Latinx Public Memorials

FAIN: FT-291635-23

Marisa Lerer
Manhattan College (Bronx, NY 10471-4004)

Research and writing leading to a book about Latinx monuments and memorialization in the United States.

This book project considers the historical lack of a Latinx presence in commemorative practices and examines the contemporary actions of Latinx public art producers to correct this historical erasure in their roles as artists, public art administrators, curators, community organizers, politicians, and jurors. This study seeks to account for the specific strategies, processes, and networks through which Latinx artists both engage with and resist traditional modes of memorialization. It specifically examines contentious monuments connected to the Latinx experience, as well as memorials to veterans, tragedies, and cultural figures. An analysis of contemporary Latinx artists working with innovative public art models and aesthetic inquiries to amplify a multiplicity of voices offers broader ramifications for framing public art and commemorative practices.