What are monuments for? Possible landmarks on the urban map Paris/London

Abstract

Himid’s keynote paper “What are Monuments for?: Possible landmarks on the Urban map.” was presented at the 8th Collegium for African American Research (CAAR) conference – Black Knowledge, Black Struggle, Civil Rights. It sought to imagine both London and Paris as centres of excellence for the public and permanent celebration of the achievements of black activists and creatives. In this satirical performance piece the pages of two guidebooks were shown to have been collaged and over-painted to give the impression of cityscapes littered with permanent monuments designed to celebrate the contribution of diasporan communities to both British and French culture and politics.