The Art of Building Community

At a busy Harlem intersection, large-scale figures emerge from layered wood and vibrant color. Titled Aunties, the public installation honors the women whose care and labor sustain community life. The figures are not portraits or decorative murals. They function as points of recognition, inviting passersby to find shared histories reflected in the spaces they inhabit. Aunties is the work of multidisciplinary artist, designer, and educator Fitgi Saint-Louis, whose practice shows how art can make collective memory visible and strengthen community life.

Saint-Louis began her career as a performer and dancer, working in film, television, and theater for more than two decades. That background shaped her sensitivity to movement, narrative, and embodied memory. Over time, her practice expanded into public art, where stories became structures and communities became collaborators.

Her work explores identity and remembrance within African, American, and Caribbean cultures. Rather than depict specific individuals, her figures evoke layered histories within the African diaspora. By resisting fixed representation, she creates space for multiple interpretations and shared ownership of meaning.

Saint-Louis’s work can be understood as a form of social infrastructure, the cultural spaces that help people connect and build trust. While libraries, parks, and schools are traditional examples, her installations function similarly. They are not simply aesthetic objects; they are sites of encounter. They invite reflection, conversation, and recognition within the public landscape, contributing to the social fabric of neighborhoods.

Central to her approach is collaboration. Saint-Louis works with community organizations, schools, and residents as active participants. Her projects reflect local histories and aspirations, emerging from the communities in which they are situated. Aunties, located at West 124th Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem, exemplifies this model. The installation honors women who nurture and organize communities across generations, figures often central to cultural life yet absent from official monuments. The monumental but abstract forms evoke heritage craft traditions and the accumulation of memory and ancestry. Their openness allows viewers to project their own stories onto them.

A similar ethos informs the mural Our Matriarchs, created with Elmont Memorial High School and local groups as part of the Elmont Walls initiative in Elmont, New York. Spanning 36 feet along a retaining wall, the mural is a bold, abstract tribute to Caribbean and immigrant women. Facing businesses, schools, and spiritual spaces, its impact lies not only in its scale and color but in its capacity to generate engagement. Students encounter their cultural histories reflected in public space. Residents pause and talk. Conversations emerge around migration, identity, and belonging. The mural creates a shared cultural space where reflection and dialogue can unfold.

Based in Harlem, Saint-Louis has collaborated with the Dance Theatre of Harlem, the New York City Department of Transportation, NYC Health + Hospitals, and the NYC Health Department. These partnerships place her practice at the intersection of culture and public service, positioning art within broader conversations about health, well-being, and civic life.

Saint-Louis’s work reminds us that community is not simply a place. It is an ongoing practice, sustained through story, symbol, and shared experience. By making collective memory visible, Saint-Louis demonstrates that art can play a vital role in strengthening the social foundations of civic life.