The Democratic Potential of Monuments in the 21st Century – Creating Sites for Participation, Social Justice and Critical Discourse
Monument protests dominate media and academic attention. Thereby, an important development within monument making remains understudied: increasingly, artists and commissioners trust monuments to function as tools to strengthen democracy. I have identified three strategies characteristic for this development: 1) Monuments are used to invite citizens’ participation by providing more inclusive themes and interactive designs; 2) Monuments are used to demand social justice; and 3) Monuments are used to establish sites of contestation and critical discourse. These strategies make up the selection criteria for three case studies from Austria, the US and Germany. Their analysis frames the planned monograph’s three main chapters. Performativity in combination with audience reception studies allows me to examine how far the intentions of the monument makers coincide with how people behave at and use these markers in public space. The comparative discussion of the cases provides more general conclusions about these strategies’ strengths and weaknesses. More broadly, the monograph gives insights on monuments’ potential to renegotiate and implement three core democratic values – participation, social justice and critical discourse. This will make a significant contribution to the global discourse among academics, artists, commissioners and policy makers on monuments’ relevance and functions in 21st-century democracies.
Final report
FINAL REPORT RJ Sabbatical 2024
Application
Monuments’ Democratic Potential. Creating Sites for Participation, Social Justice & Critical Discourse
Diarienummer
SAB22-0035
Project’s homepage
https://www.su.se/english/research/research-projects/monuments-democratic-potential
The project’s most important results
In the shadow of recent monument protests, an important development in monument creation has been overlooked: monuments are increasingly being erected to strengthen democracy. These monuments want to create space for critical debate but also visualize the values that are important in a democracy. More and more artists and commissioners want their works to become active tools for societies to deal with difficult historical pasts and to be used to demand social justice. The working title of the project has been concretized in accordance with the results. The monograph, entitled “Monuments as Tools for Democratic Artivism”, will be published by the Brill-Böhlau in 2026. It will be a significant contribution to the international discourse among academics, artists, commissioners and political decision-makers on the relevance and function of monuments in today’s democracies. Monuments and democracy have often been understood as opposites. Understanding monuments as artistic tools that are very consciously intended to strengthen today’s threatened democracies has not been explored before.
International co-operation
The project has been discussed with international experts in the field and presented during a research trip through the States during Fall 2024 (see below).
Monograph
As planned, the Sabbatical made the writing of a monograph possible. The manuscript will be sent to the publisher in October 2025 and published in 2026. The contract was signed with BRILL-BÖHLAU (Cologne, Germany). The book will be published in English and published with Moving Wall, will say: it will be published first as book and short thereafter as a download, free of charge (OA). The book will be the first in a series which investigates the roles of monuments in democracies. The publishing house has asked be to be the editor of the series (see below).
Other Publications
”Rezensionsessay: Denkmäler und Denkmalstürze in Demokratien“ https://www.hsozkult.de/publicationreview/id/reb-133116
The essay includes the review of five books on monuments. One of the books was written by Andrew M. Shanken, who later became the keynote speaker at the international conference I organized together with Jakob Ingemann Parby in Copenhagen in May 2024. When I traveled to the US, Andrew M. Shanken invited me to present my research in Berkeley (see below).
Field trip
6-8 September 2024
Visit of the work Deine Stele in Bornhagen, Thuringia, Germany. Deine Stele is one of the three case studies in my forthcoming book. To understand how the work works, it was important to see it in situ to confirm the assumption that this work is primarily a monument for (social) media.
31 October - 12 November
Field work in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. I revisited The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, collected relevant material, made observations, conducted interviews. This monument is one of three protagonists of my forthcoming book. As much had changed since my first visit in November 2019, and new monuments were added to the sculpture park, it was essential to revisit the site.
Presentation and Discussion of Research Results
During the Fall of 2024, I spent seven weeks in the US. I presented my research at the following universities and public art institutions:
9 October
Lunch-lecture for Paul Farber and his staff at Monument Lab (one of the most progressive public art agencies in the US today), Philadelphia
10 October
Public Lecture at The City University of New York (CUNY) on invitation of the renowned monument researcher Erin Thompson. I was thrilled that important scholars such as James E. Young and Karen Franck attended the lecture. The seminar let to a number of valuable contacts as with Tania Duvergne (see below).
11 October
Interview with Jha D. Amazi and Justin Brown, architects at MASS DESIGN GROUP (who designed the monument in Montgomery)
22 October
Guided tour by Tania Duvergne (Public Art for Public Schools at New York City School Construction Authority)
24 October
Interview with the scholar and activist Stephen Duncombe whose publications on activist art are crucial for my forthcoming book.
