The Missouri and the Mississippi are the two longest rivers in the United States, with immeasurable influence on the nation and the St. Louis region. Yet due to the built environment, many citizens are not attuned to these major waterways.
Michelle Dezember realized how rarely St. Louisans engage with the two rivers when she moved to St. Louis five years ago. This observation led her to cocurate the “Make the River Present” exhibition at the Contemporary Art Museum, where she serves as the director of learning and engagement.
“As a transplant to St. Louis, I had assumed that I was going to have a really strong daily [and] visible relationship with these mighty rivers, and I was disappointed at how much effort it took me to connect with them,” she told St. Louis on the Air. “So I did what I [typically] do — I looked to artists.”
Dezember found the connection she was hoping for by learning from sculptors, illustrators and poets who view nature as a muse and incorporate the rivers in their art. For “Make the River Present,” she selected works by Black American and Native American artists because of the close connection to the land that’s observed in these cultures.
Multidisciplinary artist Dail Chambers is drawn to the rivers because of her ancestry, family history and advocacy for environmental justice and public health. Her sculpture “A River Journey” is included in the exhibition.
“It's important for me to stay connected to nature so I have a right understanding of how to heal from disease and the effects of urban issues dealing with public health,” Chambers said. “Water supersedes what we see as the river, [and] how we associate with the river also shows up in the air and in the soil.”
Writer Galen Gritts, who is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, wrote a haiku about the dual existence of rivers being both a noun and a verb. He said that art and exhibitions like “Make the River Present” bring understanding and empathy of important matters like environmental health to the forefront of society’s mindset.
“Art is extremely important to people, whether they know it or not, because it is a form of dreaming individually but also as a community. Everything that we do now was somebody’s dream before,” Gritts said. “Especially now, it’s important that we have that sense of community.”
For more on “Make the River Present” — including Galen Gritts’ practice of engaging with the Mississippi River, an explanation of water ceremonies from Dail Chambers, as well as upcoming guided excursions to the shores of the both rivers — listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube or click the play button below.
“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 produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
