For the spring 2017 semester, CAM’s department of Learning and Engagement invited local artists WORK/ PLAY, Danielle and Kevin McCoy, to share their multifaceted practice with LEAP Middle School Initiative. In response to the present historical moment of global unrest, students were asked to consider their own individual ideas about peace—and then to convey those ideas through collage and text. The format of a newspaper felt appropriate for the collected artworks, as well as an art-making activity that combined the handmade with industrial processes of imagery production. For the exhibition, select student compositions are displayed on the wall, and the newspapers are available to visitors while supplies last.
Spring 2017 LEAP Students
Lilliana Bremerkamp
Ellie Chisholm
Marley Gardener
Isabell Jackson-Cameron
Finn Kanak
Ivy Kanak
Chelsea Zuckerman
WORK/PLAY is the St. Louis-based interdisciplinary design duo of Danielle and Kevin McCoy. The two use illustration, minimal design, time-based works, and experimental printmaking practices to create works that disseminate a message, spark dialogue, and, inspire an audience. Their new body of work often investigates predisposed stereotypes and narratives pertaining to the African diaspora often propagated by the media. WORK/PLAY has exhibited at the Mark Miller Gallery, New York, the Sheldon Galleries, St. Louis, the O Cinema Wynwood, Miami, and a host of other local galleries in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The duo were also recipients of the artist support grant from the Regional Arts Commision.
LEAP Middle School Initiative offers young artists an in-depth exploration of contemporary art practices and media. This after-school program gives students the opportunity to work closely with professional St. Louis-based artists and educators in an atmosphere of focused attention and mentorship. Fifteen students from the metro region meet every Thursday afternoon for ten weeks to investigate a particular practice or medium each semester. Students grades 6–8 are eligible for LEAP.