Socially Engaged Art and Revitalization
Day 2 / Apr, 13 @ 1:30 pm
Lower Level : Room A
Sean Thomas and Juan William Chávez will discuss their collaboration transforming a historic brick building into an art space that is dedicated to cultural and community issues in North Saint Louis. This conversation will focus on the benefits and challenges of incorporating socially engaged art and revitalization with a shared goal to aid in the redevelopment of a community.
Sean Thomas, Executive Director of the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group
Juan William Chávez, artist, cultural activist and founder of the Northside Workshop
Speaker(s):
Sean Thomas
St. Louis, Missouri
Sean Thomasis the Executive Director of Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, a neighborhood-based, not-for-profit community development corporation with a mission to revitalize the physical & social dimensions of the Old North St. Louis neighborhood in a manner that respects the community’s historic, cultural, and urban character. Prior to accepting his current position at ONSLRG in 2003, Sean had worked for the St. Louis Association of Community Organizations (SLACO) for 11 years – five as a community organizer and six as Deputy Director. Sean also has worked as a community organizer in Detroit, Michigan, and Community Initiatives Coordinator for East-West Gateway Coordinating Council (now called East-West Gateway Council of Governments).
Sean earned a Master of Arts in Public Administration from St. Louis University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Sean is the founding board president of Old North Grocery Co-op and also serves on the MPA (Masters of Public Administration) Advisory Board at St. Louis University and the Advisory Board for the Nonprofit Management & Leadership Program at University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Juan William Chavez
St. Louis, Missouri
Juan William Chavez (born in Lima, Peru) is an artist and cultural activist whose studio practice focuses on the potential of space by developing creative initiatives that address community and cultural issues. He has exhibited at venues such as Art in General, Contemporary Art Museum Saint Louis, White Flag Projects and Van Abbenmuseum. From 2006-2010, Chavez founded and served as director for Boots Contemporary Art Space, a non-profit organization that supported emerging artists and curators. Since 2010, Chavez has focused on public projects in North St. Louis. Such projects include Urban Expression for the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, the Northside Workshop and the Pruitt-Igoe Bee Sanctuary. In 2011, he was awarded the Art Matters Grant, the Missouri Arts Award, and nominated for the United States Artists fellowship. Chavez has a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
