The ARCH (Art Remediating College Histories) Project

An aerial view of the Cloisters with a braided stone path

About the Project

On May 4, 2023, it was announced that Bryn Mawr College has selected Nekisha Durrett to create a monument addressing a legacy of exclusionary practices at the College and enabling the campus community to respond to the question, What stories are missing from Bryn Mawr College?

Durrett's campus monument, titled Don't Forget to Remember (Me), will be placed in the Cloisters at the center of Old Library and contribute to a broader effort of historical reckoning.

The College selected Durrett following a multi year-long process with non-profit public art and history studio, Monument Lab, that included engaged research on campus with students, staff, faculty, and alums; and an open call for artists resulting in five finalist proposals that were presented to campus audiences in spring 2023.

The installation is scheduled to be completed during the 2024-25 academic year. A dedication ceremony is being planned that will include a multi-disciplinary symposium on issues related to the artwork and project. 

Read the Announcement
Previous News and Updates

An Interview with the Artist

Nekisha Durrett interview image
An aerial view of the Cloisters with a braided stone path

The Monument

Don't Forget to Remember (Me), will be placed in the Cloisters at the center of Old Library and contribute to a broader effort of historical reckoning. The monument will use terracotta pavers to create pathways in the Cloisters’ courtyard which, when seen from above, create a woven path that "takes the shape of a knot that cannot be undone, symbolizing interconnectivity, and making visual that Bryn Mawr is reexamining its history to tell all of its stories.”

The ARCH Project monument's path

The Monument

Engraved pavers will include the names of those Black staff whose work was critical to building and operating the College, particularly in its early decades, but whose contributions were historically unrecognized.

The Arch Project monument in the Cloisters

The Monument

The community of Bryn Mawr will be able to amble across these grounds, thinking of those who came before them and paved the way as the names of those individuals will be embossed into the surface of the fired clay.

The Artist

Durrett is the 2022 Howard University Social Justice Consortium’s (SJC) Artist in Residence Fellow. From large freestanding sculptures to intimate gallery installations, her work uses unexpected materials to make historical connections and connotations that places and materials embody but are overlooked in our day-to-day lives.

Visit the Artist's Website
An image of Nekisha Durrett

Bryn Mawr College’s ARCH Project (Art Remediating College Histories), in partnership with Monument Lab, is a multi-year collaboration to design a process and commission a campus public artwork that responds to the legacy of exclusionary practices at the College. This vital work builds on previous and ongoing College-supported efforts by students, staff, alumni, and faculty to reveal and repair harm, ensuring a reckoning with Bryn Mawr College’s history and a clear-sighted look at the way to a future of inclusion and reconciliation.