Monument Lab: Creative Speculations for Philadelphia Opening and Dedication

For the official launch of Monument Lab: Creative Speculations for Philadelphia, Penn Institute for Urban Research and curators A. Will Brown, Paul Farber, and Ken Lum have organized a series of speakers, a short performance, and the dedication of a temporary monument designed by the late Terry Adkins and the Monument Lab research hub in City Hall Courtyard.

Funded by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, Monument Lab: Creative Speculations for Philadelphia poses the question: What is an appropriate monument for the current city of Philadelphia? The centerpiece of this exploration, overseen by curators A. Will Brown, Paul Farber, and Ken Lum, will be a temporary monument designed by the late, award-winning artist and University of Pennsylvania professor Terry Adkins, to be installed in City Hall's central courtyard opening on May 15, 2015. Adkins' monument addresses the traumatic wave of Philadelphia school closings that occurred in 2013. A storefront "lab" space, also located at City Hall, also opens on May 15, 2015 and will serve as project headquarters, where participating artists, curators and Philadelphia citizens will brainstorm and instigate ideas for the appropriate monument for contemporary Philadelphia. This project will precede a planned Philadelphia monuments festival, to take place in 2017.

This event will be accompanied by a reception.