Speaking for a Long Time : Public Space and Social Memory in Vancouver

In the late 1990s, Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside became the setting for three monuments – Crab Park Boulder, Marker of Change, and Standing with Courage, Strength and Pride.

The monuments were grassroots initiatives that challenged the norms of civic art by claiming a place in public space for society’s most vulnerable groups, and each figured in debates about many kinds of violence. This vivid account of the creation of memory-scapes in a marginalized community offers unique insights into the links between power, public space, and social memory and asks us to reconsider what constitutes public art that will “speak for a long time.” Emphasizing the resilience and agency of artists, activists, and residents, Adrienne Burk shows that grassroots activism can give the socially marginalized a visible presence in our urban landscapes.