‘How do you get a fish tank from China to St. Louis?’ and more lessons learned from an art fellowship
2026-10-29 • Caitlin Custer
Spears exploring “Porous Streams Within,” by Lisa Alvarado and Joshua Abrams. (Photo: Caitlin Custer/WashU)
Dallas Spears, MFA ’26, reflects on her fellowship with Counterpublic, St. Louis’s public art triennial. The fellowship, awarded by CityStudioSTL and coordinated through the school’s Office for Socially Engaged Practice, places a Sam Fox School student with Counterpublic each year. The work in this year’s exhibition, “Coyote Time,” is distributed throughout the St. Louis metro area and is on view through Dec. 12, 2026.
What was this fellowship like?
When I first started, it was a lot of research and figuring things out related to transporting or installing the artworks, getting quotes, and buying materials. How do you make a sauna? How do you get a fish tank from China to St. Louis? How do you get a car from Los Angeles to St. Louis? How do you get 1,800 square feet of hot pink carpet? It was a lot of getting quotes and buying things. I got really comfortable with calling people and asking crazy questions.
By July, we were really starting to fabricate, so there was a lot of time in the office and in the shop. I worked on a sound bench for Alan Nakagawa, benches for Margaret Honda. Won Ju Lim pedestals. There was lots of running around, too. I think I went to Home Depot every single day, sometimes twice a day. Figuring out how to make things really well while also staying on top of bookkeeping, emails, meetings, and administration was challenging.
In August we went right into installing. Drilling holes into the ceiling, using a scissor lift for the first time. Some works were more challenging to install than others, so that kept me very busy. Counterpublic has about 50 artists showing work this year, and each work has a varying level of ambition.
What was it like going from the MFA program where you were intensely focused on your own work to helping other artists with theirs?
It was definitely hard to switch into this opposite gear, but at the same time it was good to have a different project than my own thesis. I’m really interested in fabrication and art handling, and learning how something like Counterpublic functions logistically. It’s been great to work with professional artists and learn how they and institutions interact.
At left, work by Sissel Tolaas. In rear, work by Guadalupe Rosales. (Photo: Caitlin Custer/WashU)
Max Hooper Schneider’s “World Aquarium” (Photo: Caitlin Custer/WashU)
Lisa Alvarado and Joshua Abram’s “Porous Streams Within.” (Photo: Caitlin Custer/WashU)
Guadalupe Rosales’s “slippin’ into darkness.” (Photo: Caitlin Custer/WashU)
Is there something from this experience that you’ll take into the next chapter?
One of the most important things I learned is that having really clear expectations and communication will always serve you well. Everything will take longer and more money than you think, so that’s always good to have in mind. Being kind will get you very far with pretty much everybody. I’m also now very comfortable driving a box truck around. I can really whip a U-Haul around!
What would you tell next year’s fellow?
The Counterpublic team is really wonderful, hardworking, and cool. They have a lot of insight into being artists and working professionals, so soak up everything you can. Even the super mundane stuff, like how to send emails really well and use Google Calendar really well, how to manage a ton of different things at once, how to support somebody professionally. It’s great information to help you move forward in your career.
What do you think Counterpublic offers to St. Louis?
I think it offers visibility, both in terms of getting high caliber artists and curators to St. Louis, and for St. Louis to experience something as ambitious as this. Art can and should be everywhere, and it is here. It’s great to have a lot of St. Louis artists represented, too, to give them an opportunity to be part of this. I think Counterpublic will really put St. Louis on the map for art, and local artists will benefit from that.