What is the role of the black history museum in the midst of a rapidly changing city? How might existing spaces be better utilized to collect, celebrate, and exhibit Black art, culture, and history in ways that are relevant to Black St. Louis today? What resources, partners, strategy, and changes are needed in order to anchor black spaces to achieve this? 

These are some of the questions that ground Growing Griot, a collaborative initiative and series of engagements helping The Griot Museum of Black History develop vision and strategy towards its future. 

During this creative brainstorming session, participants were welcomed to see The Griot in ways like never before as they generated ideas and vision of how its galleries, programs, and services can be enhanced to engage more boldly amongst local audiences. Activities included a tour of the museum’s active and unused spaces, an art-based ideation workshop, and conversation about the changing environment surrounding the museum. This experience was facilitated by De Nichols, a St. Louis designer and organizer who is currently in residence as a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. 

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Growing Griot is supported by The Divided City Initiative of the Centerfor Humanities at Washington University in St. Louis.