Arts & Culture

New York City the Setting for Second ‘Monumental Concerns’ Symposium

Tuesday, March 18, 2025, By Wendy S. Loughlin

The image shows a black and white photograph of a stone monument surrounded by trees. The monument is situated at the top of a series of wide, shallow steps that lead up to it. The trees in the background are dense with foliage, creating a natural canopy over the scene. The monument itself appears to be rectangular with an inscription on its front face, though the text is not legible in this image.A daylong symposium hosted by Syracuse University Artist in Residence Carrie Mae Weems will bring together artists, poets, scholars, activists and theorists to explore contested sites of memory and monuments.

“Monumental Concerns 2”—a continuation of the first “Monumental Concerns” symposium held on campus in fall 2023—is scheduled for Friday, March 21, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at The Museum of Modern Art’s Titus 1 Theatre, 111 West 53 Street, New York City. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.

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

The symposium seeks to evoke an examination of the politics of disagreement in order to collectively create a framework for moving towards a sense of belonging for all. Questions to be addressed include: How might we understand the stakes of the dialogue and debate around monuments and the sites they commemorate? How do we negotiate among multiple—and often conflicting—narratives and the way they show up in public space? Is disagreement crucial to transformation?

In addition to Weems, event participants include:

  • Leah Dickerman, art historian and director of research programs, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
  • Paul M. Farber, curator and director, Monument Lab
  • Karin Goodfellow, director of transformative art and monuments, City of Boston
  • Sherrilyn Ifill, civil rights lawyer and founder, 14th Amendment Center for Law and Democracy, Howard University
  • Vijay Iyer, composer and pianist
  • Delali Kumavie, assistant professor of English, College of Arts and Sciences, Syracuse University
  • Roeshana Moore-Evans, founder and principal strategist, Equity Empowerment Consulting
  • Eto Otitigbe, artist and associate professor of art, Brooklyn College, City University of New York
  • Kendall R. Phillips, professor of communication and rhetorical Studies, College of Visual and Performing Arts, and director, Lender Center for Social Justice, Syracuse University
  • Timothy Phillips, founder and CEO, 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
  • 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

The event will conclude with “Defiant Life,” a musical performance by Iyer and Smith, from 6 to 7 p.m.

“Monumental Concerns 2” is co-organized by Syracuse University and The Museum of Modern Art, and supported in part by the Mellon Foundation. For more information, contact Kate Schwartz at 315.443.8017 or kschwa03@syr.edu.