InSITE STL | Artist Profile – JENNY MURPHY
Through a combination of design, installation, virtual and in-person engagements, and creative re-use, The Department Co. explores new and alternative possibilities for commerce and community in Downtown St. Louis.
Murphy has transformed several ground floor windows into illustrative murals to serve as the inspiration for a future in which community members play an active role in defining and creating culture in St. Louis. Inspired by the sense of fanfare and community found in the department stores of the early twentieth century, Murphy turns to the future to reconsider public gathering spaces in an environmentally friendly, welcoming, and non-commercial way.
The project encourages creative reuse through The Depart Co. website, a project hub for makers and creators, featuring video instructions on creating your own functional items from reclaimed materials. Murphy also hosted a series of Downtown activations to teach creative reuse techniques.
Go see the Downtown storefront murals depicting the garden, accessories and stationary departments of the Department Co. | Visit The Dept Co. website. | Share your creations with others on the website and through social media at #insitestl and #deptco.
Locations:
- The Stationary Dept. – the Laurel Building, 605 6th Street
- The Garden Dept. – The Railway Exchange, corner of Olive and 6th Street
- The Accessories Dept. – The Railway Exchange, corner of Locust and 6th Street
Jenny Murphy is a St. Louis-based artist and social entrepreneur. Through a broad artistic practice that encompasses community arts, interactive installations, sculpture, and design, Murphy continues to propose sustainable, educational, whimsical, and thought-provoking solutions to the negative effects of mass consumption on our environment and our communities.
Her artwork has been featured in exhibitions at venues throughout St. Louis including the Center of Creative Arts (COCA), the St. Louis Artist’s Guild, the Des Lee Gallery, and Fort Gondo. Murphy is the founder of Perennial, a nonprofit community workshop that offers educational programming in creative reuse to diverse populations. Murphy holds a BFA with a focus in sculpture from The Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Art at Washington University and is a 2011 RAC Community Arts Training fellow.
Currently, she is a worker-owner at Garrity Tools, a local ceramic tool manufacturing cooperative, and she organizes with Solidarity Economy St. Louis and STL Mutual Aid to build the co-op ecosystem in the region.