Landmarked is an exploration of the architectural objects that we call monuments, unearthing unheard stories about landmarks, monuments, and the spaces of the country that are publicly and privately declared sacred. This work explores the relationship we currently have to historical landmarks. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there are over 1,500 symbols of Confederate legacies. Now that 48 of these monuments have been removed, Ada Pinkston seeks to discover new ways of activating these empty spaces. Pinkston views these spaces as metaphors for the silences that exist in history. The work consists of three phases and will incorporate a series of workshops, performative interventions, and immersive installations.

The work has three phases. During the first phase of the project, the artist will host a series of workshops and conversations in libraries and community spaces in the regions where all of the monuments have been removed. Through these workshops, the artist’s primary research question is, what does a monument for all people look like, and where would that monument be? The second phase of the project is to interpret these stories and perspectives into a fabric-based assemblage, digital video, and sound sculpture. The third part of the project will be a performance on the public sites where confederate monuments were removed and performances in the immersive installation.