Memorialize the Movement

Memorialize the Movement (MTM) is a living archive with the mission to collect, preserve, and make accessible the protest art that emerged following the murder of George Floyd. Preserving, archiving, and activating the plywood murals ensures that the story of these historic events are told by the voices of the Black community and continues the public discourse on police brutality, state violence, and the Black experience. Our work is meant to honor the original purpose of the murals as a means of protest and to memorialize this time in history. While the murals are a focal point of what we do, one of our other main goals is to use art as a tool to address the trauma that BIPOC communities experienced during the 2020 uprising and beyond. Our events and workshops aim to start and provide a safe space for conversations around mental health, trauma, and collective grief. 

Over the last five years we've been fortunate to serve our community in a number of ways, from curating 11 exhibitions in and around Minneapolis to supporting over 50 BIPOC artists by creating paid opportunities for them to creatively express themselves. Even with all this success funding has continued to be a struggle for us, and with the current political climate things have only become more difficult. We are working as hard as we can. But hard work alone cannot keep an archive running, let alone run all of the other programs we do in addition to running the archive.

If you believe in our vision and want to support our work, we encourage you to donate to help us continue our programming and initiatives!

What we do at Memorialize the Movement

Advancing Justice

• Connecting the murals to the larger issues surrounding race, police brutality, genocide, and systemic oppression 
• Empowering youth with the tools to navigate and challenge systemic racism and oppression in hopes of creating a future generation of activists and leaders
• Keeping momentum for Black Lives Matter and the movement for anti-police brutality 
• Advocating for an accurate narrative of racial justice through educational workshops 

Change The Way History is Preserved and Taught

• Creating a new model for the way history is preserved and taught
• Cultivating BIPOC representation in conservation and history work
• Advancing ownership of the Black narrative in this ongoing fight for justice
• Speaking out against the privatization of historic artifacts 
• Breaking down the current system of historical oppression through lectures, seminars, and conferences
• Centering Black history as public history

Uplifting BIPOC Artists and Creatives 

• Providing a safe space for youth and creatives to create and exhibit their work
• Facilitating upward mobility for BIPOC artists through compensation and visibility
• Encouraging youth and adults to use art as a creative outlet to process trauma, complex emotions, and the state of the world