Arts Commission launches multi-year "Shaping Legacy" monuments audit with $3 million Mellon grant

The San Francisco Arts Commission on Sept. 6 presented "Shaping Legacy," a multi-year project to audit the city's monuments and memorials and recommend ways to better reflect the diversity of San Francisco. Director of Cultural Affairs Ralph Remington framed the work as an effort to "shift the narrative of monuments and memorials to reflect more equitable stories." The project is funded by a $3,000,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation and will run through the grant period, which staff said extends to June 2026.

Angela Carriere, who was brought on to implement the grant-funded program, said the work will include an equity audit, artist-led activations and public workshops, and a final report. "This work requires that we focus on race as we confront inequities of the past, reveal inequities of the present, and develop effective strategies to move us all towards an equitable future,"…