WEPOWER's Community Wealth Action Group is excited to announce the 2026 Inaugural Creatives Cohort for Building A People-Centered Economy. These four St. Louis-based creatives will share a year-long experience exploring how art and storytelling can change how people think about the economy—how it should work, who it should work for, and what happens when we build it together.
simiya
transdisciplinary artist - simiya sudduth is a St. Louis-based Black + Indigenous mother, transdisciplinary artist, and educator. Grounded in healing, ecology, and collective liberation, her practice spans public murals, digital illustration, sound performance, and spiritual care work.
Creator of The Confluence Tarot, simiya weaves ancestral knowledge and ritual into art that honors the sacred, fosters joy, and builds liberated futures. Her public art practice is deeply rooted in St. Louis, where her work can be found on walls throughout the city. Nationally, her murals and installations have appeared in Portland, St. Paul, and across Illinois, expanding a vision of healing and resistance beyond the region. She has completed public commissions for the City of St. Louis, the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, Great Rivers Greenway, St. Louis Lambert International Airport, and Black Futures Farm. Her work in the 2023 Counterpublic triennial was featured in The New York Times.
Zenique Gardner-Perry
Writer, Educator, Black Liberationist - Zenique Gardner-Perry is both writer and freedom fighter. Passionate about racial equity, social justice and change, she aspires to use her written work to complement her work on the ground.
As a creative nonfiction writer, Zenique centers the stories of the African Diaspora, depicting the complexities of family, faith, race, and all their intersections. Zenique is also the Co-Founder of Undo Bias, a St. Louis-based consulting group that accompanies antiracism efforts in organizations and nonprofits across the Midwest region and beyond. Zenique’s literary work has been supported by the Columbia School of Journalism, The Writing Colony at Dairy Hollow, Storyknife and The Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis and has been published in the New Delta Review, Cutleaf Journal, Violet Indigo Blue, Etc. and The Delacorte Review. Zenique is an MFA Graduate of Washington University in St. Louis. Zenique lives in St. Louis City with her small family of humans and animals.
Alexis Creamer
Advocate, Story-Teller, Creative - Alexis Creamer is a St. Louis native and interdisciplinary creative dedicated to embodied expression and community building. Through mind-body awareness, storytelling, and co-creation, Alexis cultivates spaces that center connection and shared abundance. She currently serves as the Community Access Manager at Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis and is an active community member, serving on the junior board of The Luminary and the community advisory boards of the Black Genome Project and Fit and Food Connection.
Rooted in her lineage as the daughter of a Deaf and disabled individual, Creamer’s work bridges art, wellness, advocacy, and access, often manifesting as visual group exhibitions and events, co-created publications, and curated interactive data visuals. As Co-founder of Unseen on Screen and 2024 Futures Fund recipient, Alexis featured over 20 St. Louis Artists on a local digital billboard emphasizing the importance of local artist representation and being and feeling seen. Overall, her practice and leadership continue to build on the power of collective creativity and accessible pathways toward social and holistic well-being.
Lauren Alexandra Pickett
Writer, Director, Producer, Strategist - Lauren Alexandra Pickett is an intersectional advocate and filmmaker passionate about using storytelling, anti-oppression education, and creative strategy to help people heal, advance equity, and transform their communities. With a background in strategic communications, research, and facilitation, Lauren strives to amplify the voices of marginalized people, help individuals reclaim their stories, and eliminate barriers to liberation. Lauren is the founder of the Restore Roots Collective, where she serves as a writer, director, and producer for documentary film and creates opportunities for collaboration among creatives with marginalized identities. She is a Freelance Producer with NinePBS, a facilitator with Black Girls Do STEM, and co-host of InvestSTL's Neighborhood Storytelling Practice. Lauren is a 2021 Multicultural Scholar with a BA in Communications and Sociology from Maryville University in St. Louis.
Every role matters. How do you see yourself Building A People-Centered Economy? Sign the pledge today!
Want to support us in this work? Meet us on Oct 21st!
What is CWAG?
CWAG is short for Community Wealth Action Group. We are a group of St. Louis neighbors, creatives, and business owners with a common goal: to build communities where we can all thrive. Every family in every neighborhood should feel safe and have access to quality housing, nutritious food, living wages, a robust transit system, quality and consistent municipal services, flourishing parks and green spaces, and quality education from birth.
Imagine if... We fight for a People-Centered Economy that includes:
- Paid Sick Leave
- Paid Family & Medical Leave
- Universal Access to Child Care
- Employee-owned and democratically governed businesses