MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON ANNOUNCES CITY OF CHICAGO TO RECEIVE $6.8 MILLION FROM MELLON FOUNDATION TO FUND CREATION OF 8 NEW CHICAGO MONUMENTS

 

MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON ANNOUNCES CITY OF CHICAGO TO RECEIVE $6.8 MILLION FROM MELLON FOUNDATION TO FUND CREATION OF 8 NEW CHICAGO MONUMENTS

CHICAGO – Mayor Brandon Johnson announced that the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) is set to receive a grant of $6.8 million from the Mellon Foundation to support the Chicago Monuments Project (CMP) and citywide community-generated commemorative initiatives and installations. The funding, the Mellon Foundation’s largest grant to date, will allow for the implementation of eight new Chicago monuments, including the Chicago Torture Justice Memorial, all of which were conceived and developed from the community engagement work of the Chicago Monuments Project.  

“Chicago’s monuments and memorials are more than just public art — they speak directly to the values, history, and vision of our great city,” said Mayor Johnson. “I’m grateful for the Mellon Foundation’s support of the Chicago Monuments Project and the creation of cultural works around labor, civil rights, racial justice and other areas that represent our diversity, honor our history and tell our story.”

These eight projects will add—permanently and temporarily—to the City of Chicago’s collection and memorialize events, people, and groups that historically have been excluded or underrepresented. Additional funding from Mellon will also support ongoing programs that facilitate the continued engagement of artists and communities around monuments, public art, and cultural history.  

“This catalytic support from the Mellon Foundation will fundamentally strengthen our City as our public art collection becomes more honest about our history and far more inclusive regarding who is represented and what stories are told. We are thrilled to celebrate and support our incredible grantees, many of whom have been hard at work for years to see these artistic visions come to life,” shared DCASE Commissioner Erin Harkey. “Mellon’s funding will enable the City to continue engaging thoughtfully and creatively with the complex, ever-evolving issues related to justice, public space and our shared history.”  

The Chicago Monuments Project (CMP) was created as a response to the City of Chicago’s need for a larger reckoning with monuments that symbolize outdated values and do not tell the story—or the full story—of Chicago’s history. A collaboration between DCASE, Chicago Public Schools (CPS), and the Chicago Park District (CPD), CMP’s work began in 2020 and was guided by an advisory committee of community leaders, artists, architects, scholars, curators, and City officials.  

The Chicago Monuments Project Advisory Committee released its final report in August 2022, synthesized from a comprehensive, community-focused engagement process—the first of its kind in a major U.S. city. Thousands of Chicagoans from diverse communities contributed to the conversation on the city’s public monuments through several modes including surveys, live discussions, and free-response public feedback submitted via ChicagoMonuments.org.  

The Mellon Foundation grant will help support the implementation of the eight priority projects that were identified through the CMP new work engagement process:

Chicago Torture Justice Memorial, artist Patricia Nguyen and architectural designer John Lee

George Washington Monument Intervention, a new public art project by renowned Chicago artist Amanda Williams  

A Long Walk Home (ALWH), “#SayHerName: The Rekia Boyd Monument Project”

Mother Jones, in partnership with the Mother Jones Heritage Project (MJHP), a commission to honor Mother Jones’s important contributions to labor history

Mahalia Jackson monument by artist Gerald Griffin, spearheaded by the Greater Chatham Initiative (GCI)

Pilsen Latina Histories, lead artist Diana Solis, scholars from the University of Illinois, Pilsen Arts & Community House staff, and additional artists and community groups in Pilsen

Chicago Race Riots of 1919 Commemoration Project, designed and produced in partnership with youth artists at Firebird Community Arts’ Project FIRE

DuSable, a series of monuments that explore the settling of Chicago, including projects which amplify historic and notable Native Americans


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