Bringing together artists, historians and university leaders to reflect on memory, public commemoration and the intersection of history with current cultural narratives, the Oct. 18 “Monuments Symposium” at Rice University’s Moody Center for the Arts provided a dynamic platform for discussions about the evolving role of monuments in contemporary society. The symposium underscored Rice’s commitment to critically engaging with its history and envisioning future possibilities through panels moderated by Rice faculty, including Graham Bader, professor of art history and director of the Humanities Research Center; Igor Marjanović, the William Ward Watkin Dean of Architecture; and Alison Weaver, the Suzanne Deal Booth Executive Director of the Moody Center.
“Our goal was to explore and complicate topics around memory and history and public commemoration,” said Weaver.
The symposium was inspired by Rice’s relocation of its Founder’s Memorial statue and the inclusion of the sculpture “Inverted Monument” in the Moody’s current exhibition, “Do Ho Suh: In Process,” encouraging attendees to reflect on public art’s role in shaping our understanding of the past. The event was made possible through a cross-departmental effort including the Moody, the School of Architecture, the Department of Art History and the Humanities Research Center.
Among the event’s distinguished speakers were campus guests Paul Farber, director of Monument Lab; art historian Kirk Savage of the University of Pittsburgh; and Houston-based artists Jamal Cyrus and Tiffany Chung.
“I was invited to Rice to talk about monuments and thinking about the ways that we have inherited symbols and systems of the past," Farber said. "Also how artists, civic thinkers are really reimagining ways that history comes to life.”
Monument Lab, a nonprofit organization, focuses on reimagining monuments as spaces for learning and belonging, working with communities across the nation to reshape how public memory is preserved and interpreted.
Rice’s own leaders in historical reflection and social justice such as Alexander Byrd, vice provost of diversity, equity and inclusion, played a key role in the discussions. He emphasized the importance of timing, noting that the symposium coincided with the reopening of Rice’s reimagined Academic Quadrangle.
“What I most enjoyed about it as someone who’s been thinking and working in this area for a few years is our doing this at the time that the quad is opened and we’re thinking about other memorial projects on campus,” Byrd said, adding that the redesigned quad represents Rice’s efforts to balance its history with a vision for a more inclusive future.
The symposium highlighted the role of artists in this evolving landscape with Cyrus sharing insights into his own work on commemorative public art, including “Meditative Space,” a monument to the late Barbara Jordan.
“I took away, I think, a great hope in what would be the future of monuments in this country,” Cyrus said. “Some of the right questions were being asked in regards to how to create a monument that meets the needs of diverse groups of Americans.”
His reflections resonated with the broader themes of the event, emphasizing the need for monuments that are reflective of a wide range of experiences and narratives.
“I think that important issues such as historic commemoration are best explored through collaboration,” Weaver said.
This spirit of collective effort was evident in the diverse perspectives present at the symposium, from academics and artists to community leaders. Rice faculty Caleb McDaniel, the Mary Gibbs Jones Professor of Humanities and professor of history, and Fabiola López-Durán, associate professor of art history, played crucial roles in guiding conversations about the university’s complex past and the role of monuments in public memory. Founding members of the Racial Geography Project, art history doctoral candidate Giovanna Bassi Cendra and Marc Armeña ’24, also contributed their research.
“Today was an incredibly powerful example of what happens when you listen to students, staff, faculty and alums,” Farber said.
As Rice engages with its history through projects like the redesigned quad and the symposium, Farber said the university is positioning itself as a leader in the conversation about reckoning with the past while building a more inclusive future.
“The question-asking, the research is being followed up by important work at every level, in every corner of this university,” Farber said. “When you tell a fuller history, you have an opportunity to not only learn more but have a path to a future that’s brighter, that’s more innovative.”
In bringing together diverse voices and perspectives, the “Monuments Symposium” underscored the importance of ongoing dialogue about the past and the role of art in shaping the future.
“I do hope people will think about the past and consider ways we might move forward in productive ways into the future,” Weaver said.
Learn about upcoming events at the Moody here.