The project WE was reproduced in Colorado Springs in 2020.

WE started as a temporary monument to Denver that opened with a series of live performances by Colorado based cultural laborers. Using their body or voice, each performer acted as a living monument to acknowledge underrepresented people in the cultural labor force. Following the inaugural performances, a sculpture now resides on top of the plinth that reads ”WE the PRIVILEGED.” The artwork references Robert Indiana’s widely recognized, text-based sculpture LOVE, as well as the Preamble to the United States Constitution. By changing ”We the people” to ”WE the privileged,” the artist presents a moment for the public to ponder the power dynamics associated with traditional monuments.

Performers include: Sage & Gregg Deal, Cliff Garrett, Ashley Corneilius, Jasmine Dillavou, MORSKA, dylan scholinski, Sarah Wallace Scott, Bruce Price,and Su Kaiden Cho.

WE is the first of three artworks to be installed atop this concrete plinth, as part of
a project called Temporary Monuments to Denver. The artists include Jaime Carrejo, Noah Manos, and Nikki Pike. The temporary artworks are intended to stoke a wider public conversation about the identity of our city and what purpose monuments serve from the perspective of artists living and working in Denver.

Temporary Monuments to Denver is a part of MONUMENTAL, a series of public, contemporary artworks and community engagement programs that explore, question, and transform the role monuments play within society. MONUMENTAL is coproduced by Black Cube and The Denver Theatre District and funded in part by the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation and the David and Laura Merage Foundation.

Special thanks to Black Cube for providing images!