After a pandemic pause in 2020, our Distinguished Public Artists + Leaders Program returns this fall. For the first time, Public Art Saint Paul is recognizing the work of an organization. We are proud to announce that this year, our public event will honor the cutting edge work of Monument Lab, a nonprofit art and history studio based in Philadelphia.

Join us on Wednesday, November 10 at 7:00 PM in-person or on a virtual Zoom platform to hear from Paul Farber, Director and Co-founder of Monument Lab.

Farber (he/they) offers reflections on the field of public art and will contend that we must radically change the ways we create, maintain, and engage our monuments. They will share stories from Monument Lab projects and partnerships, reflections on Monument Lab’s recent National Monument Audit, and a wish list and action items for the next generation of monuments.

Monument Lab works with artists, students, educators, activists, municipal agencies, and cultural institutions on participatory approaches to public engagement and collective memory. Founded by Paul Farber and Ken Lum in 2012, Monument Lab cultivates and facilitates critical conversations around the past, present, and future of monuments.

Paul M. Farber also serves as Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Public Art & Space at the University of Pennsylvania. Farber’s research and curatorial projects explore transnational urban history, cultural memory, and creative approaches to civic engagement. To learn more about Farber and his publications: https://www.paulfarber.com/about

Monument Lab is the inaugural grantee of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s “Monuments Project,” a $250 million initiative that aims to “transform the way our country’s histories are told in public spaces,” including Monument Lab’s National Monument Audit and the opening of research field offices throughout the country.