Contested Monuments
Channel: AIC & FAIC
Date: 2020-10-28

The controversy surrounding Confederate statues and other contested monuments that celebrate slave owners, imperialism, and white settler colonialism have been highlighted in recent months. Although activists have advocated for the removal of these monuments for years, the racial unrest this summer has brought these issues to the forefront of the cultural heritage sector and greater society as community activists empower themselves to take down such monuments all over the world. This has caused conflicted feelings in some conservators who want to support racial justice in public spaces, but who have been traditionally taught to always prioritize the preservation of outdoor sculpture and monuments. Conservators may also be conflicted if their employers task them with the care of contested monuments, calling professional ethics into question. At the crux of the matter are questions surrounding who is valued in our society and who gets to make decisions in regard to public spaces and the interpretation of history.  Competing values surrounding the removal of contested monuments will be explored with panelists including artists, historians, and preservation professionals.

Speakers: Dr. Renée Ater, Brent Leggs, Ada Pinkton
Moderators: Nylah Byrd, Laleña Vellanoweth

Content warning: at time stamp 19:24-20:08, an image of a racial slur is displayed in the context of the presentation and reference is made to use of racial slurs in Zoom bombing.