ARTIST: GREGORY MICHAEL CARTER

Gregory Michael Carter is a Houston born artist and community activist. He lives and works in Fox Park, St. Louis, MO, where he is an active member of a vibrant art community. He has been an Eagle Scout for many years. He currently works for The Boy Scouts of America, teaching a diverse group of children from all over the city, county, and in rural Illinois about the value of S.T.E.M in their everyday lives. He worked teaching children at The Magic House, on Delmar, and he also currently works as a substitute art teacher, in every local school district.

He attended Morehouse College, in Atlanta, Georgia and studied Fine Art, Art History and Computer Science. He is fascinated by culture, as well as history. Those tenets are two of driving factors in his practice. After leaving More- house he traveled to 30 countries, and visited more than 50 UNESCO world heritage sites. The influence of those experiences on his work cannot be understated.

The artist is an interdisciplinary artist working primarily with drawing, printmaking, painting, collage, and photography. The community activism/social practice aspect of his practice has held many forms over the years, including him being asked to join the board of directors at Project Row Houses, but most recently it has manifested itself in the form of an arts nonprofit he’s developing called The Milburn Institute for Research and Development.

Gregory Michael Carter is also the Co-founder of Thirdwardsfinest.com, an online retailer dedicated to supporting and uplifting neighborhood he grew up in and loves so much. The brand donates half of its revenue to local nonprofits like Project Row. Houses, Shape Community Center, and others. Last year, [the artist’s] work was on view at the San Antonio Museum of Art, as part of the Texas Biennial. Since then he has participated in a lengthy residency in Marrakech, Morocco at the Montresso Foundation. This residency culminated in an exhibition that was part of the 154 Art fair in Marrakech, which took place in February of 2023. Most recently his work was part of the annual exhibition series at Project Row Houses in Houston, Texas.

This mural is one dedicated to the natural beauty of this region. The flowers represent the bounty, but also the responsibility of the stewardship of this land. This mural is also dedicated to the history of this region. The painting is an interactive work, filled with symbolism, but an underlying theme will be the importance of establishing a local collective responsibility for our environment. Curt Flood, the namesake for this mural, was an outfielder for the Cardinals during the 1960’s. His story is a focal point for this work.