The St. Louis African Arts Festival, also known as STLAAF or St. Louis African Arts Fair, is an annual arts and cultural festival in St. Louis, Missouri, which has been running since 1991. This festival is a production of the African Heritage Association of St. Louis (AHA). The AHA brings the St. Louis community together by offering several programs throughout the year. The festival aims to educate people in St. Louis about the wide ranges of cultures among African nations and the African diaspora.
The mission of the African Heritage Association of St. Louis (AHA) is to increase the awareness of the global contributions of African people and people of African descent through the arts and quality cultural and educational programs. Through these programs, AHA provides access to the richness of African culture and its impact on western culture.
The STLAAF is a three-day event that takes place over the Memorial Day weekend. It is free and open to the public. The event offers a variety of activities to engage our community in African and African American culture. Activities include a marketplace, performing and visual arts, as well as education programs.
The Origins of the Festival
The St. Louis African Arts Festival began in 1991 as an artistic and cultural arm of the African Studies Association's 34th Annual Conference hosted by Washington University in St. Louis. A year prior to the conference, a group of academic, business, and community leaders came together to explore ways in which a forum could be established that would bring the diverse community of St. Louis together for the purpose of learning and celebrating the rich and diverse cultures of African and African American people.
The first St. Louis African Arts Festival was held in 1991 as an outgrowth of the 34th Annual African Studies Conference hosted by Washington University. A variety of festival programs and activities were held throughout Greater St. Louis.
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Key Figures and Organization
The St. Louis African Arts Festival is headquartered at Washington University in St. Louis. The festival was founded by Cynthia Cosby, executive director of the African Heritage Association, the organization that has hosted the affair since 1995. Cynthia L. Cosby is also the Manager of Special Projects and Program Coordinator for the Black Alumni Council for Washington University in St. Louis.
A Multi-Sensory Experience
“You’ll hear it before you see it,” said Gerald Brooks, chairman of the St. Louis African Arts Festival, referencing the music and activities of the multi-sensory event. “You see it but you also smell it, you hear it, you taste it. It’s like a small village that we put together there,” Brooks said.
St Louis African Arts Festival
Annual Celebrations in Forest Park
Each year the festival attracts a diverse audience of thousands of local residents and out-of-town visitors during the Memorial Day weekend. The Festival draws the community together in celebration of the rich contributions of Africa and the African Diaspora (diaspora-people settled far from their ancestral homelands). The annual event enjoys partnerships with major local cultural institutions as the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Saint Louis Zoo, the Missouri History Museum, the St. Louis Public Library, the Muny, and Washington University in St. Louis.
The 27th annual St. Louis African Arts Festival takes up residence at the World’s Fair Pavilion at Forest Park from Saturday through Monday. Powered by more than 100 volunteers, the St. Louis African Arts Festival has become a much anticipated cultural mainstay in Forest Park. Attracting around 20,000 attendees every year, the festival is set up to emulate a traditional African village, where houses are in close proximity to each other. The intent is to provide an authentic environment and foster community.
The African Heritage Association of St. Louis, the parent organization of the St. Louis African Arts Festival, receives support from the Missouri Arts Council and the Regional Arts Commission. In addition to support from state and local arts agencies, the AHA has also received financial support from PNC Bank, Carrollton Bank, and the St. Louis Community College.
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Festival Highlights
To kick off the day and energize the crowd, drummers parade around the grounds performing a drum call. In the African call-and-response ritual, the lead drummer calls a rhythm to be answered by the other drummers. This engages the crowd and sets the tone for the experience, one that includes a great variety of cultural offerings.
Activities, performances, food and public services all focused on raising awareness about the culture and contributions of the African diaspora, while underscoring community in St. Louis. Over the years, organizers have made a substantial effort to create an experience that appeals to a wide audience. “There’s something for everyone,” said Jason McNairy, co-chair of the festival.
Scheduled performers include the Kuumba Youth Performance Ensemble, storyteller Glenn “Papa” Wright Jr., St. Louis Boogie Brass Band, East St. Louis Community Performance Ensemble, dance troupes Tribe Ayaka and Spirit of Angela and spoken-word performers Phree, Jay Luuve, Greg the Poet and the St. Louis Black Poetry Collective.
