A Monument For The Inquisitive and Critical

As part of ArtworxTO: Toronto’s Year of Public Art: Toronto’s Year of Public Art, Monument Lab is working with Toronto artist and Monument Lab Fellow Quentin VerCetty on a series of public activations at various civic sites of memory. From October 29-November 31, 2021, the mobile A Monument For The Inquisitive and Critical  – a truck with a flatbed gallery space outfitted with 3D digital sculptures, collages, and maps that summon the past, present, and future of Toronto’s monument landscape is making daily stops across the city at Nathan Phillips Square, RoundHouse Park, Cloverdale Common, Scarborough Town Centre, Wexford BIA, and Mel Lastman Square. At each location, against the backdrop of the A Monument For The Inquisitive and Critical, a team of locally-based Monument Lab researchers are conducting an open engagement process with participants and passerby around a guiding question: What’s Next for Toronto? The reflections from the week of public engagement and research informs a final report to the City of Toronto’s Arts and Culture Services in 2022 regarding civic commemorative practices within the Public Art and Monuments Collection.

The mobile monument will be making stops across the city:

The project also includes a special day of public dialogues on Saturday, October 30, from 12-3 pm EST at Roundhouse Park and online with Ken Lum, Paul Farber, and Quentin VerCetty, alongside Toronto-based artists, memory practitioners, civic officials, and performers including Rebecca Carbin, Mark Cheetham, Sally Han, Andrew Lochhead, Karyn Recollet, Randell Adjei, and hosted by Nico Taylor & Queen Kuyoyi.

Credits

Artistic Direction: Monument Lab 

Monument Lab Team: Ken Lum, Paul Farber, Debra Alleyne, Steph Garcia, and Nico Rodriguez

Featured Artist: Quentin VerCetty  

Curatorial Collaborator: ART+PUBLIC UnLtd.

Monumental Dialogue Participants: Rebecca Carbin, Mark Cheetham, Sally Han, Andrew Lochhead, Karyn Recollet, Randell Adjei, and hosted by Nico Taylor & Queen Kuyoyi.

Additional Design Concepts: Cheyenne Concepcion

Site Partners: Oxford Properties, QuadReal Property Group, and The Wexford BIA. 

Supported by: City of Toronto, Hal Jackman Foundation, The Ouellette Family Foundation, and Paul and Emma Bain