King’s Chapel Memorial to Enslaved Persons

MASS partnered with the King’s Chapel Memorial Committee & Congregation to create a memorial, honoring the lives of 219 persons enslaved by past members and ministers of the church. The Church members  seek to better understand their past and learn from it to create an equitable and just future. The memorial is a part of a larger effort to share and reconcile the full truth of their history. They are taking this opportunity to be in dialogue with others in the city of Boston.

MASS, in collaboration with artist Harmonia Rosales, produced a series of video content and fundraising materials, working towards a collective definition of the intent of the memorial and how it sits in context and conversation with the existing memorials within the church.

The Memorial to Enslaved Persons, designed by Harmonia Rosales, consists of three parts:

• a figurative sculpture of a woman personifying freedom in the Chapel’s courtyard, holding opened birdcages with a scroll containing the names of the 219 enslaved persons at her feet
• a collection of 219 bronze birds perched throughout the church’s exterior and grounds, representing free-will, rebirth, and empowerment
• an immersive ceiling mural inside the Chapel’s sanctuary, depicting Black and Native people releasing birds into the sky