The Performance of Commemoration:Who Gets Remembered?

Who gets remembered, who gets left out, and who gets to decide?

As ArtsEmerson continues its exploration of America 250 and the complicated legacies of revolution, resilience, and resistance, this conversation brings together perspectives from cultural memory, public art, and civic and cultural leadership to examine how history takes shape in public life. From the stories we preserve and teach, to the art and monuments we encounter in shared spaces, to the civic rituals and institutions that shape a city’s identity, the choices we make about how we commemorate the past influence how history is understood and carried forward. Emerson Professor Dr. Mneesha Gellman, artist Cedric Douglas, and Boston’s Chief of Arts and Culture Joseph Henry will consider how communities remember, revisit, and reimagine the stories that define them; and the roles that memory, art, and civic life play in shaping our understanding of the past and the future.