Presenting Poetry & Photos at St. Louis Community College

 Student viewing and listening to exhibit

 A week ago, on February 8, I produced a version of our black poetry mixed media project at St. Louis Community College - Meramec. The mixed media project comprises a traveling exhibit that features several panels showcasing Eugene B. Redmond's photographs of poets such as Maya Angelou, Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni, and Margaret Walker.

The exhibit also displays select poems and makes it possible for visitors to listen to poets reading their works through the use of our audio devices. 

Student taking notes at the exhibit.

The event at St. Louis Community College was organized by Rita Reinhardt who, in addition to working in the Career and Employment Services office and teaching classes at the college, coordinates cultural activities and events. Rita is a also poet, which made her an especially welcoming host for the project.

Rita Reinhardt observing panel featuring Maya Angelou.

Presenting the Mixed Media Poetry Project at St. Louis Community College was an important opportunity to bring materials from the EBR Collection to St. Louis. SIUE is fairly close to the city, but for some reason, we have not had enough chances to share the wonderful images from the collection with citizens on the Missouri side of the Mississippi River.

Hopefully, the event at St. Louis Community College was the beginning of many future collaborations with their school and other organizations in the area.

(Funding for the exhibit was made possible by funds from the Illinois Humanities Council and the Black Studies Program @ SIUE).     

Related content: Eugene B. Redmond and the EBR Collection