[click to visit the Open/Closed 2012 website]
Open/Closed 2011 videos:
[VIDEO] Pruitt-Igoe Bee Sanctuary (2010-2011) Presentation
Juan William Chavez, artist, cultural activist and 2011 Missouri Arts Award recipient
[VIDEO] The Pruitt-Igoe Myth: an Urban History Presentation
Paul Fehler – Producer, The Pruitt-Igoe Myth
Sylvester Brown, Jr. – Senior Staff Reporter / The Northsider, Founder / When We Dream Together
[VIDEO] Convocation/Keynote Discussion: Vacancy in St. Louis
Freeman M. Bosely, Sr. – Alderman, Third Ward, City of St. Louis
Antonio D. French – Alderman, Twenty First Ward, City of St. Louis
Harold Crumpton – President, The Ville Commission
[VIDEO] Panel: Vacancy and Schools
Andrew Weil – Assistant Director, Landmarks Association of St. Louis
Tom Moes – Project Coordinator, Transtria
Roderick Jones – President and CEO, Grace Hill Settlement House
Romona Taylor-Williams – Executive Director, Metro St. Louis Coalition for Inclusion and Equity
[VIDEO] Panel: Creative Solutions to Vacancy
Todd Antoine – Deputy Director for Planning, Great Rivers Greenway District
Juan William Chavez – Artist / Activist, 2011 Missouri Arts Award Recipient
Theaster Gates, Jr. – Director of Arts Program Development / Executive Director Office of the Provost, University of Chicago / Rebuild Foundation
Gwenne Hayes-Stewart – Executive Director, Gateway Greening
[VIDEO] Panel: Reuse/Reviable
Michele Duffe – Principal, Duffe Nuernberger Realty, former Director of the Land Reutilization Authority and Director of Real Estate for St. Louis Development Corporation
Audrey Spalding – Policy Analyst, Show-Me Institute
Yvonne Sparks – Senior Manager, Community Development – Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Otis Williams – Deputy Director, St. Louis Development Corporation
[VIDEO] Panel: Regeneration
Stephen Acree – Executive Director/President, Regional Housing and Community Development Alliance
Michael Allen – Architectural Historian and Director, Preservation Research Office
Paul J. McKee, Jr. – Chairman, McEagle Properties LLC
Antonio D. French – Alderman, Twenty First Ward, City of St. Louis
[VIDEO] Keynote Presentation
Sylvester Brown, Jr. – Senior Staff Reporter / The Northsider, Founder / When We Dream Together
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Open/Closed: Exploring Vacant Property in St. Louis, is an opportunity for community stakeholders, leaders, artists, and activists to strengthen their knowledge of the vacant property issue and to develop new solutions. St. Louis faces many challenges, but none are more visceral than the thousands of vacant homes and lots that have a corrosive effect on our community. With one in five addresses currently vacant, we cannot ignore the issue any longer. The challenge demands collaborative responsibility and action.
Note: Please check back often as the conference lineup will change. Any and all changes will be posted here. This schedule was last updated 03/016/11. PDF files below can be downloaded and printed. A text schedule and additional information appears below the PDFs.
Open/Closed: Exploring Vacant Property in St. Louis_schedule for Saturday 3/19
Open/Closed: Exploring Vacant Property in St. Louis_schedule for Friday 3/18
Open/Closed schedule:
18 March 2011 – 7:30pm
Old North St. Louis Restoration Group – 2700 North 14th Street at Crown Square
Beverages to be provided by Urban Chestnut Brewing Co.
7:30pm Opening Reception
8:00pm Open/Closed Introduction
8:15pm Pruitt-Igoe Bee Sanctuary: confronting history and addressing community issues
8:45pm Introduction to Pruitt-Igoe (Sylvester Brown, Jr. and Paul Fehler)
9:00pm Screening of scenes from The Pruitt Igoe Myth: An Urban History Documentary
9:30pm Pruitt-Igoe Discussion
The Pruitt Igoe Myth: An Urban History, a soon to be released documentary directed by Chad Freidrichs, was awarded Best Documentary at Oxford Film Festival. In addition, it has been invited to the True/False Film Festival and Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. The full St. Louis premiere of the film is scheduled for April 9 2011 at 2:00 pm at the Missouri Historical Society. Presented by Producer Paul Fehler.
Film site: http://www.pruitt-igoe.com/
Artist and cultural activist, Juan William Chavez will talks about his recent project – Pruitt-Igoe Bee Sanctuary (2010-2011) – A photo, film and website project that explores the land where the Pruitt-Igoe housing projects once stood in St. Louis, Missouri. After the demolition of all 33 buildings that comprised Pruitt-Igoe, the remaining empty lot of several acres naturally transformed into an overgrown urban forest. Chavez created the Pruitt-Igoe Bee Sanctuary to encourage public dialogue about the creative uses and possibilities of urban abandonment by confronting history and addressing community issues. The Pruitt-Igoe Bee Sanctuary website will invite the public to submit their own proposals and ideas.
