The Charleston Gaillard Center invites the public to submit nominations for Monuments by internationally acclaimed artist Craig Walsh. Nominations are open through midnight on November 14, 2025, offering an opportunity for community members to honor individuals who have made a lasting impact on the Lowcountry through their service, creativity, leadership, and care for others.
Commissioned by the Gaillard as part of its celebratory 10th season, Monuments will transform live portraits of local unsung heroes into large-scale video projections, illuminating trees surrounding the Gaillard beginning February 27, 2026, and running through March 31, 2026. The installation, which will be free and open to the public every evening beginning at 6:30pm, will celebrate the people who shape the spirit of Charleston today.
Nominees for Monuments should embody the following criteria:
- They are extraordinary and routinely go above and beyond to do good in their community.
- They are not already widely recognized for their work – they are “unsung.”
- They live in the Charleston tri-county area.
- This person is living and to the best of your knowledge will be willing to participate in this project.
A distinguished local jury will review nominations and select the honorees featured in Monuments:
- Rabbi Stephanie Alexander, Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (KKBE), Senior Rabbi
- Dr. Thaddeus J. Bell, Closing the Gap in Health Care, Founder
- LaVanda Brown, YWCA Greater Charleston, Executive Director
- Lee Deas, Obviouslee, Founder
- Jayme Host, College of Charleston School of the Arts, Dean
- Asiah Mae, Second Poet Laureate of Charleston, SC
- John Powell, Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, President and CEO
- Jonatan Guerrero Ramirez, We Are Family, Program Director
- Marka Danielle Rodgers, Dancer and Accessible Yoga Instructor
- Timothy Rogers, Charleston Stage, Managing Director
- Nicole Taney, Charleston Gaillard Center, VP of Artistic Programming
“Monuments is about recognizing those whose everyday actions strengthen and uplift our community,” said Lissa Frenkel, President & CEO of the Charleston Gaillard Center. “We invite everyone to take part in this project by nominating the people whose quiet contributions deserve to be seen and celebrated.”
Taking place in a city engaged in ongoing conversations about how history is remembered and represented, Monuments invites a reflection on who we choose to honor. The project challenges traditional ideas of commemoration—a particularly relevant topic in Charleston following the 2020 removal of the John C. Calhoun monument from Marion Square after 133 years. Situated across the street from the future Anson Street African Burial Memorial, which will honor the 36 Ancestors uncovered during the Gaillard’s 2013 renovation, Monuments connects past and present through a contemporary lens of recognition and shared humanity.
Members of the public are encouraged to submit nominations online before the November 14 deadline.