Paint Louis: Yatika Starr Fields + Alan Nakagawa

Paint Louis, the largest graffiti festival in the world, began in 1997 and continued through 2001. It was revived in 2013 and is now world-renowned. In the shadow of The Gateway Arch along the Mississipi River, over 400 writers gather every Labor Day weekend, coming from across the U.S, and most recently Canada, Mexico, Germany, and Australia.

Beginning as St. Louis Superfest in the mid-90’s, in the early days of the Internet and way before social media, the now very aptly named Paint Louis quickly became host to legendary names in the graffiti and contemporary art worlds, such as ZEPHYR, REVOLT, SABER, REVOK, TWIST, LADY PINK, and more.

Showcasing the four elements of hip hop, the festival has also recently hosted free performances by KRS-One, Souls of Mischief, DJ Qbert, Rakim, and many St. Louis-based and Midwest MCs and DJs.

The Paint Louis wall is year-round attraction for locals and tourists alike. Learn more here.

Yatika Starr Fields is a painter and multidisciplinary artist who draws from world travels and his Osage, Cherokee, and Muscogee Creek knowledge bases to create murals that bring cultural histories into the present. In his process, Fields attunes himself to each site with great sensitivity through research and aesthetic interpretation. For Counterpublic 2026, Fields painted a temporary mural at the floodwall as part of the Paint Louis Festival, the largest graffiti festival in the world.

In addition, Fields created a large-scale visual marker at the burial site of Chief Pontiac, or Ogimaa Obwandiyag, located at 200 S. Broadway, St. Louis, MO 63102.

Courtesy of the Garth Greenan Gallery.

This commission is made possible with the support of the Walker Youngbird Foundation.

Alan Nakagawa is an interdisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles who works with sound and media to engage history and archives. FUTURE HOUSEHEADS, THIS WAS TU’S HOUSE is a multidisciplinary homage to the Upstairs Lounge, an underground center of St. Louis house and dance music from 1994 to 2018. The Lounge was owned by Tu Tien Tran, a Vietnamese immigrant who became a central connector, leader, and community gatherer. Nakagawa has transformed a trailer into a mobile oral history studio and archive celebrating the DJs, bartenders, staff, and patrons of the Upstairs Lounge during its years in operation. Nakagawa has produced a limited-edition original LP of compositions titled Above the Scene, inspired by recurring stories and totemic objects at the Lounge highlighted through his interviews. After the triennial concludes, the oral histories Nakagawa has gathered will be donated to the St. Louis County Library.

All proceeds from Nakagawa’s Above the Scene LP will be donated to Metro Trans Umbrella Group, a community organization supporting trans, nonbinary, and intersex individuals. The Above the Scene LP can be purchased at Dead Wax, Circa Now Records, Vintage Vinyl, and Counterpublic.

This project is supported by a grant from the Vilcek Foundation, and with support from William T. Kemper Foundation.

If you were a DJ, an organizer, a staff member, or a regular at the iconic and beloved Upstairs Lounge (1994–2018), sign up to have your story recorded at the FUTURE HOUSEHEADS… mobile oral histories studio, a recording booth trailer and installation. Click here to learn more and sign up.