Counterpublic 2026: Coyote Time

Counterpublic is back across St. Louis from September 10 through December 13, 2026. This is a triennial public art exhibition, so it only comes around every three years, and this edition is titled Coyote Time.

If you're not familiar with it, Counterpublic started in 2019 as a series of activations in barbershops, bakeries, parks, and other community spaces. It grew from there into one of the largest public art exhibitions in the United States. James McAnally co-founded it with Brea Youngblood at The Luminary, and he later established Counterpublic as its own standalone organization in 2021. The mission is to rethink art's role in public life and civic infrastructure, treating the city as a living laboratory where preservation and contemporary art meet.

Coyote Time takes its name from a commissioned video game by artist Alice Bucknell, set inside St. Louis' City Museum. The game freezes the moment a character leaps off a cliff and hangs in midair, unsure of what comes next. That image of anticipation frames uncertainty as a space for experimentation, risk, and possibility. The curatorial team drew on more than 1,400 pieces of feedback from St. Louis residents to center joy, intergenerational learning, and hope.

The exhibition is spread across five sites in St. Louis, Missouri: the National Building Arts Center, the St. Louis Art Museum, the Kemper Art Museum, the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, and the Kranzberg Arts Foundation, with work also appearing at The Luminary. There's also work in Sauget, Illinois, so you'll have to step just across the state line to see the full thing. It runs from September 10 through December 13, 2026.