Shaping Public Memory in NYC Public Parks

Date:
Wednesday, March 25 | 6:00 pm-8:00 pm

Location:
Museum of the City of New York
1220 5th Ave, New York, NY 10029
Get directions

Public parks are some of our most used civic spaces, and the memorials and monuments within them shape how we remember the past. Behind each commemorative project in New York City parks is a public process–spanning design, review, and long-term stewardship–that influences what stories are told and how they are experienced over time.

In this kick-off discussion of a three-part series, we’ll explore how these processes can help create commemorative spaces that are more inclusive, transparent, and reflective of New York City’s communities.

We’ll begin with an introduction to the history of public monuments in New York City by the Conservancy’s Director of Public History Jessica MacLean, followed by a panel discussion with special guests.

Kendal Henry, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs

Kendal Henry is an artist and curator who lives in New York City and has specialized in the field of public art for over 30 years. He illustrates that public art can be used as a tool for social engagement, civic pride, and economic development through the projects and programs he’s initiated in the US and internationally.

He’s currently the Assistant Commissioner of Public Art at the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and an adjunct professor at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Henry is a guest lecturer at various universities and educational institutions, including Rhode Island School of Design Senior Studio and Pratt Institute’s Arts and Cultural Management Program. Henry served as the Director of Culture and Economic Development for the City of Newburgh, New York, where he created the region’s first Percent for Art Program. Prior to that post, he was Manager of Arts Programs at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Arts for Transit for 11 years. During this time, he oversaw the commissioning, fabrication, and installation of the MTA’s permanent art projects, served as a member of the MTA’s in-house design team, and produced temporary exhibitions at Grand Central Terminal.

Henry was also the Curator-at-Large at the Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora Art (MoCADA) in Brooklyn and was elected to serve two 3-year terms on the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network Council.

Jenny Lantzas, NYC Department of Parks & Recreation

Jennifer Lantzas is the Deputy Director of Art & Antiquities at NYC Parks. She works with artists, community groups, arts organizations, and government agencies to commission and maintain NYC Parks’ permanent artworks and bring temporary public art to parks citywide. Since starting at NYC Parks in 2009, she has managed hundreds of temporary public art installations, dozens of exhibitions in the Arsenal Gallery in Central Park, and drafted historical sign texts about the city’s parks. Lantzas has her master of arts in visual arts from New York University and a bachelor of arts in arts administration from the University of Maryland.

Carolina Llano, NYC Public Design Commission

Carolina (Caro) Llano is the Senior Director of Art, Design & Technology at the Public Design Commission. Working alongside the executive Director, she oversees New York City's permanent collection of public art, as well as initiatives related to the maintenance and preservation of the City Hall portrait and antiques collection, and special projects. She also advises and supports PDC Commissioners in the review of complex capital projects and proposals submitted by City agencies and oversees the review of public artwork and conservation projects. In her role, Llano is committed to supporting artists and their visions to contribute public artworks that reflect the unique identity of New York City and its values of tolerance, resilience, and humanity.

Her recent initiatives include spearheading a collaborative partnership between City agencies and non-profit partners to secure a $3 million dollar grant for a ground-breaking public art program for public housing, From Roots to Arts, and convening a Public Art Interagency Working Group for City agencies and authorities to share knowledge and resources, establish long-term collective policy goals, and set the groundwork to address chronic maintenance challenges. She also serves as a member of the Arts in Medicine Advisory Council to provide strategic advice to the NYC Health + Hospitals on the delivery of arts for health programs and art collection projects.

With over a decade of experience in the public and private sectors, she previously managed institutional, residential, and museum projects at award-winning architecture firms in New York City and abroad, and is a leader at the intersection of public art, architecture, landscape, and urban design. She holds a master's in architecture from Columbia University and a bachelor of design from the University of Florida.

