Blank Slate Monument

The NIA Cultural Center presents the Blank Slate Monument, an interactive sculpture paying tribute to African American history and the ongoing struggle for racial justice. The monument created by artist Kwame Akoto-Bamfo will be on display at the Rosenberg Library from April 5 through July 5, 2023.

The term “Confederate monument” often conjures up images of white army generals on horseback, leading the south into battle. The Blank Slate Palimpsest Monument (“Blank Slate”) is an awe striking, allegorical deconstruction of that notion, challenging the onlooker to seek a deeper understanding of the “African American” experience before, during and after the American Civil War (1861-1865).

Artist, Kwame Akoto-Bamfo is a versatile Ghanaian artist who is known for his work Nkyinkyim Installation/Museum, cultural activism and contributions to Ghanaian tertiary institutions and traditional communities.
His outdoor sculpture “Nkyinkyim Installation,” dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Transatlantic slave trade, is on display at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. The work is directly connected to a larger installation of the same name made up of over 1,500 portraits of Africans in the Diaspora.

The sculpture has traveled through more than a dozen cities throughout the United States and has been installed in spaces to interrupt public art narratives and Confederate symbolism. The artwork features an interactive element where participants can share their opinions, which are displayed on a digital screen. The artist’s goal is for viewers to reflect on and respond to the monument’s presence and meaning.