Our Monument
WHO
Our Monument is a creative healing collective founded by activist and public artist Ann Lewis. The overarching project is committed to actualizing a world bereft of sexual and gender-based violence by creating inspiring public spaces for healing and education, through creative collaboration with survivors. A Kind Word (see image for prototype) is the first of many local monuments within the Our Monument project that will build bridges between survivor communities across the country, ultimately coalescing to create a national monument honoring the resiliency and strength of survivors of sexual violence through community building and healing.
We hosted our first cohort of survivors in a 3-day creative healing session in Esopus, NY during the summer of 2021. Several months later they shared their ideas for a world free from sexual violence in a series of brainstorming sessions. These courageous women found strength in one another through art-making, contemplation and conversation. Celebrating their bravery and showing gratitude for the trust they placed in the Our Monument project, A Kind Word reflects their mutual compassion for one another and takes a step closer to a safer, more compassionate, and just world.
WHAT
A Kind Word will be a fourteen-foot participatory public sculpture harnessing the healing power of human compassion through crowd- sourced statements of empathy and support. Designed as an intimate one-person experience, this auricular space is activated using an infrared sensor to recognize a participant’s presence. It then envelopes them within a verbal embrace of kind statements recorded and shared by strangers. Ultimately, these statements are intended to relay a sense of supportive kinship and mutual recognition amongst the participants. This act of witnessing and forging community is inspired by the grace and tenderness that was observed among the members of Our Monument’s first cohort. A Kind Word was developed in response to that collective grace. This design may be iterative for future cohorts, but it is imperative that Our Monument responds to the unique needs and vision of each group.
WHERE
The first edition of A Kind Word will be a traveling monument that shares the concept with communities all over the country.
WHEN
We expect to unveil a traveling version of A Kind Word in Spring of 2023.
HOW
Our Monument would not be possible without the generous support of our partners and patrons. If you are interested in learning more about how you or your organization can support the Our Monument project, please contact Sam Giarratani at Sam@NegativeSpace.rocks
