Listening to St. Louis—Counterpublic Art Triennial 2023

Key words: cultural history, Indigenous, Black lives, earthworks, St. Louis, public art, listening, healing, triennial, restoration, reparation, holistic engagement, commemoration, rematriation, contemporary art, creative intervention, podcast


Today, we take you to St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States of America. Home of the Gateway Arch, an Emblem of Manifest Destiny, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Emblem of Manifest Destiny. St. Louis is nicknamed “‘Mound City”’ because of the number of earthworks built by Indigenous peoples there, before the westward expansion of colonizers conspired to flatten them. Where caves beneath the city sheltered freedom seekers traversing the Underground Railroad in the mid-1800s. Where, from 1959 to 1972—in the span of less than 20 years—residents of the historically Black neighborhoods Mill Creek Valley and Pruitt-Igoe Homes were displaced in the name of urban development and public safety. 

Where, in 2014, the Black Lives Matter movement coalesced. Nearly a decade later, in the year 2023, current events reveal that in this city and this state, the sanctity of civil and human rights remains tenuous on every level. 

What role can a public art triennial play in such a troubled context? 

A microcosm of the disruptive forces at play in cities across the United States today, St. Louis offers fertile ground for creative interventions that are healing—restorative in nature.

The civic exhibition Counterpublic takes on the challenge. To prepare for the 2023 event, the triennial’s home team committed to a year of listening sessions with a range of public constituents. A report integrated into the exhibition catalogue outlines local interest in holistic engagement with public memory, commemoration, and acknowledgement; the rematriation of Indigenous land; and reparative futures. In response, for three months, thirty projects animate the urban landscape along six miles of Jefferson Avenue. 

In this episode, we follow that throughway from south to north to share healing elixirs healing we discover at the heart of seven Counterpublic projects along the way. Listen to the ways they honor and amplify strength, beauty, and hope at the core of reemergent cultural histories in St Louis.

Story: Cathy Byrd
Sound Design: Anamnesis Audio
Special Audio courtesy Nokosee Fields, X, Raven Chacon, Stefani Jemison, Griot Museum of African American History, Torkwase Dyson, Mendi and Keith Obadike, SlowDrag audio "Joy and Everything," remixed by K Kudda, and Counterpublic, Mood Unit by  by Blue Dot Sessions

Fresh Art International

Listening to St. Louis—Counterpublic Art Triennial 2023

Welcome to Miami Moves Me, a podcast brought to you by a team of University of Miami students in Spring 2020. We’re working to bring you stories about our city to enjoy during and after quarantine. Our semester changed drastically with the COVID-19 outbreak. Although some of our stories were recorded before the pandemic, many of our episodes will also incorporate this new perspective as we explore the different areas and aspects of Miami. Here we introduce you to our awesome class and the voices you will be hearing over the next few weeks:This is an amazing team of podcast creators! Get excited to hear our stories about Miami!

Introducing Miami Moves Me - AMS350

Welcome to Miami Moves Me, the podcast that takes you to experience the past, present, and future of this city. I’m Jonathan Raskauskas. Today, I  take you to North Beach for Juggerknot Theatre’s Production of Miami Motel Stories. This is an interactive play where the audience enters different rooms in a motel to encounter scenes and stories from the past! Miami Motel Stories was truly an immersive experience that I recommend to anyone in the Miami area. I felt the pain and joy that the characters felt because you were able to experience a little excerpt from their life.

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Welcome to Miami Moves Me, a podcast brought to you by a team of University of Miami students in Spring 2020. We’re working to bring you stories about our city to enjoy during and after quarantine.

Our semester changed drastically with the COVID-19 outbreak. Although some of our stories were recorded before the pandemic, many of our episodes will also incorporate this new perspective as we explore the different areas and aspects of Miami. 

Here we introduce you to our awesome class and the voices you will be hearing over the next few weeks. This is an amazing team of podcast creators! Get excited to hear our stories about Miami.

Student Creators: Diana Borras, Gretchell Cano, Luz Estrella Cruz, Kurt Gessler, Melissa Huberman, Kristian Kranz, Reese McMichael, Jonathan Raskauskas, Ben Vinarski

Introducing "Miami Moves Me"

In sunny Downtown Miami, diverse artists are coming together to form a living, breathing community.

But this city isn’t all sunshine, and after dark, a certain exhibition space on East Flagler lets you peek into the void.

