Chicago launches monument response project
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"We Still Here" in front of the Gen. Philip Sheridan statue at Belmont and the Lake (left) and "Tierra Nuestra" in front of the "Signal of Peace" statue near Diversey and the lake. Photos: Monica Eng/Axios
The Chicago Park District and DCASE launched the Monument Response Project this week with the installation of two temporary works that comment on legacy statues near the lake at Belmont and Diversey.
Why it matters: The works are meant to build context around some of the 41 monuments deemed problematic by a city commission.
Zoom in: The two new works both have links to Native Americans.
Hector Gonzalez created "Tierra Nuestra" (Our Land), featuring a young man of mixed Mexican and Native-American heritage standing on a horse with a boom box on his arm in front of the current "Signal of Peace" monument at Diversey and the lake.
- The work is meant to offer a "response to questions of history, belonging, visibility, and cultural memory," a city release says.
Sonja Henderson and Sadie Woods present "We Still Here," featuring a soundscape and two mesh horns covered in bison symbols next to the Gen. Philip Sheridan statue at Belmont and the lake.
- The horns honor the thousands of bison killed as part of Sheridan's campaigns to defeat Southern Plains Tribes.
What's next: Kick off events for each installation happen Wednesday April 8 and they will remain in place for two years.