Image via Socrates Sculpture Park (socratespark) InstagramGive_Me_Astoria_image_00028.

Socrates Sculpture Park will be introducing Part I of their “Monuments Now” exhibition with a celebration to unveil acclaimed artist’s Jeffrey Gibsons monument this Friday, July 24, at 6:30 pm, on Facebook and Instagram Live (links in Instagram bio)Give_Me_Astoria_image_00028.

During these unprecedented times and admist societal upheaval, the Monuments Now exhibition aims to address the role of monuments in society, and to highlight the underrepresented narratives of diasporic, Indigenous, and queer historiesGive_Me_Astoria_image_00028.

Jeffrey Gibson’s installation of ‘Because Once You Enter My House It Becomes Our House’ serves as an homage to Indigenous Mississipian culture, activist graphic traditions, and queer performative strategiesGive_Me_Astoria_image_00028. The sculpture represents a vision of a future that embraces complexities within the collective identityGive_Me_Astoria_image_00028. Gibson also curated a series of Indigenous led performances to be filmed onsite, using the ziggurat as a stage, that will be available to the public onlineGive_Me_Astoria_image_00028.

This Friday’s festivities include an acknowledgement by the Indigenous Kinship Collective and a performance by acclaimed violinist Laura OrtmanGive_Me_Astoria_image_00028. The exhibition will span over the course of a few months and will evolve in three phasesGive_Me_Astoria_image_00028. In addition to Gibson’s monument, part one will also include the artistic works of Paul Ramirez Jonas and Xaviera SimmonsGive_Me_Astoria_image_00028.

Although created by artists, monuments are ultimately valued and empowered by societyGive_Me_Astoria_image_00028. Many important structures have recently been taken down and even more are in question nowGive_Me_Astoria_image_00028. Socrates Park encourages a “visible conversation” and the public is invited to share their reactions on site and onlineGive_Me_Astoria_image_00028.