The Re:Generation roundtable at the 2026 Monument Lab summit brought together three community-centered monument projects that honor collective action—from labor organizing in the Appalachian coalfields, to care work in Little Manila, to Indigenous remembrance and land reclamation in the Black Hills.
Major support for the 2026 Monument Lab Summit has been provided by the @mellonfoundation with additional support from the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial. The Lead Hotel Partner for the 2026 Monument Lab Summit is @hyattcentricphiladelphia . The Lead Catering Partner is @12stcatering .
What does it take to make monuments in and with the public sphere?
Walla Walla tribal member and former Director of the National Park Service, Chuck Sams (@chassams ) and Monument Lab director @paul_farber examine the municipal, coalitional, and stewardship-driven aspects of monument-making.
Major support for the 2026 Monument Lab Summit has been provided by the @mellonfoundation with additional support from the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial. The Lead Hotel Partner for the 2026 Monument Lab Summit is @hyattcentricphiladelphia . The Lead Catering Partner is @12stcatering .
Day 2 of the 2026 Monument Lab Summit opened with “Monumaking 101,” an interactive, hands-on workshop exploring monumaking as a collective.
Major support for the 2026 Monument Lab Summit has been provided by the @mellonfoundation with additional support from the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial. The Lead Hotel Partner for the 2026 Monument Lab Summit is @hyattcentricphiladelphia . The Lead Catering Partner is @12stcatering .
How do monuments move beyond single heroes to hold many stories at once?
Through research, memory, and material exploration, Artist and educator @nekishadurrett reveals overlooked histories embedded in the present, often illuminating hidden individual and collective histories of Black life and imagination.
Major support for the 2026 Monument Lab Summit has been provided by the @mellonfoundation with additional support from the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial. The Lead Hotel Partner for the 2026 Monument Lab Summit is @hyattcentricphiladelphia . The Lead Catering Partner is @12stcatering .
Keynote speaker Devon M. Henry (@team_henry ) offers a firsthand account of the physical and emotional labor of removing more than two dozen Confederate monuments across the American South.
Major support for the 2026 Monument Lab Summit has been provided by the @mellonfoundation with additional support from the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial. The Lead Hotel Partner for the 2026 Monument Lab Summit is @hyattcentricphiladelphia . The Lead Catering Partner is @12stcatering .
Elizabeth Alexander (@alexanderlizzy ) opens the 2026 Monument Lab Summit with “A Mark of Resistance,” by poet Adrienne Rich.
Grounding us on why we do the work of monument-making, learning, and what it takes to build a more just public landscape.
Major support for the 2026 Monument Lab Summit has been provided by the @mellonfoundation with additional support from the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial. The Lead Hotel Partner for the 2026 Monument Lab Summit is @hyattcentricphiladelphia . The Lead Catering Partner is @12stcatering .
Kicked off the 2026 Monument Lab Summit last night with a bang 🥁!
Join us for day 1 on livestream today for a full day of Summit programming featuring a keynote address, seminars, and conversations led by artists, organizers, and cultural leaders.
🎟️ Tickets available at the link in bio.
Major support for the 2026 Monument Lab Summit has been provided by the @mellonfoundation with additional support from the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial. The Lead Hotel Partner for the 2026 Monument Lab Summit is @hyattcentricphiladelphia . The Lead Catering Partner is @12stcatering .
Can’t join us in Philadelphia, Join us virtually at the 2026 Monument Lab Summit for a full school day of programming, including keynote conversations, seminars, and workshop sessions.
Livestream access is now available for Thursday, May 7th. 🎟️ Get you ticket today at the link in bio.
Major support for the 2026 Monument Lab Summit has been provided by the @mellonfoundation with additional support from the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial. The Lead Hotel Partner for the 2026 Monument Lab Summit is @hyattcentricphiladelphia . The Lead Catering Partner is @12stcatering .
Meet the faculty for the 2026 Monument Lab Summit!🍎📝📚
Get ready for three days of panels featuring monument-makers, educators, thought leaders + hands on workshops with Monument Lab leaders and partners sharing tools, strategies, and lessons from real-world monument projects—inviting participants to develop their own ideas.
Browse the full program schedule at the link in bio.
Class is almost in session! ✏️📓📚
We’re less than a week away for the Monument Lab Summit: “School of Monumaking”
For three days we invite you to step into a shared learning space where we’ll explore what it means to make, question, and reimagine monuments together.
🎟️ Explore all ticket options at the link in bio.
Major support for the 2026 Monument Lab Summit has been provided by the @mellonfoundation with additional support from the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial. The Lead Hotel Partner for the 2026 Monument Lab Summit is @hyattcentricphiladelphia . The Lead Catering Partner is @12stcatering .
In a moment of reckoning and reimagining for monuments, why do millions of people from around the world visit the Rocky statue by the steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art?
“Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments” curated by Monument Lab director @paul_farber offers an art history of the Rocky statue, unpacking how this movie prop ultimately turned into a public art piece and site of global pilgrimage.
“Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments”, is on view through August 2nd at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (@visitpham ).
Video by @deb0nair
