STL by Design

In this episode, we talked to Gavin Schiffres and Jack Krewson of Kairos Academies about education, education reform, and the importance of how we learn. Kairos Academies is a free, public charter school serving 6th-12th in St. Louis. They are rethinking education for the 21st century, personalizing learning, empowering student self direction, and nurturing restorative justice within a diverse-by-design student body. Tune in for Part Three coming soon! 

In this episode, we talked to Gavin Schiffres and Jack Krewson of Kairos Academies about education, education reform, and the importance of how we learn. Kairos Academies is a free, public charter school serving 6th-12th in St. Louis. They are rethinking education for the 21st century, personalizing learning, empowering student self direction, and nurturing restorative justice within a diverse-by-design student body. Tune in for Part Two coming soon! 

*Note: We had some technical difficulties when recording this episode. We did our best, but apologize for any audio issues you might encounter*In this episode, we talked with Aaron Williams and Julia Allen, two co-founders of 4theVille. 4theVille is a community-based tourism and arts organization created by multi-generational Ville residents and volunteers to restore pride in the legacy of The Ville, a historic African American community in the heart of St. Louis, Missouri, and inspire reinvigorated community ownership.We discussed the importance of the organization and how it's helped The Ville community, and we also discussed Sumner High School and the recent efforts that were put forth to keep it open with a focus on arts and activism. Learn more about 4theVille and all the amazing work they do here: http://www.4theville.org

*Note: We had some technical difficulties when recording this episode. We did our best, but apologize for any audio issues you might encounter*In this episode, we talked with Aaron Williams and Julia Allen, two co-founders of 4theVille. 4theVille is a community-based tourism and arts organization created by multi-generational Ville residents and volunteers to restore pride in the legacy of The Ville, a historic African American community in the heart of St. Louis, Missouri, and inspire reinvigorated community ownership.We discussed the importance of the organization and how it's helped The Ville community, and we also discussed Sumner High School and the recent efforts that were put forth to keep it open with a focus on arts and activism. Learn more about 4theVille and all the amazing work they do here: http://www.4theville.org

*Note: We had some technical difficulties when recording this episode. We did our best, but apologize for any audio issues you might encounter*In this episode, we talked with Aaron Williams and Julia Allen, two co-founders of 4theVille. 4theVille is a community-based tourism and arts organization created by multi-generational Ville residents and volunteers to restore pride in the legacy of The Ville, a historic African American community in the heart of St. Louis, Missouri, and inspire reinvigorated community ownership.We discussed the importance of the organization and how it's helped The Ville community, and we also discussed Sumner High School and the recent efforts that were put forth to keep it open with a focus on arts and activism. Learn more about 4theVille and all the amazing work they do here: http://www.4theville.org

This week, Dee and Jayvn talked to Christine Ilewski, founder and executive director at Faces Not Forgotten. Don't forget to listen to part one! Faces Not Forgotten was formed in 2010 to serve the dual mission of giving comfort to families who have lost a child (age 20 and under) to gun violence and to raise awareness of this devastating loss to our society.To date, they have completed 30 FNF Quilts including over 250 portraits nationally (70 in the St. Louis area) of children age 20 and under who have died as the result of gun violence. The demographic of these portraits shows the glaring disparity in numbers of black children who are disproportionately killed by daily gun violence due to the consequences of historically systemic racism.FNF collaborates with national artists and artist students to complete the original portraits, which are donated to the victims’ families.To learn more about the organization, head to their website at www.facesnotforgotten.com. where information on how to join the project as an artist or to receive a portrait can be found. 

This week, Dee and Jayvn talked to Christine Ilewski, founder and executive director at Faces Not Forgotten. Tune into part two tomorrow! Faces Not Forgotten was formed in 2010 to serve the dual mission of giving comfort to families who have lost a child (age 20 and under) to gun violence and to raise awareness of this devastating loss to our society.To date, they have completed 30 FNF Quilts including over 250 portraits nationally (70 in the St. Louis area) of children age 20 and under who have died as the result of gun violence. The demographic of these portraits shows the glaring disparity in numbers of black children who are disproportionately killed by daily gun violence due to the consequences of historically systemic racism.FNF collaborates with national artists and artist students to complete the original portraits, which are donated to the victims’ families.To learn more about the organization, head to their website at www.facesnotforgotten.com. where information on how to join the project as an artist or to receive a portrait can be found. 

