Counterpublic is a civic exhibition that weaves contemporary art into the daily life of St. Louis. Held for three months every three years, Counterpublic addresses pressing questions, historical legacies, and the possibilities of the city’s future through responsive artistic projects. Counterpublic was co-founded by Lee Broughton and Executive + Artistic Director James McAnally through the Luminary in 2019, and incorporated as an independent 501c3 nonprofit in 2021.

Each edition starts with Community Engagement, led in 2023 by Cheeraz Gormon and Melisa Sanders. The curatorial ensemble will consist of a team of locally and internationally renowned artists, theorists, organizers and curators that evolve in each edition. Our full staff and description may be found at counterpublic.org/about

The triennial will run from April 15 through July 15 2023 with a number of preliminary programs leading up to its opening, from now until April 2023. Each exhibition cycle will take place for three months every three years, with the next edition to be held in 2026.

The 2023 edition will be focused along the six-mile length of Jefferson Avenue from Sugarloaf Mound in South St. Louis, through Downtown West engaging the Brickline and the CITY SC Stadium District, to the Griot Museum of Black History and other key sites on St. Louis Avenue in North St. Louis.

Partner exhibitions and programming are happening in museums around the region, including Pulitzer Arts Foundation, St. Louis Art Museum and Mildred Lane Kemper Museum.

Participating venues will be announced soon. We strongly recommend starting your exhibition experience at one of our three hubs: The Luminary, CITYPARK Pavilion, and The Griot Museum of Black History.

Counterpublic 2023 is focused on the pasts, present and futures of St. Louis. Counterpublic 2023’s path along Jefferson Avenue engages some of the most essential histories in the region, from Mill Creek Valley, Laclede Town, Pruitt-Igoe, and Sugarloaf Mound to new developments shaping the present landscape, including CITYPARK stadium and The Brickline Greenway.

The curators of the 2023 exhibition are Artistic Director James McAnally, Associate Curator Katherine Simóne Reynolds, and a curatorial ensemble consisting of Allison Glenn, Diya Vij, New Red Order and Risa Puleo. To learn more about the Curatorial Ensemble, visit counterpublic.org/about

Counterpublic 2023 engages the complex histories, charged present, and many possible futures of Saint Louis from April 15 - July 15, 2023. Counterpublic 2023 brings together thirty-plus leading and emergent artists, architects, collectives and community organizers to reimagine civic infrastructures towards generational change.

Following a year-long process of community engagement in which neighbors in St. Louis were invited to reflect upon the most urgent needs facing their communities in order to shape the theme of the exhibition, Counterpublic determined to focus its 2023 edition on public memory and reparative futures—how our history is told, held and healed, and how our future is envisioned collectively towards new liberated lifeways.

Artists were selected by the curators of the 2023 edition from dozens of studio visits both in person and online. Counterpublic’s Associate Curator Katherine Simóne Reynolds hosted a series of open invitation studio visits with St. Louis based artists, out of which a number of artists were chosen to participate. Artists were chosen to respond to the unique sites, histories and contexts in relation to the themes established for the exhibition and all were paid beyond W.A.G.E. recommended guidelines.

The Counterpublic map route and itineraries can be found on the visit page. For a printed version please visit The Luminary, CITYPARK or The Griot Museum of Black History during regular open hours.

Please fill out this form to schedule a visit with a staff member or docent for groups larger than 10. We welcome groups of all kinds to schedule a visit to Counterpublic 2023 Wednesday–Saturday throughout the three month exhibition. We also offer class visits for all school-age learners and invite you to request a guided visit led by our educators and community storytellers or a self-guided visit, which allows you to lead your own students through the Counterpublic 2023 itinerary. We strive to provide teachers and students with activities and field trip options that are as innovative as our St. Louis history.

As availability is limited, we recommend that programs be reserved as far in advance as possible. Support is offered for a limited number of field trips from under-resourced schools. For questions about programming or an existing program scheduled, email Aja@counterpublic.org.

No ticket is needed to experience the exhibition. Counterpublic 2023 will be free and open to the public at key anchor sites and most of the work will be in public spaces. However, some of our institutional partner sites may charge an admission fee or request a suggested donation.

Counterpublic is a 501c3 not-for-profit and is supported through donations, grants and sponsorships. Counterpublic 2023 is presented with lead support from co-founder Lee and Chrissy Broughton, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Via Art Fund, and the Regional Arts Commission. Additional support has come from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in Fine Arts, Edward Jones, William T. Kemper Foundation and individual donors. This page is updated as new partners join us. If you’d like to support Counterpublic, please reach out to James McAnally, Executive Director.

You can make a tax-deductible contribution to Counterpublic as an individual donor, a foundation, or a corporate sponsor – and all forms of support go directly to the realization of an expansive exhibition that foregrounds equity, responsiveness to community, and intentional investment in our city.

Donations can be made by visiting counterpublic.org/support.

For more information on sponsorships, partnerships, and other forms of support, please contact james@counterpublic.org.

If you have further questions contact hello@counterpublic.org and we’ll get back to you within a few business days.

Join the Counterpublic mailing list for updates about Counterpublic 2023 and other local events.