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St. Louis Story Stitchers Advance Civic Pride Through Performance Art

Aug. 6 2019 Tylea Wilson (at left), poet AnnaLise Cason, and Susan Colangelo, St. Louis Story Stitchers CEO.
Evie Hemphill | St. Louis Public Radio

Young adults throughout the St. Louis area make up the St. Louis Story Stitchers artists collective. They aim to showcase the region’s culture through performance art, and they work to curb gun violence, which many members have grown up with.

Tylea Wilson is a storyteller with the group, and she regularly performs her poem, “Guardian Angel,” about a friend who was shot and killed.

“Me taking notice that I have a voice and I’m not afraid to use it was probably what got me into activism,” Wilson said. “Then I found out about the Story Stitchers, and literally my first show was the day before my friend’s funeral.

“I feel like everything that I go through, all the struggle, just helps me get into an anger that builds into making action,” she said. “How can I use my youthness and my voice to create a positive change for something different?”

On Tuesday’s St. Louis on the Air, host Sarah Fenske spoke with Wilson, as well as poet AnnaLise Cason and St. Louis Story Stitchers CEO Susan Colangelo.

Hear the conversation:

Related Event
What: Pick the City UP Tour performance
When: 1 p.m. Saturday, August 10, 2019
Where: Gregory J. Carter Park (5800 Lillian Ave.)

St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is hosted by Sarah Fenske and produced by Alex Heuer, Emily Woodbury, Evie Hemphill, Lara Hamdan and Alexis Moore. The engineer is Aaron Doerr, and production assistance is provided by Charlie McDonald.

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Emily is the senior producer for "St. Louis on the Air" at St. Louis Public Radio.