l'zhúje'waxóbe, the Sacred Red Rock, in transport to Council Grove, Kansas. Photo: Mike Gunnoe for University of Kansas Endowment Association

In motion, a sacred stone is tethered to a trailer that is hitched to a truck. 

The plaque removal from l'zhúje'waxóbe, the Sacred Red Rock, when it was located at Robinson Park in Lawrence, Kansas. Photo: Mike Gunnoe for University of Kansas Endowment Association

A group of workers stands on steel scaffolding while removing a plague from a large rock

idris brewster (seated) and Micah Milner using the technology created by Kinfolk, the nonprofit they lead. Photo: Stefan Ruiz for Mellon Foundation

A man sits in a chair with a laptop on his lap while another man stands in front of him while using a virtual reality headset

Kinfolk technology is used to imagine histories in real spaces. Photo: Stefan Ruiz for Mellon Foundation

Two laptops sit on a white table next to a virtual reality headset

Pastels in the studio of artist and muralist Judy Baca, creator of The Great Wall of Los Angeles. Photo: Emily Shur for Mellon Foundation

A wooden box of soft pastels arranged in groups by color 

Artist and muralist Judy Baca. Photo: Emily Shur for Mellon Foundation

The artist Judy Baca stands in her studio wearing a white paint splattered canvas jumpsuit and metal bracelets

The Ireichō, a sacred book that records the names of over 125,000 persons of Japanese ancestry who were unjustly imprisoned during World War II. On the wall behind the book are sotoba (wooden markers) with the names of and soil from each incarceration site. The installation is at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Carlos Jaramillo for the Mellon Foundation

A book sits open on a table in front of a navy blue wall with Japanese writing written on wooden planks

Launched in 2020, the Monuments Project supports projects that promote a fuller telling of the American story in public commemorative spaces.

The Monuments Project

Artists as Catalysts

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Beyond Incarceration

A side profile of a Black poet who is wearing glasses and a hat with a feather hat pin.

Civic Engagement

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Evolving Higher Education

A vertical image of an Indigenous person who is sitting on a chair in front of a backdrop.

Expanding Public Knowledge

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Monuments and Memory

A large statue of a confederate general is covered in markings and graffiti. 

Multivocality

Five people stand together in a group photo. They are laughing and smiling.

Power of the Word

Five colorful neon signs hang on the wall with messages that include, "Freedom cannot wait," "Brown owned," and "America is for Dreamers."

Public Places‚ Public Stories

A group of Indigenous Maskoke people stand and sit in the wooden frame of a structure in a woods

Puerto Rico and Its Diaspora

In a vertical image, a black leather vest is adorned with colorful pins across the front of it. Embroidery on the vest reads: "Felícitas "La Prieta" Méndez" 

University Everywhere

Two scholars dressed in all black face the camera.

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Mission

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History

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Grantmaking Areas

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People

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Financials

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