The circus has endured as one of America’s most popular forms of entertainment, and St. Louis arts nonprofit Counterpublic plans to honor that tradition at its inaugural Circus of Life. Held at The Big Top in the Grand Center Arts District from October 24-26, the circus-themed “convening” features dozens of artists and artist collectives on stage, as well as workshops, artist booths, and community tables that will “imagine new ways of being in the world together.”
“In this particular moment in U.S. and global history, it’s important to have a big cultural event where we could all have an experience and come and gather,” says curator Laura Raicovich.
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Counterpublic is known for its three-month-long, citywide exhibits—one of the largest public art exhibits in the country—produced every three years. The first iteration took place in 2015 as a one-off event at various locations along Cherokee Street; the next Counterpublic is set for 2026. But the non-profit’s organizers wanted to hold a large public gathering in between its triennial exhibits.
“Classical art spaces sometimes don’t feel comfortable for everyone,” Raicovich says. Based in New York, Raicovich is former president of the Queens Museum and author of three books, including 2021’s Culture Strike: Art and Museums in an Age of Protest. “A lot of people feel like they’re not for them or maybe they just don’t feel comfortable going to a bright and shiny museum. But the circus is a cultural form that is present in almost every culture around the globe, and it feels very comfortable and accessible. That’s in part because of the relationship that circuses have with their audiences. Those little taglines that we all know in our minds, ‘Come one, come all!,’ ‘Step right up!’ These kinds of phrases are very inclusive. The circus has always been a place where people who maybe didn’t feel accepted or didn’t feel like they fit into more mainstream society could go and find a home and a family—or a chosen family.”
Co-curated by Counterpublic’s Kenneth Bailey, Galen Gritts, Notsikelelo Mutiti, and Jeanne van Heeswijk, the schedule is divided into five acts: Speaking Truth to Power, Undoing & Redoing, Resisting/Existing, Cultivating Radical Love, and The Final Act: Reflections for the Future. The events will be emceed by singer Larry Krone and poet and novelist Dr. Treasure Shields Redmond.
Of the 16 performers, approximately half are locals, namely author Sarah Kendzior; singer and musician Soumir (who was named Best New Artist in this year’s A-List); Circus Harmony, a social circus and school that teaches circus education throughout the city; and Kayla Reed, co-founder of the social justice organization Action St. Louis.
Friday kicks off with a performance by Bread & Puppet, a political puppet theater company from Vermont founded in 1963 that also bakes and serves fresh bread to the audience. Saturday’s highlight is a presentation by Roxane Gay, famed cultural commentator and author of the best-selling 2014 essay collection, Bad Feminist, followed by a discussion with Gay and New York conceptual and performance artist Chloe Bass on access to power and the rising tide of censorship. The program closes Sunday with a parade from The Big Top to Counterpublic’s headquarters on Washington Avenue, where they will host a communal meal, reading, talk, and more performances.
“While a circus conjures up a certain level of fantasy and the ability to step into a place of weirdness, it’s also directly connected to our lives and what’s going on in them,” Raicovich says. “It was really important that whatever is happening under The Big Top and in the booths and workshops was tethered in some way to all the practical things in our lives that we are dealing with on a day-to-day basis, but with an injection of new imagination and joy.”
Circus of Life will take place October 24-26 at the Big Top in the Grand Center Arts District (3401 Washington). For more information to see the full lineup, visit counterpublic.org.
