The Trust for the national mall announces six artists WHO will create commemorative exhibitions to broaden the dialogue on the national mall in 2023

On Wednesday, December 7, 2022, the Trust for the National Mall was excited to announce the six artists who will create installations and exhibits to debut on the National Mall in 2023 for the inaugural exhibit of Beyond Granite. This new national initiative is funded by the Mellon Foundation and is presented by the Trust in partnership with the National Capital Planning Commission and the National Park Service.

As part of Beyond Granite, the selected artists will create artistic installations, performances, and public programming for the inaugural exhibit, entitled “Pulling Together” beginning in August 2023 to help expand the public’s imagination and the dialogue in commemoration on the National Mall. The series of exhibitions will help create a more inclusive, equitable, and representative process for commemoration on America’s Front Yard—and beyond.

“The National Mall is THE commemorative canvas that offers a constant, but also evolving, landscape upon which we tell the American story.
Beyond Granite will catalyze a more representative process to more fully reflect the American people, their perspectives and their experiences.
- Catherine Towsend, Trust President & CEO

Marcel Acosta, Executive Director of the National Capital Planning Commission, opened the event and introduced the audience to Beyond Granite: “People want to tell their stories. They come to our nation’s capital to connect with these stories. Beyond Granite envisions are more inclusive future for how we tell our collective stories in our capital city,” he said.

Dr. Paul Farber and Dr. Salamishah Tillet from Monument Lab, curators of Beyond Granite, introduced the curatorial prompt to the public for the very first time.“Pulling Together.” “Pulling Together” is inspired by Marian Anderson’s history-making performance at the Lincoln Memorial, recognized widely as a monumental moment in public memory and civil rights, and asks the artists to consider—”What stories remain untold on the National Mall?” Paul and Salamishah shared that the artists who were selected for “Pulling Together” were chosen for their thoughtful approach to thinking about artists who engage with monuments through a variety of mediums and are experienced practitioners in historical reflection, creative experimentation and powerful storytelling.

The artists then joined Paul and Salamishah in conversation to share their enthusiasm for the National Mall and “Pulling Together.” The six artists —Derrick Adams, Tiffany Chung, Ashon Crawley, Vanessa German, Paul Ramírez Jonas, and Wendy Red Star—shared personal anecdotes about their art and how their creativity will show up on the National Mall in 2023. The artists shared that they were enthusiastic to share their works on the National Mall because it presented an opportunity to engage with a premier stage for public memory. Artist Tiffany Chung said, “For many immigrants and refugees, to be able to sit here and to [eventually] see this monumental project on the National Mall is an honor. It is not something you can say no to.”

Artist Derrick Adams shared, ‘I am interested in thinking about how people can be engaged in the definition of monumentality and how they can be a part of the context of a monument—and how a monument can exist in a way that we never even thought about. What about a monument you can touch, you can play with?”

Superintendent of the National Mall & Memorial Parks Jeff Reinbold and Trust for the National Mall President & CEO Catherine Townsend closed out the event. Jeff Reinbold shared that Beyond Granite will ensure that the national landscape will reflect the seat of our nation and stories of accomplishment, especially as we approach the 250th anniversary of the nation in 2026. Catherine Townsend closed out the event with a powerful reminder: “What is created through Beyond Granite in the coming year, we hope, will reach across time and generations and bring new meaning to what the National Mall represents.”

Receive updates on beyond granite