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Public Art Memorial Dedication: 10 a.m., Tuesday, Mar. 26, 2024
DALLAS -A new sculpture at Martyrs Park entitled Shadow Lines will memorialize victims of racially motivated violence in Dallas. The City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture and Dallas Park and Recreation Department will officially dedicate the public art installation at 10 a.m., Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in the Courts Room of the 6th Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza (411 Elm St, Dallas, TX 75202). Following the dedication program the ribbon cutting will occur onsite at Martyrs Park (379 Commerce St., Dallas, TX 75202).
Installed in September 2023 the artwork titled Shadow Lines by artists Shane Allbritton and Norman Lee of RE:site Studio honors the victims of hangings and lynchings and seeks to provide a place for public remembrance and commemoration.
“To heal as a community, we must do the difficult work of confronting the city’s histories of racial injustice, while exploring how that history continues to shape the present,” said Assistant City Manager, M. Elizabeth (Liz) Cedillo-Pereira. “Leading projects that focus on racial healing as a part of the City’s Racial Equity Plan helps us move forward as a city, cultivating a more equitable future. We are grateful to our community partners for collaborating with us on Shadow Lines.”
Shadow Lines interlaces the elements of shadow, light, time, and memory. The design features a semicircular wall of weathering steel on a circular concrete plaza, creating a serene place for personal reflection, intergenerational conversation, and public commemoration. Unlike a typical sundial that marks hours of the day, the shadows here mark the dates of the victims of racially motivated lynchings and hangings in Dallas County between the years of 1853 to 1920. On one side is text related to the purpose of this memorial the other side contains a poem written by renowned poet Tim Seibles on the transformation of Dallas’ collective memory in the context of this difficult chapter in the city’s history and the ongoing racial violence of today.
“This poignant memorial - dedicated to victims of violence and injustice - will create a caring place to honor the past and remember our city’s commitment to a more equitable society,” said Director of Dallas Park and Recreation, John D. Jenkins. "Parks bring people and communities together, connecting them with each other and to the wonders of outdoors. Like parks, art creates a sense of belonging that is vital to all communities. Public art within our park amplifies the history of a community, ignites conversations, and inspires reflection.”
The use of shadows on the plaza ground is a time and site-specific memorial element, expressing Dr. George Keaton’s hope that “The memorial will be a reverent reminder that lynchings happened on the ground we walk on every day.” Even on days without sun or when visiting when the sun is too low where sharp shadows are not available, viewers experience the memorial as a monumental sculptural timeline that captures Dallas County’s history of racial violence.
“Through the Public Art Program, the Office of Arts and Culture is honored to create a safe space for reflection and education,” said Director Martine Elyse Philippe. “We are committed to increasing local consciousness about the history of racial injustice through the lens of the arts.”
RE:site Studio explores notions of community, identity, and narrative in the context of public space. Drawing on a site’s cultural landscape, they create work that resonates with local or historical meaning, making unseen connections between themes and ideas. By inviting the public to share in experiential moments, their work prompts collaborative viewership, curiosity, discovery, and dialogue. The Dallas Public Art Program manages the commission and acquisition of new public art as well as the conservation and maintenance of the existing City of Dallas art collection. Works of public art, many created by local and regional artists, enliven parks, libraries, fire stations, recreation centers and many more public locations in Dallas.
Note to media: Opportunity for B-Roll is only available for media partners that register here: forms.office.com/g/q5f42PnJHm, interviews will only be available at the conclusion of the event.
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