The traveling circus is, to writer and curator Laura Raicovich’s mind, a great metaphor for exactly the kind of culture we need right now. She and a number of colleagues are organizing a weekend-long festival, the “Circus of Life,” that will bring together artists, writers, theater groups, curators, performers, poets, activists, and others in St. Louis, Missouri this fall. The backdrop is Counterpublic, a triennial “civic exhibition” that was launched in 2019 by founding director James McAnally.
It all goes down October 24–26 at the Big Top circus grounds in the city’s Grand Center Arts District. Free and open to all, the event is organized by Raicovich and a team of four “ringleaders”—Kenneth Bailey of the Design Studio for Social Intervention; historian Galen Gritts; artist Jeanne van Heeswijk; and graphic designer and artist Nontsikelelo Mutiti. Among the other artists in the lineup are Chloë Bass, Hilma’s Ghost (Sharmistha Ray and Dannielle Tegeder), and Kameelah Janan Rasheed.
“Having worked in many more traditional cultural spaces,” said Raicovich in a phone interview, “I recognize their limits in welcoming people who might not otherwise attend, and I think right now, especially under the current political and social circumstances we find ourselves in globally, we really need to spend more time in person sharing a cultural moment or experience so we can see what we hold in common. The isolation of the pandemic and the screen-centered lives we live have alienated us to even a greater degree than we might otherwise be in terms of having common experiences.”
Raicovich brings a multiplicity of experiences to her new role as circus barker. She had worked at the Guggenheim Museum, the Dia Art Foundation, and public art nonprofit Creative Time before serving for three years director of New York’s Queens Museum; she resigned in 2018 following conflict with the board over her advocacy for progressive causes.
The Big Top. Courtesy Kranzberg Arts Foundation.
She then got straight to work on the book Culture Strike: Art and Museums in an Age of Protest, published in 2021 and blurbed as “urgent” by critic Travis Diehl. It was a busy year: she also teamed up with friends to open the Francis Kite Club, a bar and cultural events venue on New York’s Lower East Side. She’s been involved with City University of New York anthropologist David Harvey’s Urban Front as well.
What’s on the agenda at Counterpublic? A lot! Everything starts on Friday night with performances by the Bread and Puppet Theater troupe spoken word artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph. Saturday will bring events like a conversation between Chloë Bass and author Roxane Gay (Bad Feminist) and a talk by Democracy Now! co-host Nermeen Shaikh. On Sunday, participants will join a parade to the Counterpublic House for a collective meal organized by Van Heeswijk and a number of local collaborators.
Along the way, there will be aerialists, and a local circus school will teach juggling. Creatives will have booths surrounding the big top: Janan Rasheed will play games with visitors and artist Finnegan Shannon will explore disability accommodation. Workshops will be on offer by Hilma’s Ghost and by Prem Krishnamurthy and Sam Rauch of the Department of Transformation.
Raicovich is aware of the problematic aspects of circuses, like the treatment of animals and classification of some people as freaks, but even so, she is excited for a place for community and exchange by people who may not be initiated into what she calls the “byzantine rites” of arts and cultural spaces.
“The circus has always been a place where people who are not accepted in mainstream society have gone for refuge, community, and fellowship, and to, frankly, have a life,” she said. “This is another reason we’re doing a circus—it’s a forum that has been accepting of people who are different. That’s an important thing.”
Admission is free and open to all, but spots should be reserved at Counterpublic’s website.
Source: Exhibition - news.artnet.com
