Damon Davis
Site: CITYPARK Stadium + 2626 Cherokee Street
Curator: James McAnally
Pillars of the Valley at CITYPARK
Damon Davis is a post-disciplinary artist based in St. Louis, Missouri. His work spans across a spectrum of creative mediums to tell stories exploring how identity is informed by power and mythology. Pillars of the Valley is a mile-long monument to the residents of Mill Creek Valley. Informed by a four-year community engagement process, Great Rivers Greenway spearheaded the effort to elevate the Mill Creek Valley story through Davis’s installation with support from numerous community partners, including St. Louis CITY SC, Harris-Stowe State University, and the City of St. Louis.
Davis’s work will honor Mill Creek Valley, which was a predominantly Black neighborhood whose residents were displaced during the city’s demolition of the Midtown area in the late 1950s. The once-vibrant neighborhood was home to 20,000 residents, 800+ businesses, and 40+ houses of worship before city officials declared that the 450 acres would be fully demolished in the name of “urban renewal.”
“Mill Creek Valley was a thriving Black community, with businesses and nightlife, arts community and a range of socio-economic classes. The narrative of it being a blighted community—it was neglected for a reason, slumified so that the excuse could be used to pave over it,” explains Davis. “I have designed a series of pedestals and portals to represent hourglasses that hold time still, displayed at the top. Just like the soil, we can excavate the stories of these people and put them on literal pedestals for the whole world to see, acknowledge, and start a conversation about their stories.”
Over the next few years, this installation will stretch a mile along Market Street, linking to historic sites on the campus of Harris-Stowe State University, some of the only remaining structures from Mill Creek Valley.
Pillars of the Valley at CITYPARK
MCV Residents at Pillars of the Valley opening
In Davis’s words:
“This monument stands as a remembrance of the great people of the Mill Creek Valley neighborhood. The pedestals are portals to a time and place that are gone. Yet, the legacy of these displaced Black people cannot be forgotten, built over, or moved aside. Their collective memories, stories, and contributions to the narrative of St. Louis live on.”
Pillars of the Valley was initiated by Great Rivers Greenway and is made possible through our partnership with St. Louis CITY SC, the City of St. Louis, and Harris-Stowe State University.
Counterpublic has additionally commissioned a new short film by Damon Davis to accompany and expand the work entitled, the boy in the bottle, alone with the dragon.
The Boy in the Bottle is a surrealist fairytale exploring expressions of the human condition in relation to generational curses, addiction, and self image. Through symbols, gestures, sound and text, the artist interrogates how myths and moods of being are handed down from parent to child in a black family, as well as how behaviors that are useful in certain settings can also be harmful in others.
Additional programs, events and parallel exhibition components will be organized to fully contextualize these works and practice during Counterpublic 2023.
Program Info
About The Artist
Damon Davis is a post-disciplinary artist who works and resides in St. Louis, Missouri. His work spans a spectrum of creative mediums to tell stories exploring how identity is informed by power and mythology. Davis’ work is featured in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and he has exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, and the San Diego Contemporary Museum of Art. He has been a fellow of Firelight Media, Sundance Labs, TED, and the Kennedy Center.
ARTISTS LINKS
Instagram: @damondavis
Twitter: @heartachenpaint
Website: heartacheandpaint.com
TAG US @COUNTERPUBLIC #COUNTERPUBLIC2023
Artwork Documentation
