WILLYOUBEMYMONUMENT — Four Corners Public Arts

Will You Be My Monument is a collaboration between writer Salamishah Tillet of New Arts Justice at Rutgers University - Newark, designer Chantal Fischzang, and photographer Scheherazade Tillet. This public art installation was inspired by the City of Newark’s removal of the Columbus statue in Washington Park on June 25, 2020. Featuring a photograph by Scheherazade Tillet of Faa’Tina, an eight-year-old Black girl who celebrated her eighth birthday in Washington Park that night, this work is also made up of reflective typography and acrylic mirrors that Chantal Fischzang designed to structurally connect the installation with the pedestal of the original monument and to reflect the diversity and vibrancy of the people of Newark. The sheer size of this installation -- a four story building -- and its aesthetic gravitas greatly adds to the debates about monuments, racial representation, and social justice, while also enhancing contemporary conversations about the ongoing (in)visibility of Black girls and young women in the United States. In the Spring of 2021, Alliyah Allen of New Arts Justice and Keary Rosen of the Form Design Studio at Express Newark will host a series of public programs that encourage local artists and everyday citizens to contribute to these contemporary conversations about memory, belonging, and our civic landscape.

About New Arts Justice at Express Newark:
New Arts Justice is a studio at Express Newark that is committed to feminist approaches to socially engaged art in Newark and beyond. Founded at Rutgers University, Newark by faculty member Salamishah Tillet in 2018, New Arts Justice supports the vision of historically underserved artists as well as curates community-based exhibitions, film festivals, and public art installations that explore the themes of racial justice, gender equity, and site-specific art-making. Salamishah Tillet is the Henry Rutgers Professor of African American and African Studies and Creative Writing at Rutgers University-Newark and a Contributing Critic-at-Large at The New York Times. She is the author of “Sites of Slavery: Citizenship and Racial Democracy in the Post-Civil Rights Imagination” and “In Search of The Color Purple: The Story of An American Masterpiece.” Alliyah Allen is the assistant curator and project manager at New Arts Justice, an art critic, and the founding member of the Land Collective, a community of artists and curators in Newark.

About Chantal Fischzang:
Chantal Fischzang is a designer and educator based in NY/NJ. Her research and practice serve a range of multidisciplinary projects focused on design for social impact and her capabilities range from brand identity, print, publication, exhibition to interactive design. Along with her role as Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Rutgers University-Newark, Chantal is a founding member of IntraCollaborative, a team of designers and educators sharing a deep-seated interest in design and its relevance to the social sector. Integrating publicly engaged practice and design education, Chantal is the co-director of both Visual Means and The Design Consortium, two academic programs that model a design-studio working experience in which faculty, students, researchers, and community partners engage in a collaborative design process to create impact in the city of Newark.

About Scheherazade Tillet:
Scheherazade Tillet is an African American and Trinidadian photographer, art therapist, and community organizer. As a photographer, Scheherazade uses site-specific work to explore the themes of black girl subjectivity, social invisibility, and play. In 2019, she became an artist-in-residence at Shine Portrait Studio and New Arts Justice at Express Newark and is currently working on a project on Black Girlhood. In 2003, she founded A Long Walk Home (ALWH), an art organization that empowers young people to end racial and gender-based violence and centers on the experiences and leadership of Black women and girls. In 2022, she will have a solo show at Project for Empty Space and curate a group show on black girlhood in Express Newark as part of the Black Portraiture conference on Play and Performance in African Diasporic communities. Her work has been featured in Elle Decor, Gagosian Journal, The Guardian, Marie Claire, Teen Vogue, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

About the Form Design Studio at Express Newark:
Founded by Rutgers University, Newark’s faculty member Keary Rosen in 2017 at Form Design Studio (FDS) is a studio at Express Newark that captures the vision of designers, educators, researchers, manufacturers, amateur inventors, and the overall curious through the use of 3D modeling, scanning, and printing technology. Recognizing the extreme expense and high costs required to bring these ideas to life is often an obstacle to institutions and community residents alike, FDS works to create access to technology that allows for university-community expression through collaboration. Within FDS is Form Design Lab—a secondary classroom and workspace that houses digital fabrication machines, production materials, and specialized tools. The lab boasts state-of-the-art 3D printers, a laser etching machine, and digital scanners available for use year-round.