The Switch Which

For more than two decades, Lizzie Fitch and Ryan Trecartin have built percussive, feverish worlds through film, performance, installation, and stage-based environments. Their films are expanded cinematic environments that generate a surplus of possibility that spills out of the screen. The artistic duo has often constructed “sculptural theaters” to house these rich, frenetic films.

The Switch Which is a sculptural stage intended as a gift to the residents of St. Louis: a platform for collective experimentation and a planter for emergent creative possibilities. The stage can be approached from all sides and is designed to be occupied, activated, and reinvented. The Switch Which builds on Fitch and Trecartin’s deep commitment to collaborative work, nurturing wide networks of creative exchange across disciplines. In its everyday mode, the work is a public park feature, offering spaces to linger, hold a meeting, or share meals. In exhibition mode, its surfaces accommodate projection and display, allowing the site to host seasonal installations.

Most importantly, it is an ongoing invitation. A media library—including speakers, a mixer, microphones, and a projector—can be checked out. Residents are invited to stage concerts, open-mic nights, outdoor film screenings, plays, readings, dance, and any other creative acts that St. Louis community members choose to host within it. 

Rhett LaRue is a long-term collaborator of Fitch and Trecartin’s. The pair has worked with LaRue since 2005 on exhibition design, sculpture, 3D modeling, animation, and gaming environments.

Please visit counterpublic.org or access information at the QR Code for information on how to sign up, check out equipment from the media library, and use The Switch Which.

Thank you to the Kranzberg Arts Foundation for collaboration on this project.