The Gun Violence Memorial Project
MASS Design Group will be installing a memorial dedicated to victims of gun violence, opening at the 2019 Chicago Architecture Biennial on September 19, 2019. The memorial exhibit will commemorate those killed by gun violence, aiming to create an inclusive platform for remembrance that elevates the voices of everyone impacted by gun violence. MASS is partnering with Hank Willis Thomas, Everytown for Gun Safety, and Purpose Over Pain for the exhibition.
Why a memorial?
Gun violence is a national epidemic. The sheer scale of this epidemic often reduces victims of gun violence to statistics. This project aims to communicate both the enormity of this national issue and the depth of individual stories, while providing a space to collectively heal and honor all victims of gun violence.
Concept
Contributed remembrance objects will be encased in a glass brick, displaying the name, year of birth, and year of death of the person being honored. Seven hundred glass bricks will be used to build a house, representing the average number of people who die from gunshots each week in the United States. The glass houses will form a living memorial that will allow visitors to enter and be proximate to the humanity housed within its walls.
The Exhibition
We are installing the first glass-brick houses at the Chicago Cultural Center as part of the 2019 Chicago Architecture Biennial. The exhibit will be open to the public from September 19, 2019 through January 5, 2020. MASS has plans to move the houses to an exhibition in Washington D.C. in 2020. We are aiming to learn from these exhibitions and begin a movement with the goal of eventually establishing a permanent memorial to victims of gun violence on a national scale.
How to participate
If you have a family member who has been taken due to gun violence, we invite you to participate in this exhibition by contributing an object of your loved one. By sharing a remembrance object that honors someone you love, together we can highlight the human toll of gun violence and inspire visitors to connect with the individual stories.
In advance of the first installation, we will be hosting in-person object collection events. At this time, we are not accepting mail-in object donations. If you would like more information, please contact [email protected].
Contribution Criteria
Because of the public nature of the exhibit, the physical constraints in brick size, and the commitment to generating productive and healing dialogue, remembrance objects will only be accepted if they meet the following criteria:
- Are no more than 9”L x 4.5” W x 3”H in size and must weigh less than 5 lbs
- Are the property or in the guardianship of the individual signing the waiver and releasing the object
- Do not contain perishable, combustible, light-emitting, or highly-flammable substances
- Do not include personal identifiable information, such as a phone number, mailing or email address
- Do not contain malicious, threatening, illegal, graphic, abusive, offensive or otherwise inappropriate content, or promote or advocate illegal activity
- Do not Include names or images of perpetrators
- Do not lead a viewer to experience mental, psychological, emotional or physical harm
Please note that the memorial team has curatorial capacity to determine if a contribution is appropriate for display.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are examples of remembrance objects that can be submitted?
- Remembrance objects can include anything that is representative or meaningful to the person taken that fits within the parameters noted above. For example: small toys, accessories (i.e., glasses, jewelry, hats), books or journals, objects specific to hobbies and talents (e.g., art supplies, music sheets, songs, poems, game pieces).
Can multiple artifacts be contributed for one person?
- Each victim will be represented by no more than a single glass brick. The curatorial team will make a final determination regarding the inclusion of remembrance objects if they do not fit within the allotted dimensions.
Is there a limit to the number of physical contributions you’re accepting for this first project phase in Chicago?
- For the 2019 Chicago installation we have a limit of accepting 1,000 remembrance objects contributions via in-person collection. If we reach this capacity before the September opening, we will identify opportunities to participate in later exhibit phases.
What constitutes a gun-related death?
- Any death resulting from the use of a firearm, including but not limited to gun homicide, gun suicide, domestic violence involving a gun, police-involved shootings, and unintentional shootings.
Where will my object be located?
- September 2019 - January 2020: Objects will be installed at the Chicago Architecture Biennial
- January 2020: Objects will be placed in secure storage at the US Art Storage facility in Chicago *participants who request their artifacts returned after the Chicago Architecture Biennial at the time of donation will have objects sent back to them, rather than moving on to the National Building Museum installation
- March 2020-December 2020 (tentative): Objects will be moved to the National Building Museum, as part of an exhibition on MASS Design Group
- Objects will be placed in a secure storage location until the next installation or creation of the permanent memorial
- MASS will communicate with participants whenever objects are relocated from storage to installation