It was an incredible weekend in St. Louis as we created the first installation of TheMourningProject.com in the Midwest at The Gallery at the Kranzberg. All 20,000 little elegies--pairs of handmade baby booties--are on display in the gallery to remember each child lost before their first birthday in the US. We have the worst infant mortality rate in the developed world, and makers seek to honor loss families, raise awareness of the issue, and begin a conversation on how we can improve little lives.
The state of Missouri had the worst infant mortality rate in the country 10 years ago. With the leadership of the Missouri Foundation for Health, and agencies like Generate Health and March of Dimes aiming for systemic change, the state now ranks 45th. Progress is possible!
The installation will remain at The Gallery through August 8, when we will de-install to move the booties to the STRIDES event in St. Charles to benefit Infant Loss Resources on Saturday, August 10. In July, we'll hold a panel discussion on how the community can support loss families at the Studio at the Kranzberg from 10-11 am on July 24.
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| Installation view from the street |
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| The Mourning Project, detail, altar |
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detail, the Missouri flag with the state's
portion of 20,000 baby booties |
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| Viewers at the opening reception |
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| The Makers table |
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| Carla and Gary Duncan with me at the installation |
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Carla Duncan helps installs the 'Mother Booties,' made in
memory of the 700+ American mothers who die from childbirth-related conditions. |
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| the Mourning Project, detail |
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| The butterflies await their release |
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Installation view with the 'Thrive' Wall, which highlights the
work of some of the agencies combatting infant mortality across the state |
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A pair of booties made in honor of the thousands of infants
born into homelessness each year. |
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The Mourning Project, detail
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Art Cloth Network members created over 100 pairs to contribute to the project. My thanks to all those who helped make this possible. 💜
For more information about the issue and the Project, go to www.MaryVaneecke.com
#20000BabyBooties #UnitedAgainstInfantMortality #BlanketChange
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