Monument Lab Research/Mobile Labs
Monument Lab was a public art and history project produced by Mural Arts Philadelphia. The project, taking place over nine weeks between September 16 and November 19, 2017 challenged people to join a citywide conversation about history, memory, and our collective future.
A guiding, central question—What is an appropriate monument for the current city of Philadelphia?—was posed to 20+ of the most dynamic contemporary artists working in Philadelphia and around the world today, selected by curators Paul M. Farber and Ken Lum. Temporary monuments conceived by the artists appeared in public spaces across the city, accompanied by interactive pop-up “laboratories” for creative conversations and research collected by youth art guides. During open hours, staff at all labs distributed information, answered questions, prompted participation, and collected submissions from members of the public.
Mural Arts also created a central hub at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where all the proposals for Philadelphia monuments of the future, generated around the city during the nine-week project, were scanned and exhibited, culminating in a new museum of ideas and creative data, built by and for the people. And finally, from panels to parties and tours to talks, public programs created ways for the community to participate in Monument Lab—plus, each site hosted its own weekend event, featuring programming created with the artists and neighborhood partners.
Monument Lab projects were located in and around the original squares of the city, as imagined by founder William Penn (City Hall—originally Center Square, Franklin Square, Washington Square, Logan Square, and Rittenhouse Square), as well as five neighborhood parks (Penn Treaty Park, Vernon Park, Norris Square, Malcolm X Park, and Marconi Plaza), three special project sites (PAFA, West Philadelphia, and Kensington), plus the exhibition hub space at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. An additional field research office opened at The Barnes Foundation inside the former Guest Services Center on 20th Street, representing “holistic thinking sitting alongside strategic planning; that moment when audience development and visitor experience come together.” The office was a space for the public to interact with staff and curators, and to submit their own monument proposals. Curators Paul M. Farber and Ken Lum selected a group of intellectually, geographically, and culturally diverse artists from Philadelphia and around the world.
Monument Lab projects were temporary works of public art created in a variety of media including sculpture, performance, projection, sound, and of course, murals. The projects covered topics such as engagement of public space, equality and social justice, refugee and immigrant issues, opioid addiction and recovery, gentrification and land use, indigenous history, recycling and sustainability, youth voice, Philadelphia music, and neighborhood culture.