Snapshot: Reflected in Public Space - Reimagining Monuments & Place Names
Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA, via Shutterstock
Monuments and place names are being rightfully challenged: from Confederate statues in the US, to the debates about Canadian “hero” John A. Macdonald, to streets whose namesakes are no longer the pride of local communities. Often serving as memorials to the past, these public symbols illustrate the contemporary values that have been shaped by unequal structures of power and histories written by “the victors.”
Monuments are inherently nuanced and contradictory in what they symbolize. For example, where some see a “founding father” —a view which often omits particular aspects of their legacy—others see a slave-owner. The names we attach to our public spaces, alongside the statues and plaques we place within them, are an indicator of whose safety we prioritize in public spaces (and whose we ignore). To use the earlier example: choosing not to remove or re-contextualize a monument to a slave-owner is to normalize systemic injustices and uphold a system of white supremacy.
As public monuments and place names are confronted, artists and activists are taking a lead role in reimagining a future that recognizes repressed histories and prioritizes inclusivity in public spaces. These (often unsanctioned) unignorable interventions are also driving change at various levels of government. Officials have responded to these calls to action and the ensuing discussions force us to reflect on whose legacies and presence we choose to protect in public space.
In this week’s Snapshot, we highlight some recent efforts to take stock of and reimagine existing monuments, alongside approaches to introduce completely new forms of symbols in the public realm.
OUT WITH THE OLD: remove vs. re-contextualize
Following the Charleston Massacre in 2015, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) launched an effort to catalogue and map over 1,700 Confederate symbols in public spaces across the US. In their follow-up report Whose Heritage?, SPLC outlines an action guide (pg. 40) empowering groups to advocate for the removal of Confederate symbols in their communities.
In Richmond, Virginia, the former capital of the Confederacy, artists and activists have transformed a massive statue of Robert E. Lee into a monument honouring the Black Lives Matter movement. Owing to its new look, the reimagined statue landed at the top of the New York Times list of 25 Most Influential Works of American Protest Art Since World War II.
Calls from Indigenous leaders in Montreal to remove statues glorifying violence against the Iroquois by colonial settlers have been met with calls to “re-contextualize” monuments—rather than remove them—as a way to avoid the erasure of (colonial) history. In engaging in this debate, it is important to recognize the erasure of Indigenous histories through the exploitation of natural resources, the implementation of reserves, and the residential school system.
In Toronto, an artistic disruption led by Black Lives Matter saw pink paint added to 3 statues adjacent to the Ontario legislature and a downtown university. The intervention, which resulted in 3 arrests, was less a commentary on public monuments, than an important public reminder of privilege, white supremacy, and the injustices—namely inaction on police violence—that Black, Indigenous, and Trans folks in particular, continue to face in their daily lives. Watch BLM Toronto Steering Committee member Ravyn Wngz deliver this powerful speech during a press conference following the statues incident and the subsequent arrests.
With more and more monuments coming down, decision-makers are now faced with the question of what to do with these physical artifacts. While some argue they should be destroyed outright, others are pressing for museums to take up the role of storing them.
IN WITH THE NEW: investment & imagination
Following the removal of a monument to English politician and slave trader Edward Colston—and its subsequent plunge into the Bristol Harbour—the statue was replaced by a sculpture of a Black Lives Matter protester. While the unauthorized sculpture has also since been removed by the local government, artists have launched a new platform to solicit suggestions for what should go atop the empty plinth.
This Fall, U.S.-based philanthropic organization, the Mellon Foundation, announced the “Monument Project”, a $250M pledge to “reimagine” monuments in the US over the course of 5 years. The first Monument Project grant recipient is Philadelphia-based Monument Lab, which will use the funds to conduct a robust audit of US monuments. Check out the Monument Lab podcast here to learn more about their work.
What does it mean to reimagine monuments? In 2018, The Bentway was thrilled to co-present New Monuments for New Cities, a joint art exhibition with members of the High Line Network, which invited 25 artists from 5 participating cities across Canada and the U.S. to imagine new forms of public monuments. New Monuments manifested at The Bentway in Summer 2019 with a series of large artist-designed posters animating the concrete faces of our namesake bents.
Recognizing that physical spaces hold a multiplicity of meanings for different people and communities, some have turned to the digital realm to attach history and meaning to specific places in real-time. In Queering the Map, pin drops represent digital monuments, reimagining streets, bridges, and parks as monuments to people’s queer experiences, from coming out to meeting their first love.
The concurrent public health crisis and protests against systemic injustices have forced many of us to take a closer look at our public spaces and who is welcome in them. As monuments and place names are confronted, there is an opportunity to reflect shifting values and center repressed histories by reimagining public symbols and statements of power in the public realm.
