the Luminary
The exhibition hub at The Luminary gathers artists who explore the legacy of Native and Black displacement in St. Louis, including the ongoing work to resist and repair this erasure today and imagine alternate futures.
VISITING THE hub at The luminary
Sugarloaf Mound is at the center of this story. It is the last remaining Indigenous mound and the oldest human-built structure in the city of St. Louis. It has been occupied, lived on, and overlooked for several centuries, and is one of the most sacred remaining sites for the Osage people. In 2009, Sugarloaf Mound was partially reclaimed by the Osage Nation, which aims to create an interpretive center adjacent to the mound to teach the citizens of St. Louis about where they live. Currently, two private homes still occupy the mound.
Counterpublic’s goal is to use this year’s exhibition – its intent, energy, resources and attention – to participate in the full return of Sugarloaf Mound to the Osage Nation, and to mobilize a “land back” movement in St. Louis.
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith at Monaco
Smith’s work explores St. Louis’s history of trade. State Names Map: Cahokia depicts the vastness of Indigenous life by animating the vast trade networks supported by the Mississippi River.
What questions does this work, and curator Risa Puleo’s exhibition labels throughout the State Streets neighborhood, invite us to ask about our landscape?
New Red Order
New Red Order invites the public to go beyond acknowledgement of the past and ongoing occupation of Native land: It asks for commitment, for action.
In this work, New Red Order asks: “What can be given back?” How would you answer this question?
Black Quantum Futurism at The Luminary
BQF Collective considers how community members in St. Louis can reclaim land, space, time and memory in their neighborhoods.
What is the future we and our neighbors want for ourselves?
Anita and Nokosee Fields at Sugarloaf Mound
The Fields installed 40 square wooden platforms in a space adjacent to Sugarloaf Mound, which bring visitors into relationship with the landscape.
What do you see, hear and feel while viewing Sugarloaf Mound from the platforms?
View historic images of Sugarloaf Mound.
Learn about Osage culture through their series of videos about food, clothing and art. What do these videos make you curious about? What questions do you have?