Monuments

Hottest Abe: wax statue of Lincoln loses its head amid US heat wave

The artist Sandy Williams IV’s wax replica of the Lincoln Memorial melted during the East Coast heat wave

Lauren Halsey to create outdoor sculpture park in South Central, Los Angeles

In addition to the temporary sculpture park, Halsey will open a community centre in 2026 through her non-profit Summaeverythang

The US sculpture park communicating difficult truths amid a cultural backlash

In a time of increased lawsuits over diversity initiatives, a civil rights organisation aims to make the history and legacy of slavery in the US undeniable through art and first-person narratives

Huge Soviet-era monument taken down in Kyiv as Ukraine continues 'derussification'

The Pereyaslav Rada sculpture celebrates a historical agreement between the two nations

Toppled Edward Colston statue to go on permanent display in UK museum

It will be housed at Bristol’s M Shed museum after a decision by the city’s councillors

‘Anti-monumental’ works shortlisted for next Fourth Plinth commission in London's Trafalgar Square

Proposals by Veronica Ryan and Thomas J. Price include a sweet potato and woman’s head

World Monuments Fund announces over $15m for climate change initiative

New initiatives emphasize WMF's commitment to the preservation and revitalisation of historic sites under threat of destruction from climate change

Confederate Memorial coming down at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, DC

Now that a judge lifted a last-minute injunction, the monument will be gone by the end of the week

Augmented reality project puts monumental public art at New Yorkers’ fingertips

Digital art platform Kinfolk has launched a four-artist exhibition that is available to view at designated sites through their application

Temporary monument brings a feminist timeline of history to Washington, DC’s National Mall

Artist Tiffany Shlain’s sculpture “Dendrofemonology” chronicles women’s achievements stretching back 50,000 years, on the eve of an election in which women’s rights are at stake

New Alabama sculpture park will feature contemporary art and a national monument to freedom from slavery

In addition to a monument to the four million enslaved Black people freed at the end of the US Civil War, the Equal Justice Initiative’s new park will host works by Wangechi Mutu, Alison Saar, Kehinde Wiley and others

Retain and explain guidance on contentious UK heritage is published—at last

Government strategy underscores controversial monuments should stay in place, a move criticised by some culture professionals

New York City Council bill calls for an accounting of all monuments to beneficiaries of slavery

The bill, currently under review by Mayor Eric Adams's administration, renews conversations about the role of public statues that lionise America's history of slavery

New plaques on controversial City of London sculptures highlight links to slavery

Artists, poets and writers will also respond to statues of William Beckford and Sir John Cass following the introduction of the UK's "retain and explain" policy

Statue of Queen Elizabeth II and her corgis to be unveiled in UK

The work pre-empts an official memorial in the pipeline overseen by the Royal Household and the UK government

Monuments to overlooked histories are coming to Washington, DC’s National Mall

New public art show will bring alternative monuments by Derrick Adams, Wendy Red Star, vanessa german and others to the busiest national park in the US

Statue of wartime code-breaker Alan Turing proposed for London's fourth plinth

UK defence secretary Ben Wallace made the suggestion following a review of LGBTQ veterans' experiences—but critics point out the minister's contradictory voting record

New York City approves revised design for long-awaited Shirley Chisholm monument

Artists Olalekan B. Jeyifous and Amanda Williams have been given the go-ahead to realise a commemorative statue of the political legend

‘Do you want a clap?’: tour guide who filmed tourist defacing Colosseum reveals how he caught vandal

The unidentified Swiss teenager is the second person to make headlines this summer for carving letters into the walls of the ancient site

First week of Italy's Pantheon price hike nets €200,000

Previously free, a standard tourist ticket to the ancient site now costs €5

$2.3m grant will fund Denver monument to historic disability rights protest

The Mile High City will create a new monument to a 1978 protest that was a landmark for the disability rights movement

Nine US cities receive grants totalling $25m to develop more diverse monuments

The latest round of grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project will support projects in Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver and elsewhere

Controversial monument to Queen Elizabeth II needs donors

Massive sculpture by Simon Hitchens, criticised by local campaign group, is three times the size of Antony Gormley’s 'Angel of the North'

A monumental tribute to Jamal Khashoggi unveiled in his home state of Virginia

Artist Navine G. Dossos created a towering, kaleidoscopic mural in tribute to the assassinated journalist at Richmond's Institute for Contemporary Art

Public artinterview

‘We’re looking at the past as a gateway to the future’: Hank Willis Thomas on his new Martin Luther King Jr monument

The towering work, which depicts the interlocked arms of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, was unveiled in Boston ahead of the MLK Day holiday

Defying gravity—Leaning Tower of Pisa leans like in the early 19th century

Expert stabilisation plan means the Italian landmark has continued to straighten itself

Temporary monuments to pop up on the National Mall in Washington, DC, in new initiative

Six artists have been selected to create commemorative interventions in the US capital's sprawling public space