The Future of Monuments

Kendal Henry is an artist and curator based in New York who has specialized in the field of public art for over 30 years. He illustrates that public art can be used as a tool for social engagement, civic pride, and economic development through the projects and programs he has initiated in the US and internationally. Henry currently oversees the city’s temporary and permanent art commissions as assistant commissioner of public art at the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. He is also an adjunct professor at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.

Norman Lee cofounded RE:site with Shane Allbritton. They create dynamic, multilayered works that exist somewhere between art, architecture, and landscape to explore themes of community, identity, and narrative in the context of public space. Lee is the son of immigrants and part of a family that has organized for civil rights and racial justice for three generations, and he sees his artwork as an expression of that legacy. Since becoming a finalist in the World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition, he has developed a unique approach to commemoration, defined by a sensitivity to the transcendent and an open, inclusive vision of our society. Lee and Allbritton are passionate about helping communities honor difficult histories and recover the voices of those who struggled for justice, freedom, and human dignity. RE:site has worked on commemorative and memorial projects throughout the country and will complete The Light of Hope, Cincinnati’s landmark memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., later this year.

Sandy Williams IV is an interdisciplinary artist, filmmaker, and professor. His/her/their art practice studies the vernacular or language of time as it exists across cultural landscapes, personal experiences, and as a unit of measurement. His/her/their approach to public art is sensitive to the contextual histories that inform a specific region and create space in the archive for disenfranchised memories. Williams is concerned with cultivating love and empathy, and he/she/they hope that his/her/their artwork can conjure moments of reflection, inspire a sense of communal catharsis, and open viewers up to perspectives that they may not have otherwise considered.

Melissa Mongiat is the cofounder of Daily tous les jours, the award-winning 
Tiohtià:ke/Montréal-based studio that is leading an emergent field of practice combining interactive art, storytelling, performance, and urban design to reinvent living together in the 21st century. Founded in 2010 alongside Mouna Andraos, the studio produces projects that encourage citizens to play an active role in the transformation of their cities, with the public spaces we share every day as the canvas. Mongiat holds a master’s degree in Creative Practice for Narrative Environments from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design at the University of the Arts London, UK, and a bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from the School of Design at the Université du Québec à Montréal.