The ARCH Project, also titled “Don’t Forget to Remember (Me),” is a commissioned monument at Bryn Mawr College, located in the Cloisters of Old Library. The project seeks to re-center and elevate the stories of Black students, staff, and faculty, who have been integral to Bryn Mawr’s legacy but have long gone unacknowledged. On Thursday, April 24, the project was officially unveiled to the public. Bryn Mawr commissioned artist Nekisha Durrett for the project.
Students, faculty, alumni, and friends and family of the college attended the event. The excitement was palpable: all were to be the first to see the new monument in its final form. As people made their way to the cloisters, a performance by Youba Cissokho was held, who played the traditional kora for audience members.
The unveiling began with a poem reading by Airea D. Matthews, an associate Professor of Africana Studies and the Co-Chair of Bryn Mawr’s Creative Writing department.
Matthew’s poem, entitled “Don’t Forget to Remember,” symbolized the vision of the project, highlighting the 248 names etched onto the newly embedded bricks, arranged so as to resemble a braid. Monique Scott, the Faculty Director of the ARCH Project, followed up with a welcome. She expressed pride and appreciation for the completion of the project before passing it off to President Wendy Cadge, who also celebrated the accomplishments of the ARCH Project.
“Thankfully, this place will never be the same again,” Scott said to the audience. “Welcome to the new and vibrant cloisters.”
Shana Fountain, the Service Supervisor at New Dorm Dining Hall was intended to speak about her experience at the college, but unfortunately was unable to attend. However, Bryn Mawr Alumnae Milly Mond spoke on Fountain’s behalf: “when I first came to Bryn Mawr College over 20 years ago, I was simply grateful to have a job. But overtime, it became so much more than that. What started as an opportunity became a journey of growth, purpose, and pride. I embrace BMC’s mission of setting high standards of excellence and always preparing for the future, and that mission has become my own.”
Following the speech, Mond introduced Annalise Ashman, an ARCH student researcher and graduate of Bryn Mawr College.
“In November of 2021, when I first joined the project as a research assistant, I had no idea of the weight of the histories that we uncovered, nor did I anticipate the invaluable effect these stories would have on my own trajectory as a student of the community,” said Ashman. “Bryn Mawr College is an incredible place with an unwavering legacy of academic excellence and community support that has produced some of the world’s most incredible movers and shakers. But it cannot be ignored that within this history, stories of Black staff members, who built and maintained the very grounds that we stand on today, have been largely excluded by the college. Alas, here we are to finally acknowledge the blood, sweat, and tears, poured into the foundation of this institution.”
To end off the remarks, Durrett continued her speech from her same-day luncheon about her thoughts on the project: “Something that you [Ashman] just said resonated with me, and that is ‘Quiet Power.’ Sometimes when you feel like a project is right, it doesn’t really feel like you’re doing a lot,” said Durrett. “But rather, what happens, is a lot of listening and all the labor that went into all the time spent—all the arguments, all of the struggles to create this piece to be, to even have the conversation to introduce the notion to have this artwork was a challenge.”
Durrett continued, “When I sat in the archives and looked through those timecards, it’s really interesting. There’s just this listening that happens—it’s kind of difficult to put into words but there is a lot of listening that happens. Someone had described me as a conduit, and that is what it feels like; it feels like I’m just listening to this ‘quiet,’ to this powerful ‘quiet.’”
The event ended with a choral performance by singer V. Shayne Fredrick, along with other singers Desmond Boyer, Jakeya Limitless, Seraiah Nicole, and Taylor Samuels. The five sung their acapella on the new tiles of the Cloisters, which were glowing throughout the performance.
