A person whose work I truly admire is Derrick Adams, a multidisciplinary New York-based artist. His installations include painting, collage, sculpture, performance, video, and sound. Through his art, he looks at how popular culture influences people’s views of themselves. Derrick has an MFA from Columbia University and a BFA from Pratt Institute. He is also an alumnus of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and the Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Space Program.
Black History Month is a powerful reminder of Black Americans’ critical contributions to creating America as we know it – and the unjust, widespread adversity they still face despite it. Understanding and celebrating Black history is critical to the unification and healing that our country so deeply needs. It’s essential to take time this month to recognize that Black history and culture are the same as all of America’s and uplift the voices of members of the Black community to share their stories and truths.
Myrlande Constant is a Haitian textile artist born in 1968 specializing in Vodou-themed flags. Constant was born in Port-au-Prince, where she learned the art of beading while working with her mother in a wedding dress factory. After quitting that job because her employers wouldn’t pay her, she took a severance pay of knowledge and bags filled with beads – and went on to become one of the most celebrated artists for making Drapo Vodou. Constant started making Vodou flags in the 1990s in an entirely male environment and ultimately became the first woman in Haiti to apply the tambour technique in her work. She radically shifted her nation’s traditional religious art by using glass beads instead of sequins. Constant also prefers constructing large-scale tableaus, describing her work as "painting with beads."
Throughout history, art has always played key roles as an escape, challenge, or medium to allow people to process their emotions and creatively navigate change. The power of art and its ability to foster human connection is evident in every community, including my hometown of St. Louis. Delmar DivINe serves as a centerpiece for advancement and allows St. Louis to turn the tide of history and reimagine life for its residents and the entire country. It is a once-in-a-generation project that aims to help bridge the racial divide by providing a place where people from all walks of life can gather, connect, and make lasting memories. The building is a catalyst for change and houses nonprofit organizations, sponsors innovative programs, and provides affordable housing for young professionals and social leaders.
The Clayco Foundation is committed to supporting meaningful research to find treatments and a cure for Retinal vasculopathy with cerebral leukoencephalopathy (RVCL), a rare genetic disease. We have made great strides and progress over this past year. Illumination 2022 was an incredible record-breaking gala for The Clayco Foundation in October, where we raised $1.1 million to help support the search for a cure for RVCL and to help pave the way for cures for all genetic orphan diseases.
Great things are happening in my hometown of St. Louis! Clayco hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the grand opening of Delmar DivINe. The 310,000-square-foot building is now home to 150 apartments, space for 33 nonprofit tenants, and retail storefronts along Delmar Boulevard. The development is devoted to social change and cultural legacy and aims to strengthen the nonprofit sector in the St. Louis region among health, education, and human service organizations. The “IN” in Delmar DivINe stands for INvestment, INnovation, and INclusion which are top priorities for our team at Clayco and the incredible organizations that use this transformative space. I believe in St. Louis and care deeply about it reaching its full potential, and not just for those who already have privilege and opportunity. St. Louis is a city that can enable everyone to prosper, and projects like this help turn this vision into a reality.
Some of the key choices that we get to make in this life are the things we prioritize, both with our finances and with our energy and efforts.
Over the course of my life, my priorities have shifted immensely, and I now spend a large amount of my time focusing on the work that our foundation is doing, as well as being engaged in impactful community efforts. The majority of the work that we are a part of is aimed at issues directly affecting my family and the Clayco community.