Public Art & Public History
New York State Museum
Global Encounters in a Dutch American Estate: Reimagining Mount Pleasant This paper examines Mount Pleasant in New York as a site shaped by the enduring influence of Dutch-descended families in the Hudson River Valley, with particular focus on the Beekman family and their estate along the East River. Although the house no longer survives…
University of Johannesburg
This presentation examines Declaration House, a 2024 public art and history exhibition presented by Monument Lab at Declaration House in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Located within Independence National Historical Park, the site marks the spot where Thomas Jefferson drafted the United States Declaration of Independence, with his enslaved servant, Robert Hemings, present. The exhibition sought to reframe this foundational location and national narrative by centering Hemmings’ presence—and that of his descendants…