Mellon Foundation

New Jersey Monuments to Migration and Labor (@njmmlofficial) is an art initiative putting immigrant and workers’ histories in fuller view.
 
Across the state, residents collaborated with artists to decide how they wanted their stories to be commemorated.
 
“This project began with a basic point: There are few existing monuments to immigrants and migrants, let alone to their labors,” says Andy Urban, project director at NJMML.
 
The result: Three new monuments across North, South, and Central Jersey.
 
⭐ Paterson, New Jersey
 
Created by Michelle Angela Ortiz (@michelleangelaortiz), “Carriers of Light and Labor” honors the city’s industrial history and the textile-making traditions of Paterson’s immigrant communities. Five new monuments are located in front of Paterson City Hall, at the heart of the city.
 
⭐ South Jersey
 
“Flagship” by Immanuel Oni (@immanueloni) hits the road as a mobile museum. The “Sail Bus” honors the experiences of maritime laborers and modes of transportation that brought migrant farmworkers to the region.  
 
⭐ New Brunswick, New Jersey
 
Chat Travieso’s (@chattravieso) “En Root” creates a vibrant sculptural gateway to War Memorial Park/Parque Oaxaca, a public greenspace in New Brunswick lined with native pollinator gardens. The work pays homage to the monarch butterfly, a symbol for immigrant rights in the U.S.
 
Visit the installations today and participate in on-site programming.
 
Learn more at NJMML’s website—link in bio.
 
📷 Chrys Davis (@dolo_foto), courtesy of NJMML
🎥 Jon Kaufman (@kaufdrops), Aiden Un, and Natasha Cohen-Carroll (@natasha_cc), courtesy of NJMML