Mellon Foundation Short Film Previews Beyond Granite Initiative

Trust for National Mall, Monument Lab and Justice & Sustainability Associates highlight future work in commemoration on the Mall in new video

In 2023, the Trust for the National Mall will lead the implementation of Beyond Granite, a dynamic new set of commemorative works, performances, and installations designed to create a more inclusive, equitable, and representative process for commemoration on the National Mall – and beyond. This project, a partnership among the Trust, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) and the National Park Service (NPS), is funded by The Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project.

In celebration of National Arts and Humanities Month, the Mellon Foundation released a seven-minute film, titled Beyond Granite: The Future of the Public Square, offering an exclusive preview of the inception, design, and future of this innovative initiative. The video surveys many of the stories commemorated on the National Mall while exploring what might be missing or underrepresented across this iconic space and throughout the capital’s commemorative landscapes. The video also features in-depth commentary from the Trust for the National Mall along with Beyond Granite project contributors Justice & Sustainability Associates, and Monument Lab.

In the coming months, the Trust for the National Mall, in partnership with the NCPC, NPS, and through the thoughtful curation and public outreach of Monument Lab, and Justice & Sustainability Associates, will facilitate the selection and execution of temporary commemorative installations and programs, created by artists from around the country, on and around the National Mall, in 2023.

“It is a historically rare privilege to have an opportunity to enrich the commemorative landscape of the National Mall. It’s one that we embrace with tremendous excitement, and, more importantly, with a deep sense of purpose, pride, and patriotism,” said Teresa Durkin, Executive Vice President, Trust for the National Mall. “In unexpected and profoundly meaningful ways, Beyond Granite will create the space to tell a fuller story of our nation’s shared history.”

Philadelphia-based Monument Lab, a public art and history studio renowned for its immersive work in more than a dozen US cities, and a leader in the larger movement of broadening the dialogue about commemoration, is guiding the creative process for identifying and curating the visionary artists, installations and sites for Beyond Granite’s inaugural exhibition. Co-curators of the exhibition, Dr. Paul Farber and Pulitzer Prize winner Dr. Salamishah Tillet, are working with the Trust for the National Mall to assemble an advisory group of artists, activists, scholars, historians, curators, and community leaders to review artist proposals to help determine the commemorative works for the Beyond Granite initiative. The full artist roster and programmatic details will be announced later this year.

In the video, Beyond Granite co-curators shared a historical moment to frame the kind of power that ephemeral performance and commemoration can create on the National Mall:

“The National Mall is our country’s most memorable symbol of American democracy and site of our shared struggle for freedom,” shared Dr. Salamishah Tillet, Rutgers professor of Africana Studies and the co-curator of Beyond Granite’s inaugural exhibition. “Because of this rich legacy, it is an honor to engage public art as a way to remind of its complex past, and also tell new stories of our nation’s history and present.”

“We are grateful and inspired to be collaborating with the Trust for the National Mall for Beyond Granite's inaugural exhibition. What a profound opportunity to summon artists and public participants to the National Mall for meaningful conversations about our nation’s public memory and our evolving monument landscape.” said Dr. Paul Farber, co-curator of Beyond Granite’s inaugural exhibition and Director of Monument Lab. 

DC-based Justice & Sustainability Associates, experts in delivering effective civic and community engagement in complex environments, is engaging local residents, leaders, and subject matter experts to explore the ways they might want and expect Beyond Granite to be incorporated into their communities across the District, as well as connecting with national audiences to explore responses and ideas about new approaches to commemoration.