Monumental Concerns 2

“As artists we are all profoundly engaged in our mutual practices, yet the water gathers us into a single pool, thus I invite you to stand on the bridge, as we consider contested sites of memory and monuments. Please join us on March 21, 2025.”
—Carrie Mae Weems

How might we understand the stakes of the dialogue and debate around monuments and the sites they commemorate? How do we negotiate among multiple-often conflicting-narratives and the way they show up in public space? And is disagreement crucial to transformation? Join us for Monumental Concerns, a gathering convened by Syracuse University Artist-in-Residence, Carrie Mae Weems. This day-long program (10:00AM-5:00PM) will bring together a rich array of artists, poets, scholars, activists, and theorists to explore the rocky terrain of contested sites of memory and monuments. Its aim, in offering an evocative examination of the politics of disagreement, is to help us collectively create a framework for moving towards a sense of belonging for all. The convening will conclude with Defiant Life, a musical performance by composer-pianist Vijay Iyer and composer-trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, from 6:00 to 7:00PM.

Monumental Concerns is free and open to the public. Registration is required.

We are delighted to be joined by a group of extraordinary artists and thinkers:

Leah Dickerman, art historian and Director, Research Programs, MoMA

Paul M. Farber, curator and Director, Monument Lab

Karin Goodfellow, Director, Transformative Art and Monuments, City of Boston

Sherrilyn Ifill, lawyer and Founder, 14th Amendment Center for Law and Democracy, Howard University

Vijay Iyer, composer and pianist

Delali Kumavie, Assistant Professor of English, Syracuse University

Roeshana Moore-Evans,  former Executive Director, Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery Initiative

Eto Otitigbe, artist and Associate Professor of Art, Brooklyn College, City University of New York

Kendall R. Phillips, Director, Lender Center for Social Justice, Syracuse University

Timothy Phillips, Founder, Beyond Conflict

Samora Pinderhughes, composer and 2025 Adobe Creative Resident, MoMA

Carl Hancock Rux, poet and playwright

Tim Ryback, historian and Director, Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation

Wadada Leo Smith, composer and trumpeter

Bryan Stevenson, lawyer and founder, Equal Justice Initiative

Carrie Mae Weems, visual artist

Mabel O. Wilson, architect and Nancy and George Rupp Professor of Architecture Planning and Preservation, Columbia University

Christina Zhang, Assistant Professor of Art, Architecture, and Design, Lehigh University

Monumental Concerns is co-organized by Syracuse University and The Museum of Modern Art. It is supported in part by the Mellon Foundation.

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