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As Chicago Rethinks Its Monuments, an Artist Surrounds George Washington with ‘Other Washingtons’
- On Thursday, artist and architect Amanda Williams unveiled 'Other Washingtons' in Washington Park on Chicago's South Side, an installation featuring blue flags honoring Black Americans who share the surname.
- The project responds to the existing 1904 George Washington statue, which remained fenced in after vandalism in 2020, addressing the site's lack of representation in a predominantly Black neighborhood.
- Census research inspired the concept, showing around 90% of Washingtons identify as African American; the Chicago Monuments Project received $6.8 million from the Mellon Foundation to honor figures like George Washington Carver and Denzel Washington.
- DCASE commissioner Kenya K. Merritt described the rotating display as 'a living archive,' while Mayor Brandon Johnson praised the initiative as setting a national model for community-driven public art.
- Contrasting with Chicago's community-driven approach, President Trump is advancing traditional monument funding, including the National Garden of American Heroes and a 250-foot-tall triumphal arch that would dwarf the Lincoln Memorial.
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12 Articles
As Chicago rethinks its monuments, an artist surrounds George Washington with ‘Other Washingtons’
Chicago’s Washington Monument is now surrounded by flags of Black Americans with the same last name, part of a project by the artist and architect Amanda Williams.
·Atlanta, United States
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‘Other Washingtons’ Unveiled in Chicago
Mayor Brandon Johnson joined the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and artist Amanda Williams on Aug. 6 to unveil “Other Washingtons,” a new public art installation in Washington Park on Chicago’s South Side. The temporary artwork, created as part of the Chicago Monuments Project, surrounds the existing George Washington Monument at 51st Street and South Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. “As a signature commission of the Chic…
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Total News Sources12
Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center8Last UpdatedBias Distribution89% Center
Bias Distribution
- 89% of the sources are Center
89% Center
11%
C 89%
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