28 & 30 October
Two lecture and a seminar held for students, PhDs and colleagues to the renowned monument scholar Kirk Savage at the Art History and Architecture Department, University of Pittburgh
12 November
Interview with Sia Sanneh, Equal Justice Initiative, Montgomery. I was thrilled to finally be able to interview someone at EJI, the law firm and NGO behind the monument in Montgomery.
14 November
Lecture for the renowned monument scholar Erika Doss and her PhD students and colleagues, at Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History, University of Texas at Dallas
18 November
Lecture for the renowned monument scholar Andrew M. Shanken and his students and colleagues at the College of Environmental Design, Berkeley University
Distribution of Results
The US-journey was documented through my blog Monumental Journey https://monumentaljourney.wordpress.com/ which is still accessible.
The blog is mainly about monuments, both historical and contemporary. It also covers several exhibitions and museums I had the chance to see, as well as the US election that was taking place when I was there. The trip will continue to be a source of inspiration for my research and teaching in visual and material culture.
The blog’s purpose is described here: https://www.su.se/institutionen-for-kultur-och-estetik/nyheter/en-forskningsresa-om-demokratiska-monument-under-den-amerikanska-valr%C3%B6relsen-1.769018
International co-operation
9 April
Invited guest at the discussion at Landhaus, Innsbruck, Austria. The debate was about how we can deal with problematic cultural heritage and how art can help make this visible, provoke discussion or cope with it. It was arranged in connection with the exhibition “Vom Gauhaus zum Landhaus”, a cooperation with the Institute for Contemporary History, Innsbruck University.
Additional Spin-off Effects
Jakob Ingemann Parby (City Museum Copenhagen) invited me to start a network on “The Everyday Lifes of Urban Monument”. Together we applied, and received, funding from Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond. The network’s homepage (where its purpose is described in further detail and all events are documented) can be find here: https://cphmuseum.kk.dk/en/about-us/research-and-outreach/research-network-the-everyday-life-of-urban-monuments
The network’s kick-off-conference was held in Copenhagen (7–8 May 2024).
The network’s first workshop was in Stockholm (23–24 September). I organised the program. Invited guest lecturer: Magnus Rodell (Södertörns universitet). The workshop ended with a well-attended panel debate at the Public Art Agency Sweden. It was filmed and can be found here: https://statenskonstrad.se/program/monument-i-vara-dagliga-liv/
I was asked if I wanted to be one of the editors of the renowned journal Public Art Dialogue which I gladly accepted. Since Spring 2024 I am, together with Brenda Schmahmann (Johannesburg) and Peter Bengtsen (Lund), the editor of PAD. We aim to contribute to the journal’s further internationalization.
Sabrina Kern (Katholische Privatuniversität Linz) asked me to be one of her supervisors. Her PhD is about interventions at problematic monuments in Linz (working title: ”Zum Streitwert Linzer Denkmäler seit 1945”).
During Fall, I was asked by my publisher Kirsti Doepner at BRILL-BÖHLAU to be the head editor of a planned series on Monuments in Democracies. My forthcoming monography will be the first publication of this series.
Application
Monuments’ Democratic Potential. Creating Sites for Participation, Social Justice & Critical Discourse
Diarienummer
SAB22-0035
Project’s homepage
https://www.su.se/english/research/research-projects/monuments-democratic-potential
The project’s most important results
In the shadow of recent monument protests, an important development in monument creation has been overlooked: monuments are increasingly being erected to strengthen democracy. These monuments want to create space for critical debate but also visualize the values that are important in a democracy. More and more artists and commissioners want their works to become active tools for societies to deal with difficult historical pasts and to be used to demand social justice. The working title of the project has been concretized in accordance with the results. The monograph, entitled “Monuments as Tools for Democratic Artivism”, will be published by the Brill-Böhlau in 2026. It will be a significant contribution to the international discourse among academics, artists, commissioners and political decision-makers on the relevance and function of monuments in today’s democracies. Monuments and democracy have often been understood as opposites. Understanding monuments as artistic tools that are very consciously intended to strengthen today’s threatened democracies has not been explored before.
International co-operation
The project has been discussed with international experts in the field and presented during a research trip through the States during Fall 2024 (see below).
Monograph
As planned, the Sabbatical made the writing of a monograph possible. The manuscript will be sent to the publisher in October 2025 and published in 2026. The contract was signed with BRILL-BÖHLAU (Cologne, Germany). The book will be published in English and published with Moving Wall, will say: it will be published first as book and short thereafter as a download, free of charge (OA). The book will be the first in a series which investigates the roles of monuments in democracies. The publishing house has asked be to be the editor of the series (see below).
