St. Louis Artworks Receives $15,000 Grant from Missouri American Water

ST. LOUIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Missouri American Water, a supplier of clean water and
waste-water services to approximately 1.5 million customers across the
state, has provided St. Louis ArtWorks with a $15,000 environmental
grant. The funding is being used to support one of ArtWorks’ Summer
Apprentice Programs called BloomWorks.

St. Louis ArtWorks and Missouri American Water will be holding a check
presentation ceremony at 11 a.m. Thursday, June 22 at the Monarch
Chesterfield Levee Trailhead parking lot (map link below), near where
the sculpture will be placed. The ceremony will feature the student
artists, St. Louis ArtWorks leadership and representatives of Missouri
American Water: http://bit.ly/2tlnkfG.

In a partnership with Great Rivers Greenway and Big Muddy
National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, St. Louis ArtWorks will be
providing job training through a three-dimensional design program where
teen Apprentices will create a wayfinding sculpture depicting the
Missouri River Watershed that will be installed near Boone’s Crossing at
the Katy Trail. Teaching Artists Hap Phillips and Stephanie Nelson
Pondrom will be leading the BloomWorks group as they create this
commissioned piece.

The grant marks the first time St. Louis ArtWorks has received funding
from Missouri American Water. Executive Director Priscilla Block
acknowledged, “This is an exciting opportunity to bring like minded
collaborators together to support job training and environmental
education for area teens. We are grateful for this generous support from
Missouri American Water.”

The BloomWorks program is one of four Apprentice programs running this
Summer at St. Louis ArtWorks. Nearly 70 underserved youth from St. Louis
City and County are participating in disciplines such as painting,
sculpture, video and sound design. The Summer Apprentice Program will
conclude with a public celebration and Summer Sale on Friday, July
21st from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at St. Louis ArtWorks on 5959
Delmar Blvd in the East Loop. Friends, family, and supporters of
ArtWorks are encouraged to attend and view the original works of art
created by the Apprentices throughout the Summer. In addition to the
commissioned wayfinding sculpture, the BloomWorks group will be creating
individual works of art such as wind chimes and decorative “Little
Libraries” which will be available for purchase at the sale.

St. Louis ArtWorks was founded in 1995 as a 501c3 collaborative
partnership with Grand Center Inc., the City of St. Louis, and the
Regional Arts Commission. Since that time, ArtWorks has provided
opportunities for thousands of young people, successfully helping to
prepare them for future education and employment opportunities. ArtWorks
bridges economic, racial, and social divisions by providing underserved
youth with arts education, workforce development training, and 21st
century life skills, including fiscal literacy and professional
communication. St. Louis ArtWorks is currently funded in part by the
Arts and Education Council with support from the Regional Arts
Commission.

For more information on St. Louis ArtWorks and its community partners,
please visit stlartworks.org,
as well as Facebook and Twitter. #MakeArtWorkSTL

Contacts

Missouri American Water
Kristen Goodman, 314-899-9734
Communications
& Events Specialist
[email protected]