19 March 2011 – all day
Most Holy Trinity Church, Hyde Park – 3519 North 14th Street
10:00am Convocation/Keynote Discussion: Vacancy in St. Louis
Freeman M. Bosely, Sr. – Alderman, Third Ward, City of St. Louis
Antonio D. French – Alderman, Twenty First Ward, City of St. Louis
11:00am Panel: Vacancy and Schools
Andrew Weil – Assistant Director, Landmarks Association of St. Louis
Tom Moes – Project Coordinator, Transtria
Roderick Jones – President and CEO, Grace Hill Settlement House
Romona Taylor-Williams – Executive Director, Metro St. Louis Coalition for Inclusion and Equity
12:00pm Lunch / Hyde Park Tours
Lunch
68¢ out of every dollar spent in local businesses typically remains within the community. Please consider patronizing the following local businesses:
Chili Mac's Diner – 3523 N. Broadway (btw Mallinckrodt and Destrehan)
Cornerstone Café – 1436 Salisbury St (corner of Blair and Salisbury)
Crown Candy Kitchen – 1401 Saint Louis Ave (corner of 14th and St. Louis)
Mandina's Sports Bar – 1319 Saint Louis Ave (btw 13th and 14th)
Walking tour of Hyde Park
Departs from Cornerstone Café 1436 Salisbury St. at 12:00pm and 12:30pm
Dayna Kriz – Program Coordinator, Rebuild Foundation St. Louis
Tour Guides – Students from the Urban Expression Saturday Program Holy Trinity School and Rebuild Foundation
1:00pm Afternoon session #1
Walking tour of vacancy in community: the Ville/Greater Ville
Rick Bonasch – Director of Technical Assistance, Regional Housing and Community Development
Walking tour of vacancy in community: Wellston
Bob Hansman – Associate Professor / artist-in-residence, Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts, Washington University in St. Louis
2:15pm Afternoon session #2
Panel: Creative Solutions to Vacancy
Todd Antoine – Deputy Director for Planning, Great Rivers Greenway District
Juan William Chavez – Artist / Activist, 2011 Missouri Arts Award Recipient
Theaster Gates, Jr. – Director of Arts Program Development / Executive Director Office of the Provost, University of Chicago / Rebuild Foundation
Gwenne Hayes-Stewart – Executive Director, Gateway Greening
3:15pm Afternoon session #3
Panel: Reuse/Reviable
Michele Duffe – Principal, Duffe Nuernberger Realty, former Director of the Land Reutilization Authority and Director of Real Estate for St. Louis Development Corporation
Audrey Spalding – Policy Analyst, Show-Me Institute
Yvonne Sparks – Senior Manager, Community Development – Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Otis Williams – Deputy Director, St. Louis Development Corporation
4:15pm Afternoon session #4
Panel: Regeneration
Stephen Acree – Executive Director/President, Regional Housing and Community Development Alliance
Michael Allen – Architectural Historian and Director, Preservation Research Office
Paul J. McKee, Jr. – Chairman, McEagle Properties LLC
Henry S. Webber – Executive Vice Chancellor for Administration Washington University in St. Louis
5:15pm Dinner – $10 (paid at conference)
Please RSVP dinner attendance to [email protected] by 3/15/11 to ensure service.
Catered by Betty Macc Barbeque and Snacks
Keynote Presentation
Sylvester Brown, Jr. – Senior Staff Reporter / Founder, The Northsider / When We Dream Together
Closing Reception
Old North St. Louis Restoration Group – 2700 North 14th Street at Crown Square
Beverages to be provided by Urban Chestnut Brewing Co.
7:00pm Screening of Still/Here
8:00pm Still/Here information and review
8:15pm Screening of scenes from Brick By Chance and Fortune
Still/Here, a non-narrative film directed by Christopher Harris, uses photographic imagery and an eye for detail to tell a personal story of the devastation and abandonment of the near-northside of St. Louis. Released in 2001, the film depicts a moment in a fragile landscape devoid of people.
Bill Streeter's Brick by Chance and Fortune is a documentary about brick in St. Louis. A topic that should make sense to many, but others may not see it as an obvious topic. As the filmmakers discovered while producing the film, brick is a big subject, especially in this city. St. Louis was once the home of a large brick making industry, a legacy that can be experienced in the countless brick homes from tiny little working class brick bungelows to the stately mansions of the Central West End, University City, and other inner ring suburbs.
About Open/Closed:
Open/Closed is a free event. There is no cost to attend any, or all, of the scheduled films, panels or tours. Cost for dinner March 19 is $10 and is cash only to be paid at the conference site. You must RSVP to reserve a dinner. There is no cut-off for conference attendance.
Participants and schedule are subject to change. RSVP is requested: facebook.com/nextstl or [email protected].
Join the Open/Closed discussion on the nextSTL Forum.
Contact: Alex Ihnen at [email protected] or (314) 941-4929
R.J. Koscielniak at [email protected] or (314) 330-8279
Organized and developed by nextSTL.com and Frontier St. Louis and made possible with the generous support of the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis and the Rebuild Foundation, Open/Closed is the first annual summit on vacant land, buildings and property in St. Louis.
Over the course of two days, informative, authoritative and diverse individuals and organizations will come together to consider what’s next for vacant land in our city. In film, keynote presentations, tours and panel discussions, Open/Closed will explore the state of vacant land in St. Louis, its fiscal and social impacts on our community and where we go from here. Additional panelists will be announced in the near future.
nextSTL is committed to engaging the St. Louis community in a discussion about the future of our city and region. The online community is going offline and into our neighborhoods to explore what's next. Open/Closed is just the first step in nextSTL's committment to the creation and support of civic engagement in St. Louis.
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