Its goals to bring new forms of relevance to art are well-stated in the show’s catalog, where McAnally offers these passionate words. Photograph: Courtesy of Joan HeckenbergĬounterpublic’s ambitions are to get outside of the traditional structures of the art world and to exhibit in spaces that feel crucial to diverse communities. There was also a lot about reckoning around monuments nationwide, and just thinking about where is history held, where is it kept.” What we heard really informed the exhibition – we heard a lot about public memory, people feeling like the histories of their own neighborhood were not being presented and seen. We asked these people what was important to them. “The planning started with a process of listening – a year-long community engagement process where we met with some 800 people living in the neighborhoods.

“It’s a really unique experience, to see that density and range of newly commissioned artworks,” said McAnally.įor the second Counterpublic, running through 15 July, McAnally, and the numerous curators who have worked alongside him on this huge project, placed a high value on a continued public focus. It was lauded both for seamlessly fusing its art interventions into the local cultures of its sites and for its steadfast dedication to community engagement. The first Counterpublic placed itself deep into the St Louis community, operating in neighborhood sites like a tea shop, yoga studio, punk club, convenience store, Buddhist temple and Mexican panader ía. Inaugurated in 2019, Counterpublic aims to be a regular reckoning with many of the questions that underlie St Louis’s – and by extension America’s – history.

Beyond the boundary james