Other Publications
”Rezensionsessay: Denkmäler und Denkmalstürze in Demokratien“ https://www.hsozkult.de/publicationreview/id/reb-133116
The essay includes the review of five books on monuments. One of the books was written by Andrew M. Shanken, who later became the keynote speaker at the international conference I organized together with Jakob Ingemann Parby in Copenhagen in May 2024. When I traveled to the US, Andrew M. Shanken invited me to present my research in Berkeley (see below).
Field trip
6-8 September 2024
Visit of the work Deine Stele in Bornhagen, Thuringia, Germany. Deine Stele is one of the three case studies in my forthcoming book. To understand how the work works, it was important to see it in situ to confirm the assumption that this work is primarily a monument for (social) media.
31 October - 12 November
Field work in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. I revisited The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, collected relevant material, made observations, conducted interviews. This monument is one of three protagonists of my forthcoming book. As much had changed since my first visit in November 2019, and new monuments were added to the sculpture park, it was essential to revisit the site.
Presentation and Discussion of Research Results
During the Fall of 2024, I spent seven weeks in the US. I presented my research at the following universities and public art institutions:
9 October
Lunch-lecture for Paul Farber and his staff at Monument Lab (one of the most progressive public art agencies in the US today), Philadelphia
10 October
Public Lecture at The City University of New York (CUNY) on invitation of the renowned monument researcher Erin Thompson. I was thrilled that important scholars such as James E. Young and Karen Franck attended the lecture. The seminar let to a number of valuable contacts as with Tania Duvergne (see below).
11 October
Interview with Jha D. Amazi and Justin Brown, architects at MASS DESIGN GROUP (who designed the monument in Montgomery)
22 October
Guided tour by Tania Duvergne (Public Art for Public Schools at New York City School Construction Authority)
24 October
Interview with the scholar and activist Stephen Duncombe whose publications on activist art are crucial for my forthcoming book.
28 & 30 October
Two lecture and a seminar held for students, PhDs and colleagues to the renowned monument scholar Kirk Savage at the Art History and Architecture Department, University of Pittburgh
12 November
Interview with Sia Sanneh, Equal Justice Initiative, Montgomery. I was thrilled to finally be able to interview someone at EJI, the law firm and NGO behind the monument in Montgomery.
14 November
Lecture for the renowned monument scholar Erika Doss and her PhD students and colleagues, at Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History, University of Texas at Dallas
18 November
Lecture for the renowned monument scholar Andrew M. Shanken and his students and colleagues at the College of Environmental Design, Berkeley University
Distribution of Results
The US-journey was documented through my blog Monumental Journey https://monumentaljourney.wordpress.com/ which is still accessible.
The blog is mainly about monuments, both historical and contemporary. It also covers several exhibitions and museums I had the chance to see, as well as the US election that was taking place when I was there. The trip will continue to be a source of inspiration for my research and teaching in visual and material culture.
The blog’s purpose is described here: https://www.su.se/institutionen-for-kultur-och-estetik/nyheter/en-forskningsresa-om-demokratiska-monument-under-den-amerikanska-valr%C3%B6relsen-1.769018
International co-operation
9 April
Invited guest at the discussion at Landhaus, Innsbruck, Austria. The debate was about how we can deal with problematic cultural heritage and how art can help make this visible, provoke discussion or cope with it. It was arranged in connection with the exhibition “Vom Gauhaus zum Landhaus”, a cooperation with the Institute for Contemporary History, Innsbruck University.
Additional Spin-off Effects
Jakob Ingemann Parby (City Museum Copenhagen) invited me to start a network on “The Everyday Lifes of Urban Monument”. Together we applied, and received, funding from Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond. The network’s homepage (where its purpose is described in further detail and all events are documented) can be find here: https://cphmuseum.kk.dk/en/about-us/research-and-outreach/research-network-the-everyday-life-of-urban-monuments
The network’s kick-off-conference was held in Copenhagen (7–8 May 2024).
The network’s first workshop was in Stockholm (23–24 September). I organised the program. Invited guest lecturer: Magnus Rodell (Södertörns universitet). The workshop ended with a well-attended panel debate at the Public Art Agency Sweden. It was filmed and can be found here: https://statenskonstrad.se/program/monument-i-vara-dagliga-liv/
I was asked if I wanted to be one of the editors of the renowned journal Public Art Dialogue which I gladly accepted. Since Spring 2024 I am, together with Brenda Schmahmann (Johannesburg) and Peter Bengtsen (Lund), the editor of PAD. We aim to contribute to the journal’s further internationalization.
Sabrina Kern (Katholische Privatuniversität Linz) asked me to be one of her supervisors. Her PhD is about interventions at problematic monuments in Linz (working title: ”Zum Streitwert Linzer Denkmäler seit 1945”).
During Fall, I was asked by my publisher Kirsti Doepner at BRILL-BÖHLAU to be the head editor of a planned series on Monuments in Democracies. My forthcoming monography will be the first publication of this series.