After a little bit of a hiatus, we're back! This week we talked with Dee Drenning, who's not only an awesome human being, but also our new co-host. In this episode, we get to know Dee, do a refresher on what this podcast is all about and why we love what we do, and talk briefly about what Jayvn and Anna have been up to since the last episode release. Did you know that we're doing all of our episodes via IGTV these days? Be sure to check us out and follow us at @stlbydesign on Instagram. And as always, thanks to: Critical for the awesome musicYou, our listeners!

This week, we spoke with the new executive director of Continuity, a local nonprofit that addresses the disparities and lack of equity in the film and media production industry. We talk about why Continuity is such an important program in St. Louis, how COVID-19 has affected their curriculum and what they've done to pivot, and how media has changed as social media and technology have become more accessible.

In this episode, we talked with the duo that created the few-week-old initiative called Painted Black STL , Jayvn Solomon & Tyson Baker. That's right-- One of the STL by Design co-hosts is both the interviewer and interviewee this time!Painted Black STL began as an initiative to support & boost black artists and their voices by paying them to paint businesses that were boarded up due to property destruction. In the past few weeks of it's short existence, it's gained more steam than either of them expected. In this episode, we discuss more of it's origin, present, & future.

In this episode, we talk with the new Executive Director of the St. Louis Metro Market, Quinton Ward. The St. Louis MetroMarket is a non-profit mobile farmers’ market that is restoring access to healthy, affordable food to St. Louis City food deserts.They have transformed a donated city bus into a grocery store on wheels to bridge physical, financial, and educational barriers in food deserts in order to have the greatest potential towards increasing the supply and demand for healthy foods in these low-income, high need communities.

This week, we talked with Scott Gericke, who's one of the design school teachers at UMSL here in St. Louis. Scott has been a designer in St. Louis for many years, and also served as AIGA St. Louis President from 1994–1997. We talked about how education has changed because of COVID-19 for both students and teachers, and what UMSL's design program is doing to help support the graduating class during this harrowing and confusing time. Check out all of the UMSL senior thesis projects here: https://designhaspurpose.com

This week, we talked with James McAnally, founder of The Luminary. We discuss how it all started, and the journey that The Luminary has taken so far. We also talk about the new Emergency Artist Relief Fund (in partnership with the Andy Warhol Foundation), and why it's important to not only support an artist's work, but also their day-to-day lives. Check out more about The Luminary and all of their efforts at: https://theluminaryarts.comDo you know of anyone in the STL community who's facing this challenge head-on and deserves to be recognized? Have them email anna@aigastlouis.org or reach out to us via social media.Stay healthy, stay safe, and stay connected.

This week we talked with Andy Wise of Paradowski Creative. Paradowski Creative has been taking on a variety of different projects aimed at helping those in the creative community who are suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Efforts include an online poster gallery and show called APART, a collaboration with previous guest MADE STL on making face masks for health care workers, a re-invigorated podcast, and t-shirt sales benefiting families who have lost jobs and income. Do you know of anyone in the STL community who's facing this challenge head-on and deserves to be recognized? Have them email anna@aigastlouis.org or reach out to us via social media.Stay healthy, stay safe, and stay connected.

This week we talked with Lee Broughton, one of the minds behind the STLMade movement. STLMade is a movement within the St. Louis area that shines a light on the amazing things our innovative, tenacious, big-hearted people are doing. It’s supported by a region-wide collaboration of residents, local leaders, institutions, businesses, and nonprofits helping to tell our story. It’s a celebration of a region that insists on moving forward by bringing people and ideas together in bold ways that makes this a place where you can start something, you can get the support to stand out, and you can stay and make St. Louis yours.Learn more about STLMade! https://thestl.com/314day/

This week, we talked with designer, artist, and educator Shreyas R. Krishnan, who started Bad Drawing Club and currently teaches at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts. We discuss a lot of things, ranging from the need for Bad Drawing Club, the culture shock of moving to St. Louis, and being an artist. Enjoy a rambling episode of distracted artists doing bad drawings while talking and laughing together.

