Michelle Angela Ortiz

My five new monuments are on view now through the end of October! “Carriers of Light and Labor”, is my new public monument installation at City Hall in Paterson that is a part of The New Jersey Monuments to Migration and Labor Project (NJMML) @njmmlofficial. NJMML is a project commemorates, interprets, and imagines a version of America that far right and anti-immigrant nativist actors wish to erase from our collective memory.

Inspired by Paterson’s industrial and labor history and the interwoven stories of migration that link communities across North Jersey, Carriers of Light and Labor makes visible workers’ contributions to the region. My monuments highlights how we can use history, and pride in immigrant pasts, to envision futures that are proudly and robustly shaped by immigrants and immigration. Carriers of Light and Labor occupies the plaza in front of Paterson City Hall, facing Market Street, in the busy center of the city. The five monuments that form the installation correspond to conceptual “pillars” that I identified as common threads from public conversations with community members that occurred in the spring and summer of 2025.

They are: Justice and Resistance; Sacrifice and Perseverance; Contributions; Ancestors; and Descendants. While each monument engages with distinct themes and ideas, they are also in rich conversation with each other, prompting the public to consider the pasts, presents, and futures of North Jersey’s immigrant and migrant workers and their communities.

The monuments light up at sunset till sunrise, illuminating the community stories featured.

New Jersey Monuments to Migration and Labor (NJMML) is a statewide public art and history initiative dedicated to recognizing the histories, labor, culture, and contributions of immigrant and migrant communities across New Jersey.

#NJMML #CarriersOfLightAndLabor #MichelleAngelaOrtiz #PatersonNJ PublicArt

Monument Artist: @michelleangelaortiz
Fabrication: @derek_james_weston @r.w.clayton
Assistant: @madeleine.s.smith


Support by @rutgersu @mellonfoundation and in partnership with City Hall in Paterson @andresayeghnj @cityofpatersonnj