Culinary Delights and Shopping Treasures
One of the highlights was the food, which allows visitors to sample flavors that span continents. In the food court, the air was scented with culinary treats from Senegalese fish and rice, called Thiéboudienne, to jerk chicken from Jamaica. “We try to offer a range of foods that represent the African diaspora, dishes that many can enjoy,” said McNairy.
In addition to eating wonderful food, shopping at the festival always results in great finds. One vendor, Nfamara Touray, a native of Gambia in West Africa, has been traveling from Chicago to sell merchandise at the festival for 26 years. Along with doing good business, he comes back because of the feeling of connection and community. “I love seeing all the people coming together, and seeing the same families every year,” he said.
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Family-Friendly Activities
Families make up a large portion of the festival attendees. To make certain the event is family-friendly, organizers provided a cross-generational experience. Along with arts activities for younger kids designed to expose them to African culture like puppet making, storytelling, painting, and African mask-making, there was a Teens Safari Hut.
In the hut, teens gathered to explore African teachings, sing, learn textile crafts and perform poetry, engaging in a creative outlet that links them to the culture and history of the African diaspora. While young people participated in enriching activities, parents and adults enjoyed stage performances and even received health screenings and learned about wellness services throughout St. Louis.
Health and Wellness Initiatives
The Health Village, a significant component of the festival, has served as an educational resource and offered critical medical screenings. “For some attendees, it is the only health screening they will receive all year,” said Jannis Evans, the coordinator of the health services for the festival. And for those seeking natural remedies, homeopathic options were included. “We added acupuncture, a healing doctor, and a massage therapist,” Evans said.
The Significance of Forest Park
Not only has the festival been significant because of the activities and services, but also because its location, Forest Park, is a focal point for the St. Louis community. “Forest Park is a natural gathering place,” said Evans. “They have events that are free, so everybody can really gain exposure to things.” Evans pointed out that in relation to sites in other cities, Forest Park offers a unique opportunity to access culture and green space. “You don’t have a free zoo in major metropolitan areas. You can’t just go to the art museum for free. You don’t have beautiful outdoor spaces to go to,” she said.
Since convening in Forest Park is so natural to St. Louis residents, people from all walks of life feel welcomed to participate in the festival. The St. Louis tradition is an educational and social occasion that celebrates a rich culture and bridges the gap between communities in and outside the African diaspora.
Community Impact
“Without the influence from Africa, I don’t think the United States would be what it is today - the inventors, the culture, the music, the dance, the religion,” said Gerald Brooks, chair of the African Heritage Association of St.
Dr. John Grechus and his wife, Penny, have a ministry in West Africa and love attending the festival. “We are rural Missouri people who have come to know that the world is a big place,” said Dr. Grechus. “In West Africa, we feel very comfortable, but race relations in the United States are totally different,” he said. “If we can see each other as people and that we all have the same desires and love art and culture and food, it can bring us together.”
The St. Louis Art Museum will offer docent-led tours of its African holdings and St. Louis Zoo will highlight animals native to Africa. The MUNY hosts a free screening of “A Small Act,” a 2010 documentary film about a Kenyan man who created a scholarship fund for promising students there.
Organization Data Summary
Here is a summary of the African Heritage Association of St. Louis:
| Organization Name | African Heritage Association of St. Louis (St. Louis African Arts Festival) |
|---|---|
| Mission/Purpose | Parks & Recreation, International, History/Preservation, Health & Wellness, Education, Arts & Culture - Theaters, Arts & Culture - Music, Arts & Culture |
| Operating Budget | Micro: $50,001 - $250,000 |
| Service Area | St Louis City, St Louis County |
| Audiences Served | General Public, BILPOC, Teens, Children, Youth, Families, Men, Women, Veterans, Older Adults, Military, LGBTQIA+, Justice-Involved Individuals, Immigrants, Refugees, Foreign-Born Populations, People with Disabilities, First Responders |
| Address | 8816 Manchester Road, #411 St. |
AHA has an outreach program with elementary school children and local recreation centers throughout the year which culminates with an art display at the festival. Community forums/programs designed to inform our community will be provided in the fall and spring to further dialogue and interest. When financially possible, the AHA presents internationally renowned artists to St. Louis such as the internationally renowned Soweto Gospel Choir (based in South Africa). This concert was held in 2018 and received rave reviews.
