Kappa, an honor society recognized for encouraging scholarship among two-year college students.

Tabatha is interested in networks, not only how they apply to computer technology but also how they apply to connections in her neighborhood. She is currently working collaboratively with Rebuild Foundation and Beyond Housing at the The Salerno House. The House, currently named for its place on Salerno Drive in Pagedale, is across the street from Tabatha’s family’s home. The House is a space in conversation with its neighborhood, open as a local hub to explore unique arts-based, community-driven programs. Tabatha is investing her energy into anchoring The House, a space she hopes will reflect a creative network of ideas relevant to life in Pagedale.

Elizabeth Drouant is a visual artist and educator holding a BFA in drawing and painting and a Masters degree in Early Intervention in Deaf Education from Fontbonne University. Beth is an active member in disability awareness programs working in partnership with Deaf Inc., Fontbonne University, and the Special School District of St. Louis to bring equal accesses and unbiased education to the local community.

She has worked as a professional artists focusing on questioning stereotypes and the relationship that is invented with cultural, self reflection, and disabilities for 10 years. She has collaborated with several private and public institutions and local non-profits including, Growing American Youth, Youth in Need, Art Dimensions, and the University of Missouri, in order to increases awareness and visibility on the subjects of Deaf culture and Disenfranchised Art.

Beth is a graduate of the Community Arts Training Institute and currently a fellow of that institute’s graduate education research program [TIGER] at the Regional Arts Commission in St. Louis.

Ed Reggi is a lifelong storyteller who has the stories to prove it.  The Digital Strategist, who also manages the station’s digital storytelling initiative, is responsible for digital engagement at the Nine Network of Public Media, the St. Louis PBS television station affiliate.  Under his leadership, the Nine Academy is helping community members develop 21st century communication skills who learn to share their personal and community’s stories. The Nine Academy began in 2009, as a community engagement mechanism when the Nine Network started filming HOMELAND, a documentary on immigration from America’s heartland.  The idea was to teach the community-at-large how to effectively produce their own digital stories related to immigration.  Meanwhile, Ed’s drive to push the intersection of digital and community producing has led to successful partnerships with CITI, United Way, College Bound, St. Louis County Children’s Services Fund, and America SCORES.  Since 2009, Reggi has lectured frequently on the topics of open source digital storytelling, social media driven strategies for nonprofit organizations, 21st century new media literacy, and how digital storytelling will influence the future of public media.

Before leaving his native Brooklyn, New York to join midwest living, Reggi worked as a professional Emmy award winning actor and director.  Over the past decade, he has managed to create not only a buzz in St. Louis but founded a few local cultural events along the way – these include an Improv Festival, Fringe Festival and 48-Hour Film Challenge.  Prior joining PBS, Ed served as the Director of Theatre and Voice at COCA in University City.

Regina Martinez is interested in the infinite possibilities created by open doors and neutral space. She is connecting with the potential of neighborliness, storytelling and skill sharing – the building of collective efficacy stimulated by arts-based initiatives that are designed collaboratively. She is currently working with Rebuild Foundation as coordinator in residence at the The Salerno House. The House, currently named for its place on Salerno Drive in Pagedale, MO, is a space in conversation with its neighborhood. Rebuild was initially invited to connect with The House and its neighbors in the summer of 2011 by Beyond Housing, a locally based organization working cooperatively with residents to network services determined to strengthen communities. Onward from that invitation, Rebuild Foundation is listening, supporting bridges that connect local creativity and culture with visiting energy, and exploring the value of the House in dialogue with the community. The House is being anchored in partnership with local residents and other organizations and stakeholders as a platform for unique community-driven projects and gatherings.

Martinez received her MSW from the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. She has background experience in photojournalism and is a 2011 Community Arts Training Institute graduate. Martinez is also a board member for the Yeyo Arts collective, a group of artists cultivating arts and cultural experiences in St. Louis, as well as sharing in the foundation of a non-profit community arts space called Gya.

Lois Ingrum the CEO/President of L.D. Ingrum Gallery & Studio Inc (Ingrum Studio)., Ingrum Studio prides itself as one of the leaders in providing comprehensive range of photographic/graphic art, installation of fine art and signage. She has worked in media arts and conducted community arts programs since 1983. Her community arts experience includes work with Ranken Technical College, the Saint Louis Art Museum, the St. Louis Public Schools, North St. Louis Arts Council, COCA interchange, ArtWorks and Support-a-Child International. She has a B.S. in Business Management and is also a respected member of St. Louis’s arts community. In 2001 she became a Fellow of the Community Arts Training Institute (CAT), an intensive program sponsored the Regional Arts Commission (RAC)( she is presently in the TIGER Fellowship). Lois technical skills and artistic accomplishments as a photographer and her deep connections to the St. Louis community and its African-American culture make her a valuable source for the community.  In addition to her busy schedule as a professional photographer and teacher, she has worked as an instructor for The Doll Photography Project since 2008.

