Education

Bring your students into the city for world-class art experiences this fall!

Counterpublic invites K-12 school groups and youth organizations, universities, and college classes to experience contemporary art across the city. Offering students a chance to engage art as a living, public, and shared experience grounded in St. Louis, students will discuss urgent and timely questions of our moment in history and imagine a shared future. Major themes include climate action, migration and immigration, neighboring, and belonging. This is an unforgettable learning opportunity to make the city your classroom.

This is a Toolkit that connects public art with the classroom, uplifting art’s ability to engage more deeply with the world around us. Use this as a tool in your classroom for projects and as a way to get out and discover the city with your students.

• Select a theme
• Select a medium
• Connect to art
• Build your curriculum
• Launch your project

Include a visit to an exhibition with Counterpublic or public art through the city to enrich the experience for your students.

DOWNLOAD TOOLKIT.

Counterpublic provides both guided and self-guided tours for K-12 students at the following exhibition locations. Download the field trip guides to learn more about artworks at these sites and plan your visit. Book a guided tour using the field trip request form below.

1. THE VILLE: Black Cultural Legacy + Community Action
Explore one of St. Louis’ most historically significant Black neighborhoods through contemporary art projects rooted in legacy, memory, and community narratives.

Field Trip Guide for The Ville

2. INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE: Immigration + Belonging
Centered at the International Institute of St. Louis, this experience engages themes of belonging and global connection, with optional walking extensions to Tower Grove Park to experience additional public artworks.

Field Trip Guide for the International Institute

3. MISSISSIPPI RIVERFRONT: Labor, Industry + Environment
Connect students to the river as a site of ecology, industry, and history—exploring labor, trade, and environmental relationships through artistic interventions.

Field Trip Guide for the Mississippi Riverfront

We will partner with you before, during, and after your visit:

• Field trip guides to support student engagement
• In-class visits (in-person or virtual) to prepare students
• Opportunities for discussion, reflection, and curriculum alignment

Counterpublic offers funded fellowships for students and postgraduate applicants.

Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts Counterpublic Fellowship
The Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts and Counterpublic created a new fellowship program for graduate students enrolled in the Sam Fox Graduate MFA-VA program. The fellowship places a current MFA-VA student within the Counterpublic team to engage with artists and community, gain firsthand knowledge of the exhibition process, and support public programming in order to advance both their professional skills and their own artistic practice.