(Detroit, MMI – March 3, 2025) – Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) proudly presents The Gun Violence Memorial Project, on view from May 2 to August 10, 2025. Centered in the Woodward Gallery, the project serves as a living monument to victims of gun violence. This traveling memorial invites visitors to learn more about gun violence while capturing and sharing the stories of fellow Americans who have lost loved ones to this crisis. The project debuted in Chicago, and previous iterations were presented in Washington, D.C., and Boston—now Detroit. 

“We are honored to host The Gun Violence Memorial Project at MOCAD” says the museum’s Co-Director and Artistic Director Jova Lynne. “This poignant installation aligns with MOCAD’s mission to present art that contextualizes, interprets, educates, and expands culture. Through this collaboration, we hope to create space for reflection, dialogue, and collective action in the fight against gun violence.”

The exhibition will feature four houses, each built of 700 glass bricks, which represents the average number of lives taken due to gun violence each week in America as of 2019. Within the glass bricks are contributed remembrance objects from families who have lost a loved one due to gun violence. These objects range from baby shoes to graduation tassels, all representative of those lost from the families. The bricks are labeled displaying the name, year of birth, and year of death of the person being honored. Visible from every angle, the houses create space to honor, preserve, and reflect on individual memories of victims of gun violence and its impact on society. 

“We are energized to be working with MOCAD in their capacity as a community anchor and creative partner, with whose guidance and leadership we are confident the memorial will be transformative in Detroit.” says Jha D Amazi, Director of MASS Design’s Public Memory and Memorials Lab.

Launched at the Architectural Biennial in Chicago in 2019, this is a collaborative project between MASS Design Group, Boston based architecture firm promoting justice and humanity,  Songha & Company, where artist Hank Willis Thomas is Creative Director and Purpose Over Pain, a gun violence prevention organization based in Chicago. 

Hank Willis Thomas shares, “My family felt the effects of gun violence firsthand when my cousin, Songha Thomas Willis, was murdered during a robbery 25 years ago. My life was forever changed by this tragedy, as have been the lives of so many other Americans. The GVMP, which will now be hosted at Detroit’s MOCAD, is an ongoing and collaborative memorial to victims of gun violence. It is space for family members to remember and commemorate their loved ones, making their loss tangible through the sharing of objects and stories.”

Activating MOCAD’s mission that centers art as a means to nurture social change and human understanding, The Gun Violence Memorial Project raises awareness, encourages conversation, and allows space for remembrance of those affected by gun violence. Gun violence greatly affects Detroiters, at a higher than average rate, nationally. Setting this work in Detroit, the series of social sculptures act as monuments, showing us how architecture can be responsive to our environments and what it means to have a living, breathing memorial, one that is contributed to over time instead of stagnant. It is a work that, without the participation of those affected by gun violence, would cease to exist.

A key aspect of this initiative involves working with local organizations to invite Michiganders who have lost loved ones to gun violence to contribute to the memorial by sharing their stories and leaving a personal object in remembrance. MOCAD will host three public events for those who wish to contribute on March 29, April 5 and June 21, please visit our website or  The Gun Violence Memorial Project to learn more. 

ABOUT MOCAD

The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) presents exhibitions and programs that explore the best of contemporary art, connecting Detroit and the global art world. MOCAD focuses on art as a means to nurture social change and human understanding, reflecting our community. We encourage innovative experimentation by artists, musicians, makers, cultural producers, and scholars to enrich all who participate and to educate visitors of all ages in the power of art. Whether from Detroit or worldwide, we welcome creative voices who can guide us to an equitable and inclusive future. We believe that art can change us, and it’s our responsibility to hold a space where challenge, acceptance, hope, and beauty can coincide.

ABOUT MASS DESIGN GROUP

MASS Design Group is an architecture and design collective that researches, builds, and advocates for architecture that promotes justice and human dignity. They have worked in over 20 countries, with 30 projects built or in construction. MASS brings inclusive design processes and invests in community empowerment, helping partners advance their mission through the built environment. Their project, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, was recently called “the single greatest work of American architecture of the twenty-first century.”

ABOUT SONGHA & COMPANY 

Songha & Company, LLC (est. 2006) was founded in honor of Hank Willis Thomas’ cousin and mentor, Songha Thomas Willis (1972-2000). An artist himself, Songha inspired Hank to pursue his own artistic language. Thomas honors his cousin’s mentorship and legacy through permanent and temporary artwork initiatives. Songha & Co, LLC is the principal entity responsible for realizing Thomas’ public artworks, social justice initiatives, and collaborative projects around the world. This includes The Embrace, in Boston, MA; and REACH, in O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, IL; The Writing on the Wall, and The Gun Violence Memorial Project, to name a few. Recent key partners include MASS Design, Incarceration Nations Network, Perkins & Will, and For Freedoms.

ABOUT PURPOSE OVER PAIN

Pamela Bosley and Annette Nance Holt, founders of the organization. Purpose Over Pain was formed in 2007 by several Chicago area parents whose children’s lives were taken by gun violence. They advocate for safer communities, strengthen families by providing crisis support to parents/guardians whose children have been victims of gun violence, and provide positive development activities for children and youth.