In the late 1990s, three monuments – Crab Park Boulder, Marker of Change, and Standing with Courage, Strength and Pride – were built in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Located within a few city blocks of one another, the monuments were grassroots initiatives that challenged the norms of civic art by claiming a place in public space for society’s more vulnerable groups, and each figured in debates about many kinds of violence. Speaking for a Long Time offers unique insights into the creation of memorials and the multiple, often contested meanings that can be attached to them in local communities. Part 1, “Act," explores the monuments’ origin stories and highlights the distinctive perspectives of their founders. Part 2, “Frame," places these narratives in the context of modern debates and theories on public space and social memory. Part 3, “Forge," returns to the Downtown Eastside to show how the resilience and agency of grassroots activists can give the socially marginalized a visible presence in our urban landscapes. This vivid account of the creation of memory-scapes in a marginalized community asks us to reconsider what constitutes public art that will “speak for a long time." | Speaking for a Long Time by Adrienne L. Burk, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters