When a monument is erected, it suggests we ought to all remember that certain event. While stone and bronze might suggest the importance of a memory, is there not something just as—if not more—permanent in oral traditions and personal histories?
Based in Boston, MA, Off the Plinth provides a framework for residents to nominate places they view as important landmarks within the community. The project asks participants to rethink flaws in Boston’s monument landscape and how to create a more open-ended heritage system.
Most of Boston’s monuments are unchanging objects made of permanent materials. They celebrate certain people and leave out others in the process. For the most part, they do not have the ability to reflect the memories and values of a complex, complicated, and constantly changing city. Who decides the events we remember? What if we commemorated the memories embedded in our everyday spaces?
Questions? Concerns? Want to send in a postcard answer?
Please e-mail offtheplinthproject@gmail.com