Monument Lab

Monument Lab is a nonprofit public art, history, and design studio that is a leading voice in how monuments live with us in public spaces. As a team of artists, curators, and researchers, Monument Lab critically engages our inherited symbols in order to unearth the next generation of monuments that elevate stories and systems of belonging. Monument Lab has been recognized for producing groundbreaking public art exhibitions, participatory research initiatives, media projects, civic and municipal partnerships, and site-specific commissions and workshops. Monument Lab works with artists, students, educators, activists, municipal agencies, and cultural institutions on participatory approaches to public engagement and collective memory. Monument Lab is based in Philadelphia, with team members and collaborators located across the United States, its territories, and beyond. For more information and to support, visit MonumentLab.com.

About the Monument Lab Artist Residency Program
The Monument Lab Artist Residency Program launched in 2024 to support emerging public artists in the city of Philadelphia. Through the theme of “exchange,” the program encourages and resources artists to evolve their practice and prepare for future large-scale public art commission opportunities while building stronger relationships within and across the city’s neighborhoods.

Inaugural artists-in-residence Miguel Horn and Symone Salib have been encouraged to experiment with monumental materials and methods; foster neighborhood-based relationships; and join Monument Lab’s growing community of local, national, and transnational monument changemakers. Through this residency, Monument Lab seeks to contribute to the ecosystem of public art practitioners and support emerging artists in growing their bodies of work through place-based relationships.

Artwork and merchandise as part of Held: A Monument Lab Residency Exhibition is now available for purchase below. Read the press release here.