​​The 2024 Monument Lab Summit in Philadelphia will bring together thought leaders influencing and innovating the monument landscape through groundbreaking forms of commemoration, acknowledgment, justice, and belonging around the theme of “Past is Presence.” Monument Lab will gather the monument changemaking community to elevate the power of coalitional public memory and art. At the Summit, we will convene artists, curators, grassroots organizers, federal officials, municipal and civic workers, educators, students, and more from around the country for keynotes, panels, workshops, and field trips. Major support for the Monument Lab Summit is provided by the Mellon Foundation.

Confirmed presenters include: Elizabeth Alexander (President, Mellon Foundation), Sonya Clark (Artist, Declaration House), Jeannine A. Cook (Founder, Harriett’s Bookshop), Andrew M. Davenport (Director, Getting Word African American Oral History Project at Monticello), Erica Armstrong Dunbar (Historian, Author of Never Caught), Paul Farber (Director, Monument Lab), Salamishah Tillet (Scholar, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for The New York Times), Gayle Jessup White (Public Relations and Community Engagement Officer at Monticello, author of Reclamation), and Yolanda Wisher (Senior Curator, Monument Lab). Full bios for presenters can be found here. A full schedule of panels, workshops, and field trips will be announced closer to the event date

Livestream Pass option now available! Register today to access livestream video of keynotes and panels >

Summit 2024 Team
Lead Organizer: Yolanda Wisher
Project Manager: Kerry Bickford 
Designer: Jonai Gibson-Selix
Monument Lab Team: Kristen Giannantonio, Cleary Rubinos, and Stephani Pescitelli
Communications: Florie Hutchinson, Dina Paola Rodriguez, and Bella Rodriguez
Intern: Hannah Fisher Gray
Monument Lab Board of Directors: Lola Bakare (Secretary), Ellery Roberts Biddle, Amari Johnson, Monica O. Montgomery (Vice Chair), Stephan Nicoleau (Treasurer), Michelle Angela Ortiz, Samala, Kirk Savage, and Tiffany Tavarez (Chair)
Partners: Cherry Street Pier, Getting Word African American Oral History Project at Monticello, Independence Visitor Center, Harriett’s Bookshop, and Independence National Historical Park 

Major support for the Monument Lab Summit is provided by the Mellon Foundation, with additional support from the Center for Public Art & Space at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design. Support for Declaration House has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.