On display

Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective featured in new CDC museum exhibit

Through a unique partnership between public health and the arts, St. Louis-based Saint Louis Story Stitchers was one of 30 arts and culture organizations that received support from the CDC Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts to develop works of art to educate the public and inspire confidence in COVID-19 vaccines.

The participating organizations used their chosen art forms to translate public health information about the safety and importance of immunizations into an accessible, memorable and diverse body of work. An exhibit at the David J. Sencer CDC Museum in Atlanta, Georgia entitled “Trusted Messengers: Building Confidence in COVID-19 Vaccines Through Art” is now showcasing original pieces from six of these organizations, including Saint Louis Story Stitchers.

“Story Stitchers artists were honored to be selected for this exhibition and pleased to see the work continue to be useful to public audiences. In St. Louis, our project generated bus kings, bus shelter posters, billboards, social media and radio ads, reaching 70 million people in the spring of 2022. The project was created by a collaborative group of youth and adult artists who generated work around the concept of worthiness and caring for one another in a campaign called, ‘I GOTCHU,’” said Susan Colangelo, executive director of Saint Louis Story

Stitchers. “Through a partnership with St. Louis Public Libraries and St. Louis County Libraries, Story Stitchers held multiple ‘Story Circles’ that featured live performances and public discussions with health care providers about COVID and the vaccines. Visitors to the museum exhibition will see examples of a marketing of the Story Circles, a bus king, video ads used on social media and posters from bus shelters.”

“Our talented partner organizations have created meaningful, innovative projects that engaged and informed community members,” said Catherine Zilber, MSc, vice president for infectious disease programs at the CDC Foundation. “This new exhibit features impressive art and uplifting messaging that demonstrates the crucial role the arts can play in communicating about important public health issues.”

“Trusted Messengers: Building Confidence in COVID-19 Vaccines Through Art” exhibit will run through March 2023.

The CDC Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization created by Congress to help the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) save and improve lives by unleashing the power of collaboration between CDC, philanthropies, corporations, organizations and individuals to protect the health, safety and security of America and the world.