Counterpublic's present, past, and hopeful future
Counterpublic is an independent 501c3 not-for-profit organization founded in 2021 by James McAnally and Lee Broughton along with a founding board of directors. This development as an organization stemmed out of conversations that Broughton and McAnally had over the course of 2020 with a stated desire to create a full-fledged organization with a distinct mission to use art to “reimagine civic infrastructures towards generational change.” This organization is in part a recurring exhibition, but also carries a specific mission to create change with year-round programs, engagement and activities that continue to develop and grow.
There's a story that comes before that, which is also important to tell:
In 2015, St. Louis based arts organization The Luminary organized a “series of solo exhibitions” called Counterpublic in neighboring businesses. The exhibitions were organized by then co-directors Brea Youngblood and James McAnally. This was meant as a one-time project but was part of a shared ethos: that art should be an everyday, accessible part of neighborhood life.
In 2017, McAnally proposed that The Luminary create a public art triennial that countered the traditional model of biennials and triennials typically seen in cities throughout the United States. In 2019, that version, a “triennial scaled to a neighborhood,” swelled into approximately two dozen projects along Cherokee Street, co-organized by Katherine Simone Reynolds, Brea Youngblood and James McAnally. Following that project, everyone involved agreed that if anything like it were to ever happen again, it would have to be completely rethought. Counterpublic, in its form as an exhibition on and for Cherokee Street and as a part of The Luminary, ended.
Back to the present day: an incredible team of people have built Counterpublic as the organization that it is today. These people shape our work daily – from our staff Melisa, Jess, Jessi, Kristen, Jaye, Marianne, and Abraham to fellows Micah, Ousmane, and Roy – as well staff that shaped the 2023 edition – Aja, Katherine, Carmen, Micah, Alexis, Cheeraz, and Laura. Its co-founders Broughton and McAnally continue to lead its vision and operation, and it is guided and sustained by a board of directors, advisory circle, and a host of partners, supporters and advocates numbers in the many hundreds.
This organization was founded with a distinct mission, vision, impact and structure from its historical versions in 2015 and 2019 and is operated separately from The Luminary. While The Luminary remains an important partner, alongside the dozens of other exhibition partners we work with in each edition, the two organizations no longer share any core mission, team or structure. These shifts are evident in all aspects of the organization and its public presence. From "a series of solo exhibitions" in neighboring businesses on Cherokee Street, it is now one of the largest public art platforms in the nation, connecting with over 190,000 visitors from 36 states and 12 countries and bringing dramatic impacts within the region in its 2023 edition – its first as a new organization. This is also why you see Counterpublic with a daily presence through year-round engagement work and events, partnerships and pop-ups, civic investments and many soon-to-be-announced programs and initiatives.
Ensuring our story is known, clarifying our important past, and working towards future organizational history efforts continues to be a priority, and we look forward to celebrating these areas further through our new website’s launch in September 2024.
