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Monuments for Small Things

Create a 3D monument to something small and not usually celebrated.

by Jalisa OH

About this activity

We create monuments to things we want to uplift and immortalize. What do we choose celebrate and remember forever? What or who do we leave out?

By honoring a small thing, like a fly or an ant, we consider what everyone’s purpose is in our shared community or ecosystem. We might even change our perspective about sharing space with these creatures that might give us the creeps sometimes. Let’s take a moment to practice gratitude and honor even the smallest things as necessary to our survival.

Take inspiration from artworks in The Long Dream and the MCA Collection and rethink what monuments can look like.

Installation view, The Long Dream, MCA Chicago November 7, 2020–January 17, 2021

Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago
Monuments for Small Things video still

Video

Get inspired to make your own monument to small things and [sanctuary space] (https://mcachicago.org/Publications/Learning-Resources/Family-Activity-Sanctuary-Spaces) by watching this show-and-tell with artists Ione Sanders and Jalisa OH. This video was originally broadcast on Facebook Live on Sat, Nov 14 as part of Virtual Family Day: Places and Names.

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