This week, we talked to Caitlin Metz, who's a local artist and teacher. In her own words, Caitlin is "a tender queer, feisty introvert, early morning art making kind of human that wants to fuck shit up with empathy". We discuss living document manifestos, the paths through life and art we all take, and the awesome projects that Caitlin is working on in the future.

This week we interviewed Jia Lian and Ashley Winters, co-hosts of the popular podcast We Live Here. We Live Here explores the issues of race, class and power that led to the emotional eruption in the wake of Michael Brown's shooting death in Ferguson. St. Louis Public Radio reporters Tim Lloyd and Kameel Stanley present podcasts, radio features, web stories and use social media for an in-depth exploration of how systemic racism impacts people as well as the well-being of our region and beyond.Join us on Thursday, February 27 at 6:30pm at Grand Center for a collaborative live event, where we'll be talking with three panelists about the importance of Designing Equity in Saint Louis. Panelists include Erika Horano, Antionette Carroll, and MK Stallings. https://www.stlpublicradio.org/events/

In this episode, we talked with Kaveh Razani. He’s a CAT alumn (and if you don’t know what we’re talking about, you can listen to our episode on the Regional Arts Commission to learn about their CAT program), a member of the Cherokee Street Community Improvement District, and the founder and owner of Blank Space.

In the first episode of this next season, we talked (again) to our guests Kristin Fleischmann Brewer, of the Pulitzer Arts Foundation & Chris Carl, of Studio Land Arts. They discuss their newest collaboration called Park-Like, a new green space across from the Pulitzer building, and how it came to be; the organic process of development and iteration, the importance of the local community and sustainable practices, and what the future holds.Located across the street from the museum, Park-Like is a sustainably designed green space for visitors to meander along the grass pathways, investigate plants and wildlife in an urban setting, and be delighted by unexpected perspectives. The garden comprises both native and non-native plants, as well as found building materials that have been transformed into water filtration systems, retaining structures, seating, and play space. Utilizing site-responsive land and rainscaping techniques, the project was designed by Studio Land Arts to absorb stormwater runoff and reduce the impact on urban drainage and sewer systems while creating a site for wildlife and the public to enjoy. To learn more about Chris and his practice: http://studiolandarts.com/For more information and updates on Park-Like: https://pulitzerarts.org/exhibition/park-like-by-studio-land-arts/Thanks as always to our listeners, who could be doing anything else, but choose to listen to us instead!

For our final episode of this season, we talked with past AIGA St. Louis President and current AIGA National Board Member Antionette Carroll about her non-profit, Creative Reaction Lab. Creative Reaction Lab was founded in response to the unrest in Ferguson, MO (August 2014) in the form of a 24-hour design challenge. Since then, it's developed into a robust program that has received national and international acclaim for the way it approaches equity in design and how to make an impact. Thank you to Anna Katherine Roehm for contributing to the artwork, as well as Dustin Schaefer for his ongoing technical advice and expertise. And thank YOU, our listeners, for tuning in!

This week, we talked with Erika Fiola, who works for the Regional Arts Commision. The Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis (RAC) is at the forefront of efforts to transform St. Louis into a more vibrant, creative, and economically thriving community by elevating the vitality, value, and visibility of the arts and culture. It is the largest annual funder of nonprofit arts in the region, and was founded in 1985. Erika also talks to us about the CAT program. The Community Arts Training (CAT) Institute is an innovative program centered on the belief that art has the power to be an agent for positive social change. The CAT Institute, founded in 1997, is a five-month training that fosters successful partnerships between artists of all disciplines, social workers, educators, community and social activists, and policy-makers with the goal of creating relevant, impactful arts programs particularly in under-resourced community settings

This week, we talked with Jeff Mazur, Executive Director at LaunchCode. We discussed how important it is for the tech industry to become more inclusive and open, and what LaunchCode is doing to help solve that problem in Saint Louis and other cities. We also talked a little bit about how we, as humans, can be better advocates for the community that we live in, and how important it is for everyone to stick together and look out for one another. Thanks again to our tech "consultant", Dustin Schaefer, and our intern, Anna Katherine Roehm for helping us out! And thanks to Critical for the awesome music.