Jessica MacLean, Central Park Conservancy

Jessica (Striebel) MacLean is a multi-disciplinary scholar and historical archaeologist specializing in New York City history and serves as Director of Public History for the Central Park Conservancy. MacLean received her master of arts in museum anthropology from Columbia University and a PhD in historical archaeology from Boston University. Before her time with the Conservancy, MacLean was an urban archaeologist for the Landmarks Preservation Commission and the NYC Archaeological Repository, where she was responsible for the curation and interpretation of archaeological collections excavated in the City. She has worked at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum and the Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn, and taught as an adjunct professor of archaeology at Columbia University, New York University, and the City College of New York. In 2022, she co-authored Buried Beneath the City: An Archaeological History of New York. As an urban archaeologist, MacLean has excavated in the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. Queens, however, remains elusive.

Justin Garrett Moore, Mellon Foundation

Justin Garrett Moore is the Program Director for the Humanities in Place program at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. His work focuses on advancing equity, inclusion, and social justice through place-based initiatives and programs, built environments, cultural heritage projects, and commemorative spaces and landscapes. He has extensive experience in architecture, planning, and design—from urban systems, policies, and building projects to grassroots and community-focused planning, design, preservation, public realm, and arts initiatives.

With over 15 years of public service with the City of New York, Moore has led several urban design and planning projects, including the Greenpoint-Williamsburg Waterfront, Hunter's Point South, and the Brooklyn Cultural District. From 2016 to 2020, he was the Executive Director of the New York City Public Design Commission, where he spearheaded initiatives to address social equity and sustainability through improved built environment design and public processes. His work spanned housing and community development, place and open space design, historic preservation, public art and monuments, and civic engagement.

Moore holds a bachelor of design from the University of Florida and master of architecture and master of science in urban design degrees from Columbia University, where he now serves as an adjunct associate professor of architecture. He has also taught at Morgan State University, Tuskegee University, and the Yale School of Architecture. His professional affiliations include the American Institute of Certified Planners, the Urban Design Forum, and BlackSpace. In 2021, Moore received the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Architecture and was named to the United States Commission of Fine Arts by President Joseph Biden.

Mabel O. Wilson, Columbia University

Mabel O. Wilson, PhD, is a professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies and a professor of Architecture at Columbia University. With her practice Studio &, she was a member of the design team for the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers at the University of Virginia and was co-curator of the Museum of Modern Art’s exhibition Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America (2021).

Special thanks to Jonathan Kuhn, Director, Art and Antiquities, NYC Parks

The Central Park Conservancy and Urban Design Forum have partnered on a three-part event series exploring how commemoration takes shape in New York City’s public parks—from early ideas to public review and long-term stewardship. The series is part of a broader Central Park Conservancy initiative, supported by the Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project, focused on creating a meaningful and lasting commemoration of Seneca Village within Central Park.

About Urban Design Forum

Urban Design Forum connects and inspires New Yorkers to design, build, and care for a better city. We are a member-powered organization of 1,200+ civic leaders committed to a more just future for our city. We believe the built environment—our neighborhoods, buildings, public spaces and infrastructure—shapes our city’s health, culture, and economy. We bring together New Yorkers of diverse backgrounds and experiences to learn, debate, and design a vibrant city for all.

Event Accessibility

Urban Design Forum promotes conversations between invited civic leaders, designers, developers, and advocates. This event is open to the general public.

We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals to engage fully.

• The venue will have an entrance that is ADA-accessible.
• This event will have microphones and speakers.
• If you’re not feeling well, please stay home. Face masks are encouraged, particularly if you have been recently exposed to colds, flus, or other illness.
• Please refrain from wearing strong fragrances to accommodate guests with allergies or environmental sensitivities.
• If you have additional needs, we will do our best to accommodate. Please contact [email protected].

This event is part of Seneca Village: Toward a Permanent Commemoration, an ongoing program series funded by the Mellon Foundation. The program series will culminate in a community-informed framework guiding the future design of a permanent commemoration of Seneca Village in Central Park.