Coyote Time Opening Programming

Counterpublic is pleased to share the opening programming for Coyote Time featuring artists in dialogue, live performances across Triennial sites, and a shared meal at the International Institute of St. Louis with artist Rirkrit Tiravanija, among many other events. The exhibition’s nearly 50 commissioned works converse with neighborhoods, monuments, and historical buildings to propose generational change.

In its third iteration, Counterpublic continues to look to artists to process our present culture and contemplate future realities. The works on view critique and explore issues around education, climate change, technology, immigration, and Native sovereignty both in the context of St. Louis as well as globally. In partnership with neighboring institutions and museums, Coyote Time offers a deep and thoughtful exploration of the power of public art.

The full opening schedule can be found here and below. All programming is free and open to the public, but we recommend registering here to stay connected on upcoming events.

Opening: Juanita McNeely at the Saint Louis Art Museum marks the first solo exhibition by the artist in her hometown of St. Louis. Bringing together more than five decades of work across painting, drawing, and ceramics, the exhibition foregrounds McNeely’s distinct approach to figuration and her sustained focus on the body as a site of vulnerability, desire, and resilience.

3–7 PM | 1 Fine Arts Dr, St. Louis, MO 63110

Opening: Carolina Caycedo: Growing Deep Roots at the Kemper Art Museum presents a solo exhibition by the artist informed by two years of research with botanists, plant taxonomists, Native elders, and scientists at the Missouri Botanical Garden and The Land Institute to learn about perennial prairie and water-absorbing plants that grow along waterways throughout the Mississippi River watershed.

5:30–8 PM | 1 Brookings Dr, St. Louis, MO 63130

Remarks with Tom Burr and Jordan Carter will be followed by Benjamin Patterson performance in the Pulitzer’s Spring Church and Park-Like. Local musician Damon Smith will perform Patterson’s Variations for Double-Bass (1961) followed by Park-Like installation When Elephants Fight, It Is the Frogs That Suffer—A Sonic Graffiti (2016–2026), which includes local frog sounds, humans imitating frogs, and readings from Benjamin Patterson, Maya & Lily Crothers Gallego-Patterson, Eirini & Melina Charalampous, Keno Graumann, and St. Louis contributors.

6 PM | 620 North Spring Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63108 (Spring Church) and 3713 Washington Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63108 (Park-Like)

Coyote Time Grand Opening at Powell Hall will toast to the artists, curators, and collaborators. Alice Bucknell’s Coyote Time score will be performed by members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

8 – 10 PM | 718 N Grand Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63103

Artist Talks + Tours: The International Institute of St. Louis hosts permanent public artworks and celebrates updates to their historic building. The opening includes remarks with Counterpublic and IISTL leadership, a ribbon cutting ceremony for an outdoor sculpture by Petrit Halilaj, a walk and talk with artists and curators, and a meal by Rirkrit Tiravanija in the newly launched kitchen.

3 – 7 PM | 3401 Arsenal St, St. Louis, MO 63118

Performance: Kite in Tower Grove Park has created a major outdoor installation composed of boulders and plantings arranged according to Lakȟóta geometric symbols. These arrangements act as a playable musical score and include symbols for nonhuman beings, understood as cosmic forces, such as earth, lightning, and thunder, signifying the ontological status of forces more powerful than humans in this world. The patterns in Kite’s new work draw from a visual lexicon adapted from Lakȟóta quillwork and beadwork held in St. Louis collections, in which abstract symbols carry layered semiotic meanings and reference celestial maps, embroidery, and other cultural signifiers that remain partially illegible to non-Native viewers. Kite will present a performance of the score with local musicians.

6:30 PM | Tower Grove Park (38°36’20.6″N 90°14’37.4″W)

Opening: Ximena Garrido-Lecca at The Luminary presents the artist’s solo installation Signal Interludes.

7 – 9 PM | 2701 Cherokee St, St. Louis, MO 63118

Run: Northside Trap Run is a 5k run organized by partners 4theVille. Artist Malcolm Peacock will participate in the run and share about his public performance in October. Following the run is a block party and a walking tour with artists and curators through The Ville.

8 AM – 10 PM | Start + Finish Line (N. Sarah St and Dr MLK Drive)

Artist Talks + Walking Tours: The Ville

10 AM – 12 PM | starts at The Ville Counterpublic Hub (4140 Dr. Martin Luther King Dr., St. Louis, MO 63113)

Talk: Great Rivers Biennial 2026 at Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis is a collaborative initiative between CAM and the Gateway Foundation that recognizes and fosters artistic talent in the greater St. Louis metropolitan area. The artist talk features Vaughn Terrell Davis Jr. (Counterpublic 2026), Lauren dela Roche, and Vincent Stemmler (Counterpublic 2023).

11 AM – 12 PM | 3750 Washington Ave, St. Louis, MO 63108

Opening: National Building Arts Center + NON STNDRD feature artists Carolina Caycedo, M12 Studio, Chris Carl, Lynne Smith, Sebastián Llovera, and Rachel Youn.

1 – 3 PM | 2300 Falling Springs Rd, Sauget, IL 62206

Opening, Talks + Performances: Mississippi Riverfront + Chouteau’s Landing presents a durational performance by Natural Information Society as well as performances by Won Ju Lim in collaboration with Amy Granat and St. Louis Dance Theater.

3 – 5 PM | 101 Chouteau Ave, St. Louis, MO 63102

Opening, Talks + Performances: Mississippi Riverfront + Laclede’s Landing presents two talks: Glenn Ligon and Stephen Andrews with curator Wanda Nanibush; and curators Nora N. Khan, Raphael Fonseca, artist Alice Bucknell, LI Yi-Fan, and Tromarama. Following the talks are a performance by Tromarama and play through of Bucknell’s Coyote Time video game artwork along with food trucks and live music.

5 – 10 PM | 104 N Leonor K Sullivan Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63102