In August 2021, a group of Indigenous activists from La Paz climbed the Columbus statue in an attempt to tear it down. Although the statue still stands, protesters painted his face black and hammered off his nose. The National Police responded quickly and took five of them into custody. Read More
In 1965, the Tryweryn Valley was flooded by the English to create the Llyn Celyn Reservoir. The Valley was home to Capel Celyn, one of the last Welsh-only speaking communities. In the 1960s, Welsh culturalist Meic Stephens graffitied the words ‘Cofiwch Tryweryn,’ meaning ‘Remember Tryweryn,’ onto a wall outside… Read More
Inaugurated on May 10, 2015, the Memorial ACTe marked the realisation of a vision to deliver a world-leading centre for the memory of slavery in Guadeloupe. However, contested political ‘ownership’ plagued the project from the start and financial mismanagement has also jeopardised the MACTe, culminating in the dismissal of… Read More
On September 5, 2017, a 126-year-old statue of Senegaal (Senegal) governor, Louis Faidherbe, collapsed after heavy rain and winds. The accident sparked a protest among activists and religious communities across Senegal. Minimising the extent of the protest, local authorities restored the statue within a few days, resulting in even… Read More
In August 2018, the Victoria City Council’s decision to remove a statue of Sir John A Macdonald, Canada’s first Prime Minister, from outside the City Hall sparked controversy due to the lack of transparency in the public consultation process. This case study explores how public consultation can shape the… Read More
The Voortrekker monument is a large granite building which represents Dutch settler nationalism in South Africa. It was built as an attempt to construct a narrative of Afrikaner nationalist pride, tying it in with a complicated legacy of colonialism and racial prejudice. It has thus been subject to criticism… Read More
Almost a century after the last Confederate monument was erected in the heart of Richmond, the state capital of Virginia, a new counter-monument was installed in 2019 by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Modelled after its neighbouring Confederate statues, the equestrian statue of a Black man is a… Read More
The Monument to the Flags is a monument in São Paulo, Brazil, that commemorates the Bandeirantes Paulistas. A group of colonists explored the territory of the Portuguese colony as Brazil expanded its limits. The Monument, designed by Victor Brecheret, is one of the most significant statues in the state. Read More
In February 1913, the killing of three settlers by Aboriginal people in 1864 was commemorated with the unveiling of the Explorers’ Monument. Yet the history remembered by the memorial was just one side of the story – its plaque failed to mention the deaths of almost 40 Aboriginal people… Read More
On February 6, 2020, a historical plaque marking the site of a slave auction went missing in Charlottesville, Virginia. For some residents, the removal of the plaque revived complaints about the inadequacy of the memorial; others felt the removal erased Black history. Five days later, police arrested a local… Read More
The Duke of Sutherland statue from 1837 has been contested already since the 1990s, when organisations and locals from the Highlands asked for its removal due to the Duke’s involvement in the Highland clearances. In the last decades there have been different petitions and actions asking for its removal,… Read More
Since its unveiling in 1935, the ‘Van Heutsz’ Monument has faced controversy surrounding the legacy of Dutch colonialism in Indonesia, attributed to General Jo van Heutsz. The monument has survived defacement, two bomb attacks, and years of decay. In 2001, in response to increasing scrutiny, the Amsterdam Oud-Zuid district… Read More