The Gun Violence Memorial Project

The Gun Violence Memorial Project

Year

2019

Status

In Progress

Size

72 sq ft per house

Location

United States

Partners

The Chicago Architecture Biennial, The National Building Museum, The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, The Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture and the Boston Arts Commission, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Songha & Company, Purpose Over Pain, Everytown for Gun Safety, Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, Change the Ref, Newtown Action Alliance

Collaborators

Haroula Rose, Caryn Capotosto, StoryCorps, Ravenswood Studio, Sam Stubblefield

Focus areas

Memorials & Monuments

Services

Architecture, Exhibits & Interpretation, Film & Media, Furniture & Interiors

Project Team

Bethel Abate, Jha D Amazi, Antonieta Bocxe, Justin Brown, Regina Chen, Emily Ebersol, Cristoforo Magliozzi, John Maher, Zoe Miller, Michael Murphy, Brianne Nueslein, Morgan O'Hara, Prince Osemwengie, Chris Scovel, Maggie Jacobstein Stern, Isabel Strauss, Mayrah Udvardi, Annie Wang

Community Partners

Center that Cares, CeaseFirePA, Anacostia Arts Center, the Bronx Documentary Center, Jeron x Grayson Community Center, Mothers in Charge, St. Agatha Catholic Church, Hear My Cries, Families First DC, The Akilah Dasilva Foundation, Shawn Moss Wellness and Growth Foundation, Melquain Jatelle Anderson Foundation, The McClain Foundation, Destined 4 Greatness Inc, The Godsquad 67th Precinct Clergy Council Inc., Where Do We Go From Here Inc., Camba Inc., Jared’s Heart of Success Inc., Nonviolence Institute, Parents for Peace & Justice, New Mexico Crusaders For Justice, Safe Communities for Justice, Center of Life, House of Manna, Family Survivor Network, Brownsville In Violence Out, Prince Hall Grand Lodge of PA, Purpose Over Pain, Purpose For My Pain, Robbed, Knowlton School of Architecture at the Ohio State University

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The Gun Violence Memorial Project is a national space of remembrance and healing for communities impacted by the epidemic of gun violence in the United States.

Too often, victims of gun violence are reduced to statistics. This memorial resists that erasure by preserving individual stories and translating the collective scale of loss into built form. It fosters healing through recognition—acknowledging both personal memories and the profound societal impact of this ongoing tragedy.

The design features four houses constructed with 700 glass bricks—each house representing the average number of lives lost to gun violence each week in America, a statistic from when the memorial was designed in 2019. Each brick contains a remembrance object contributed by an impacted family; and displays the honoree’s name, year of birth, and year of death. Families are invited to contribute at collection events held in cities across the country, ensuring the memorial continues to grow with their stories.

MASS partnered with conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas and the gun violence prevention organization Purpose Over Pain on this project, along with local community-based organizations across the country. Everytown for Gun Safety was a key project partner from 2019-2023.

The Gun Violence Memorial Project debuted at the Chicago Cultural Center in September 2019 as part of the Chicago Architecture Biennial and remained on view until February 2020. In spring 2021, it traveled to the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., where it accompanied the exhibition Justice is Beauty: The Work of MASS Design Group.

Most recently, the memorial opened simultaneously at three Boston sites—the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (ICA), Boston City Hall, and MASS’s gallery space—on August 29, 2024, remaining on display until January 20, 2025. In spring 2025, it moved to the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.

The installations in Chicago and Washington, D.C. included audio recordings of interviews conducted by MASS and StoryCorps, played inside each house, alongside an audio installation by artist Sam Stubblefield. Video clips from Comes the Light about the effects of gun violence were projected onto adjacent walls, sharing stories about the lives cut short and the personal objects chosen to honor them.