CIRCUS OF LIFE

The Counterpublic Convening is designed to be a standalone signature event alongside Counterpublic’s triennial exhibition with a different set of themes, participants and focus topics. Taking place every three years between exhibition editions, the Counterpublic Convening aims to test new models of organizing, create dynamic points of assembly and to push forward discourse towards generational change.

The inaugural Counterpublic Convening, a free festival bringing together leading artists, thinkers, and advocates to imagine new ways of being in the world together. Organized by New York-based writer and curator Laura Raicovich, alongside Ringleaders Kenneth Bailey, Galen Gritts, Nontsikelelo Mutiti, and Jeanne van Heeswijk, CIRCUS OF LIFE cultivated connections and shared experiences during a time when locating what we hold in common is urgent and necessary. Hosted in the Grand Center Arts District at the Big Top, an iconic circus tent, and the Counterpublic House, the program expanded imaginations and engaged participants through joy, delight, and creative expression.

Inspired by the richness of circus entertainment and artists’ ability to expand society’s imagination, CIRCUS OF LIFE brought a variety of such experiences to the public. Artists, advocates, and cultural leaders presented ideas and performances, shared conversations, posed questions, and hosted booths of fun and exchange for all to make meaning together. Organized in five distinct Acts, each with its own theme, the Big Top hosted a combination of live performance, song, discussion, and a variety of entertainment and spectacle. Surrounding the Big Top were booths and tables by artists and collaborators presenting activities and games, alongside mystical and educational experiences. Workshops unfolded over the course of the weekend, offering ways to engage in-depth in hands-on activities and discussions.

Keynotes included poet Marc Bamuthi Joseph, the radical Bread & Puppet Theater, co-host of Democracy Now! Nermeen Shaikh, cultural critic Roxane Gay, and musicians Ali Sethi and Nicolás Jaar.