On this week's episode, we talked with Samantha of CreativeMornings STL about the importance of sharing stories within the creative community, and the impact that the project has had in the past year. Creative Mornings STL is a free monthly gathering that welcomes a variety of people with different creative disciplines to gather and celebrate the creative work being done in our community. You can learn more about them and all of the amazing people they've had come and speak here: https://creativemornings.com/. And don't forget to follow them on instagram (@cm_stlouis) and Facebook (@CreativeMorningsSTL/)A special thank you to our intern, Anna Katherine Roehm for the artwork, and to Dustin Schaefer of Great Ghosts (find them on Spotify!) for helping us with our perpetual technical difficulties.

"When it rains, it pours". We had some major technical difficulties this week, so instead of our scheduled interview, you'll be hearing from US instead! This week, Jayvn and I reminisce about what we've loved (and sometimes not loved so much) about the podcasting experience, and what other side hustles we've been putting our time into. We also talk about what kinds of guests we want to see in the future, and what we hope this podcast will do for the community, and for you as one of our listeners. Special thanks to our friend Dustin for helping us figure out some temporary tech, and thank you as always to Critical for the awesome music.

This week, we talked with Jordan Bauer, curator of the popular @stlouisgram Instagram account. We discuss with him what inspired him to start the account, why he feels it's important, how St. Louis is represented, and everything in between.

This week, we're talking with Vanessa Tutka, who runs the STL chapter of Ladies Wine and Design. We'll discuss the importance of representation in the creative space, why St. Louis needs an organization like LWD, and what's next for the project. Started by Jessica Walsh, Ladies Wine and Design seeks to create a safe and supportive environment for women and non-binary creatives through mentorship circles, portfolio reviews, talks, and creative meetups. Follow LWD STL on Instagram and Facebook, or join their Slack channel. Find out more about the national organization here: https://ladieswinedesign.com

This week we’re talking with Lindy Drew of Humans Of St. Louis, which is a nonprofit that shares first-person stories and photographic portraits, featuring people and places throughout St. Louis.They give over 95,000 Facebook and 25,000 Instagram followers an intimate look into the lives and struggles of the people of St. Louis, one photo and story at a time. It is the second most popular “Humans of” site in the U.S. after Humans of New York.. Visit them at https://www.humansofstl.org/ and be sure to check out their social media pages to follow their stories!Thanks as always to Alessio Summerfield, Critical Music, and YOU, our listeners!

This week we're talking with De Nichols, who does so many things we think you should just follow her on Instagram (@de_nichols) or visit her website (https://www.denichols.co) to learn more about her. We could have talked for hours, but in her limited time with us, we discussed topics ranging from the importance of healthy relationships to how to let projects go, and everything about her life and work in between. Thanks as always to Alessio Summerfield, Critical Music, and YOU, our listeners!

This week we’re talking with Jenny Murphy of Perennial, which is a non-profit that teaches people creative skills to reuse materials and live a sustainable and self-sufficient life.They offer craft and DIY classes using all salvaged materials and provide free programs to women in transition, including former prisoners, survivors of domestic violence, homeless women, and more. Visit them at: https://perennialstl.org and be sure to check out their upcoming clothing swap! Thanks as always to Alessio Summerfield, Critical Music, and YOU, our listeners!

This week we're talking with Aaron Young of OneSTL, which is a plan for sustainable development that includes a Vision, Goals and Objectives that outline a sustainable future for the St. Louis region as well as Strategies, Tools and Resources for achieving the that vision. If you want to learn more about what they do, swing by one of their Sustainability Labs at T-Rex, which is always held on the last Tuesday of the month. http://www.onestl.org/get-involved/onestl-network/sustainability-lab.Want to volunteer? E-mail Aaron: aaron.young@ewgateway.orgThanks as always to Alessio Summerfield, Critical Music, and YOU, our listeners!

This week, we talked with McKenna Sawchak, who is part of the GlobalHack team.GlobalHack is a non-profit organization in Saint Louis which drives social impact through technology. They organize events that kickstart community-focused software projects and deliver accessible computer science education opportunities for kids. They have an event coming up Feb 22-24 called Code with a Cause, which is a hackathon that benefits nonprofit organizations in the Greater St. Louis region. And as always, thanks to Alessio Summerfield, Critical, our guest, and YOU, our listeners. Don't forget to subscribe for new episodes every two weeks, and give us a rating!

