About MONUMENTAL TOUR

“Public monuments have a higher charge now. They can celebrate a specific individual, or a group of people, but they should also invite a broader conversation about how a memorial can connect to the rest of the world and represent its people.”

— Hank Willis Thomas

Monumental Tour is a touring exhibition empowering social change through the arts.

Curator, Marsha Reid works with municipalities, institutions and agencies to navigate access  to ‘public spaces’ & to  build out those sites in a way that exemplifies how American public art can inspire equitable commemorative landscapes.  In these sites, inclined citizens may participate, be affirmed, and become informed,

With this monumental exhibit, we offer the public an opportunity to engage with questions of symbolism, history, and the genealogy of artifacts. We aim to confront  issues and advance conversation around systemic inequities, police brutality and the questionable historical legacies that are cemented into the public sphere.

We ask: How do we facilitate the productive civic dialogue needed to shape the national identity in the long term?  and, how can we use this dialogue and our voices to create fundamental change  in the American experience?

Art has always heralded revolution, bringing unrest and social issues into the mainstream of culture, and we believe that these monumental works have a role to play.

Situated on carefully considered public sites, the works call attention to each artist’s distinct visual voice and engage with one another in a curated discourse. Collectively, the works honor and examine aspects of the African American experience, from the first slaves brought over in the 16th century to the present-day prison pipeline, and the struggle for liberation in between.

Individually, the sculptures invite the viewer to consider themes such as: colonization, oppression, privilege, Black middle-class labor, and the decline of industry, Black pride, Black power, Black joy, and subjugation. Each work is an invitation to viewers from any background to learn about and connect with a narrative or era they may not have endured personally, but one which continues to impact the African American experience.