 The story behind “The Doll Project”

As a photographer and business owner there have been many occasions where I have been involved in photo projects where students were documenting their community. On more than one instance we would come across a memorial totem shrine.  These shrines were erected as a remembrance of where a child’s life has been cut short. After many of these walks I stopped talking about the shrines with the students and we would just walk pass them. One day I was out shooting and I walked past a newly erected shrine with no thought of the young life that was no longer with us. I stopped to re-think the shrine that represented the life of someone’s child. This could have been a future community leader, or possible the leader of our country being gunned down before any of this could be realized.  At that point I started taking photos of the shrines.

The Doll Project started out as way to document the shrines but it has evolved into conversations with the youth about effective ways to resolve conflict. It also made me realize the importance of using listening skills, because when it comes to effective conflict resolution, how effectively we listen is at least as important as how effectively we express ourselves. It’s vital to understand the other person’s perspective, rather than just our own if we are to come to a resolution. As quoted by my father many years ago, “a closed mouth and open hands can restore peace”. What this meant was, when you listen to the person you’re having conflict with you may find out that you are on the same side of the conflict. Having an open hand may mean a handshake is possible, whereas, with a closed fist it’s improbable.

Margie P. Hollins is a writer and editor who also specializes in International Special Events Marketing and Public Relations.  She has a B.A. and M.U.A. from Saint Louis University.   She has written, produced and directed several documentaries including 2 which were shot in Africa.  Margie Hollins  is a co-editor of  Speaking Our African Minds : A New Poetry Anthology for  Creative Voices of Youth.

As a former Vice-President, and Chairperson of the Executive Board, Margie has been honored as a co-founder by the St. Louis Association of Black Journalists and is a member of the Association of Black  Journalists’ Hall of Fame.  She has also been honored by the City of St Louis government (through Resolution) for her community service and civic involvement as a Public Relations and Marketing expert to numerous non-for-profit/community organizations.  She embraces cultural arts and the media as a forum for influence, and social change.

Margie is committed to raising breast cancer awareness among at-risk African American women on a national level.

Lisa Harper Chang is currently the Community Projects Director at The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, a co-appointment with the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, created to explore how social work and the arts can interact in meaningful ways. Under her leadership, the Pulitzer’s Community Projects Department has collaborated with various St. Louis institutions working in the arts, social services, and community development. Harper Chang developed Staging Old Masters and Staging Reflections of the Buddha, programs designed to use art to build bridges among former prisoners, veterans, and the general public. She graduated from the Community Arts Training Institute in 2010.

Harper Chang received her MSW from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, and a BA in Computational and Applied Mathematics from Rice University in Houston, Texas. She has a background and is experienced in nonprofit development and fundraising in the D.C./Baltimore area. She also has led meditations in the Baltimore City Women’s Detention Center, played a vital role in research at a Missouri Division of Youth Services facility, and coordinated an evaluation project of co-occurring disorder clinics across the state of Missouri. Additionally, she has a strong commitment to social change through policy and has worked with the Alzheimer’s Association’s State Advocacy Director to research, and eventually testified in front of the Missouri State Senate Committee on Health, Mental Health, Seniors, and Families regarding long-term care partnership programs.

Her areas of interest include exploring and evaluating ways how social work when combined with cultural practices can be used to empower and help fulfill the inherent potential in all persons.

Renée Franklin believes that the arts have the power to transcend differences and she gains inspiration from creating points of entry for diverse communities.  As Director of Community Partnerships at the Saint Louis Art Museum, Renee is responsible for building bridges to engage targeted audiences both within the Museum and beyond its walls.  For nearly twenty years, in various Museum positions, she has developed many signature initiatives aimed at expanding Museum audiences and challenging institutional inequities.

Among Renée’s numerous accomplishments, she is currently enrolled in the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis TIGER Program, is a graduate of the CAT Institute and now serves as a faculty member; is a founding member of the National Alliance of African and African Art Support Groups, and serves as Co-President of Missouri – Senegal Sister Cities Committee, which recently received the African Urban Poverty Alleviation Program grant.  Renée is a recipient of the Visionary Award for Outstanding Arts Professional.