Staring into the Void, with Artist David McCauley

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Today we take you inside one dimension of the city’s contemporary art world. I had a rare opportunity to gaze into that world in real life, before the coronavirus pandemic forced most experiences with art into the virtual realm. Prior to #stayathome restrictions, , the art world relied on in-person access to art in galleries, museums, exhibitions and art fairs to raise awareness of emerging and well known artists, and to create a market for their work.  .

I had the chance to explore Miami’s Art Wynwood, an annual art fair that takes place early in the year, a few months after Miami Art Week, the international art event that floods the city with art, artists, curators, gallerists and collectors every December. Inside the fair, I met artist Yucef Merhi and gallerist Robert Fontaine.  My first-ever experience of an art fair left me eager to explore Miami’s art scene when South Florida opens up again.


Art Wynwood is an annual Miami-based fair that launched in 2012.  The fair showcases works by emerging talent, mid-career artists, blue chip contemporaries, and well known post-war and modern artists. Art Wynwood was once located in Miami’s Wynwood District. Now, the fair brings together 60 galleries and over 165 artists inside a huge tent set up at the site where the Miami Herald newspaper once operated.  The fair features galleries based in a dozen countries, including the U.S.,France, Canada and the Netherlands. 

Robert Fontaine Galleryis a gallery that opened in 2010. Now situated in Miami Beach, the gallery provides a platform for emerging, mid career and master artists showing works ranging from pop art to digital media.
Bonnier Art Gallery is a fine art gallery with a focus on minimalist and conceptual art. Grant and Christina Bonnier opened the gallery in 2018, in Allapattah, Miami’s newest art district.

Producer: Diana Borras
Postproduction: Joe DeMarco
Photography: Diana Borras

Diana Borras is currently a senior studying political science and a minor in international studies. In her free time she likes to explore whether it's getting into another world through a good book, or getting on a plane to discover what this beautiful planet has to offer us.She loves learning about new cultures, and about new things. She also enjoys creating content such as podcasts, videos, and photos.  

Related Episodes: https://soundcloud.com/freshartinternational/sets/miami-moves-me
Related Links:http://yucef.com
https://www.robertfontainegallery.com
https://www.thebonniergallery.com
https://www.artwynwood.com

Hashtags: #ArtWynwood, #RobertFontaineGallery #BonnierArtGallery #MiamiMovesMe #artfair #studentpodcast #univmiami #studentedition

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Welcome to Miami Moves Me, the podcast that takes you to experience the past, present, and future of this city. I’m Jonathan Raskauskas. Due to coronavirus complications, the University of Miami closed the campus in March 2020.  I am currently stuck finishing the Spring semester at home in Naples, Florida! This episode proves that  you can survive not only the virus but also your pestering family members’ inability to comprehend the word “privacy.” Listen for advice from my sister and parents: a teacher, a renowned doctor, and a veterinarian.

How to Survive the Coronavirus Quarantine

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Voices in order of appearance with major:
Jonathan Raskauskas (Computer Science), Melissa Huberman (Neuroscience), Luz Estrella Cruz (Film & Africana Studies), Kurt Gessler (Architecture), Kristian Kranz (), Diana Borras (Political Science & International Relations), Reese McMichael (Political Science), and Ben Vinarski (Neuroscience)

Producer: Gretchell Cano
Co-Producer: Cathy Byrd

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Today’s episode, Juan Mullerat and Plusurbia, discusses the success in urban planning for Miami based design firm Plusurbia, and its founder, Juan Mullerat. In the fast paced urbanization that Miami is currently undergoing, Juan is at the forefront of the planning battle, elected responsible for maintaining the cultural character of Miami’s most cherished neighborhoods. In detail, Juan addresses Plusurbia’s most recent project of Little Havana, and the keys to success for the design process. For anyone looking to learn more about the redevelopment of Miami and the key players behind the scenes, look no further than Plusurbia’s projects.

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Fresh Art International with curator Cathy Byrd features Conversations About Creativity with Joan Jonas, Jason Moran, Irene Hofmann, William Pope.L, Theaster Gates, Tania Bruguera, Stephen Vitiello, Camille Norment, Franklin Sirmans, Cheryl Pope, Lynda Benglis, Jillian Mayer, Sylvie Fortin, Andrea Bowers, Remy Jungerman, Louis Grachos, and more.

Listening to St. Louis—Counterpublic Art Triennial 2023

Fresh Art International

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