St. Louis Brick by Brick

To understand the history of St. Louis’s bricks is to unearth systems of power, economy, dispossession, decline, and manifest destiny; the storybook decorative brickwork we see today becomes a tale as complex—and as sinister—as American history itself.

2023-09-13T10:20:36-04:00August 30, 2023|

Unbreakable: Glass in the Rust Belt

What’s left of domestic glass manufacturing in the U.S. remains concentrated in the Rust Belt–eight of the industry’s top ten employers are in Pennsylvania, New York, and the Midwest. But studio glassblowing is adding relevance to a material long forgotten by many communities shaped by it. Today, the Rust Belt is home to three of the United States’ top five hubs for glass studios.

2023-04-03T09:41:55-04:00March 29, 2023|

Art that’s Rooted in the Rust Belt

Thriving creative communities can be found throughout the Rust Belt in other small- to mid-size industrial cities like Racine.  Places like Sheboygan, Rockford, Peoria, Flint, South Bend, Dayton, Toledo, Canton—the list goes on.

2023-04-01T09:02:41-04:00March 27, 2023|

Dreaming at the Mattress Factory

Given that the Mattress Factory once made literal mattresses, the place where dreams most often form in our minds, it feels fitting that it’s now a site for collective dreaming.

2023-03-06T09:00:32-05:00March 1, 2023|
Load More Posts