(Un)Set In Stone is a participatory anti-monument and traveling exhibition that reimagines how communities in the U.S. South remember their past and envision shared futures.
The project began after the takedown of the Robert E. Lee statue (a known Confederate General and enslaver) in front of Robert E. Lee High School in Montgomery, Alabama. The school has a majority Black student population that demanded a new language and symbol of remembrance. Conceived in response to that local act of civic courage and the nearby Confederate Memorial Park, (Un)Set In Stone transforms the aesthetics of permanence and reverence that define traditional monuments into a collaborative, ever-changing public artwork.
This exhibition will include: a short documentary, report on community findings, and large-scale photography of the traveling monument (made of chalkboard) that community members drew on, answering: "what deserves to be remembered in their own communities." Over time, these layered chalk-drawn contributions created a collective record of civic imagination and dissent.
By tracing grassroots action after the Lee statue’s removal evolved into a movable, co-created monument, the exhibition models how design can engage questions of memory policy. It treats the monument not as a fixed object or "truth" which is how some lawmakers wish to render the Confederacy untouchable, but as a civic practice involving community groups.
This exhibition can present (Un)Set In Stone as a case study in participatory memory-making and policy intervention. Through visuals, mini-documentary, and brief presentation, the session explores: (1) how public art can critique institutional narratives, (2) navigate restrictive monument laws, and (3) center marginalized voices, particularly Black voices, challenging white supremacy in the Deep South.
Visit https://www.unsetinstone.org/ to learn more.
20260731T110020260731T1230America/Argentina/Buenos_AiresEXHIBITION: (Un)Set In Stone: Civic Reimagination via an Anti-MonumentSV302MSA Buenos Aires 2026buenosairesconference@memorystudiesassociation.org
