STL 1% Cakes
june & july 2015 | installation | project manager | [link]Leading up to the #UnveilTheProfit Week of Action, the Artivists, a collective of activists and artists formed in the midst of the Ferguson Rebellion, reimagined a familiar St. Louis symbol—the STL250 cakes—to highlight injustice and corporate control of the region.
A team of 40+ volunteers, including Tribe X, MORE and De-carerate STL, created their own version of the STL 250 commemorative cakes: The STL 1% Cakes. While the goal of the STL 250 cakes was to highlight St. Louis’ past, present and future, Artivists felt that the pain and suffering caused by structural racism, state sanctioned violence, and economic disparity was erased from the STL 250 cake's portrayal of St. Louis.
The STL 1% Cakes, created specifically for 7 corporate executives (David Farr, George Paz, Gregory Boyce, Ward Klein, Andrew Taylor, Hugh Grant, Anthony Tersigni) and Civic Progress, point out corporate control of the region which upholds structural racism and inequality. Each cake was delivered along with a letter to its CEO muse in the week leading up to the Veiled Prophet fair. On Thursday, July 2nd, all of the cakes were marched from the St. Louis Gateway Arch to the intersection of Market St. and S 8th St. While holding the intersection, stopping business as usual, people read the letters, naming each CEO's aggressions against the city and beyond.
partners: The Artivists, Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment
Videos of the Cake Deliveries can be viewed here.