This week, we’ll be talking to Emily Elhoffer of MADE STL, which is a local Makerspace.MADE is the place where St. Louis Makers, Artists, Designers, and Entrepreneurs create and collaborate. They have over 50+ pieces of state-of-the-art machinery, and they even offer training so you can learn how to use it! Check out their instagram at @made_in_stl, as well as their website madestl.com.And as always, thanks to Alessio Summerfield, Critical, our guest, and YOU, our listeners. Don't forget to subscribe for new episodes every two weeks, and give us a rating!

This week, we’ll be talking to Nathan Sprehe, who’s currently the president and executive creative director at Almanac here in St. Louis. If you don’t know about Almanac already, they’re a local design firm that started in 2009 with the goal of working with purpose-driven clients that are looking to make a difference in our world. Want your artwork to appear on one of our future episodes? Let us know! We’d love to see more than just our own work everywhere! As always, thank you to: Our guest, Alessio Summerfield of Forever and Astronaut for the equipment, and Critical for the awesome music.

In Episode 05, we’re talking with Abbas Ali of Project Downtown St. Louis about their winter coat drive, in which they handed out 200 specially made winter coats to the homeless community. Project Downtown St. Louis is an organization that strives to provide essential services to homeless and impoverished segments of the St. Louis Community. Want to learn more about their coats? Visit pdstl.org for more information. Want to know what other great local companies helped make this winter drive successful? Check out Fuego and Attic, OmTurtleYoga & Spa, and Abbas’s own company, ABBAS LABBAS (abbaslabbas.com). Want your artwork to appear on one of our future episodes? Let us know! We’d love to see more than just our own work everywhere! As always, thank you to: Our guest, Alessio Summerfield of Forever and Astronaut for the equipment, and Critical for the awesome music.

In episode 04, we're talking with Carlos Zamora about his experience as a Cuban designer living in St. Louis, and about Blink Expo. Carlos Zamora is a designer who grew up in Havana, Cuba. He's moved around to a couple different places, and eventually landed here in St. Louis, where he's been since 2006. He's known both here and abroad for his illustration and design work, and has been published in New York Observer, The Boston Globe, Ad Age, American Lawyer, The Wall Street Journal, Alive, and St. Louis Magazine. You can find his poster designs all over St. Louis, as well. BLINK Havana St. Louis Poster Xpo is a poster exhibit featuring a curated selection of both classic and contemporary Cuban poster design. The show celebrates the legacy of Cuban poster art by bringing together Cuban poster designers, along with local poster designers from host cities.And don't forget -- if you want to submit artwork to us to be featured on a future episode, let us know! We'd love to see more than just our own iPhone photos everywhere!

In Episode 03, we're talking to Priscilla Block of St. Louis ArtWorks. St. Louis ArtWorks (SLAW) is a year-round job training program using art to teach essential life and job skills to underserved youth, ages 14-19. Programming takes place after school and on weekends during the fall and spring, and five hours a day, five days a week for six weeks during the summer. Youth apprentice with professional artists to develop art, life, and communication skills. All apprentice works of art are either commissioned by local companies and organizations, or sold at public sales.And don't forget -- if you want to submit artwork to us to be featured on a future episode, let us know! We'd love to see more than just our own iPhone photos everywhere!

In EP02, we're doing things a little differently. We'll be discussing a brand new initiative being launched through AIGA St. Louis called Unite by Design. As an organization, we aim to unite designers and encourage our members and nonmembers alike to empower each other, and themselves. We'll talk about ways that we've started to think about how to implement Unite by Design, and why we think it's important. Got comments about what you think AIGA St. Louis should be? Want to learn more about Unite by Design, or have any suggestions for us? Drop us a line on any of our AIGA St. Louis social media channels! Also, if you want to submit artwork to us to be featured on a future episode, let us know! We'd love to see more than just our own iPhone photos everywhere!

We're so excited to launch this podcast about the Saint Louis Design community, and what design for good efforts are happening on a local level. On this very first episode, we'll be interviewing 5 designers who are 0-5 years into their career. They'll talk about how they made their Get Out the Vote poster, what it's like being a new designer, and what inspires/motivates them. We'll also discuss the AIGA National EMERGE initiative, as well as the AIGA National Get Out the Vote initiative, and STL Design Week (Oct 22-26). We've never done this before, and we're eager to learn and improve. Let us know your thoughts by reaching out to us on AIGA STL's social media outlets.