The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and Snap Inc. Launch LACMA × Snapchat: Monumental Perspectives

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), in collaboration with Snap Inc., today introduces the first collection of LACMA × Snapchat: Monumental Perspectives projects. This multi-year initiative brings together artists and technologists to create virtual monuments that explore just some of the histories of Los Angeles communities in an effort to highlight perspectives from across the region. These augmented reality monuments were built using Snapchat’s technology and are available to experience starting today.

The five virtual monuments and murals include Mercedes Dorame’s immersive portal between past, present, and future worlds for Indigenous presence in contemporary Tovaangar (Los Angeles), I.R. Bach’s animations designed to inspire self-reflection, Glenn Kaino’s path of generational stories of connectedness along the 1932 L.A. Olympic marathon route, Ruben Ochoa’s homage to the shared history of street vendors in L.A., and Ada Pinkston’s memorial series paying tribute to Biddy Mason.

They were designed to be experienced at locations across Los Angeles through the Snapchat Camera, including at LACMA, MacArthur Park, Earvin “Magic” Johnson Park, and Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Those in the area can discover the virtual monuments easily by looking for their markers on the Map in Snapchat, which will pinpoint their locations and more details about each work. The monuments can also be viewed by anyone around the world, wherever they are by visiting lacma.org/monumental on mobile devices.

“LACMA and our partners at Snapchat are fundamentally interested in storytelling, but in new and innovative ways, and that’s what many artists are interested in as well,” said Michael Govan, LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director. “The resulting monuments visualized by Mercedes Dorame, I.R. Bach, Glenn Kaino, Ruben Ochoa, and Ada Pinkston are not only relevant to issues of today—Los Angeles, civic space, community—but also to the medium of art, opening doors to new ways of thinking about art in both physical and virtual spaces.”

“Through this collaboration with LACMA, Snap Inc.’s augmented reality technology has become an immersive medium for advocacy and representation. We’re thrilled to empower these artists and Lens Creators, and support their desire to share untold stories through a new perspective,” said Bobby Murphy, co-founder and CTO at Snap Inc.

The launch coincides with the International Day for Monuments and Sites and includes a robust schedule of related programming starting on Sunday, April 18. Additional programs related to each project, including podcasts, a docuseries, and art kits, will be presented throughout the year.

Last year, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the largest funder of the arts, culture, and humanities in the U.S., announced “The Monuments Project,” a five-year, $250 million commitment to transform the way our country’s histories are told in public spaces. The Mellon Foundation will support the expansion of Monumental Perspectives to include additional artists in the coming years. The Foundation is also providing financial support for other critical elements of the initiative including the curation, community engagement, and related public programming.

“The virtual monuments and murals that these five artists have created illuminate how we can reimagine and rebuild commemorative spaces across the country, and embodies the visionary work we aim to support through The Monuments Project,” said Elizabeth Alexander, President of the Mellon Foundation. “Like these immersive commemorations, we’re excited to see more artists using innovative means—beyond bronze and stone—to memorialize historical figures, ideas, and movements, and to recontextualize existing monuments that teach too little of our collective history in public spaces.”

This new project is a continuation of LACMA’s and Snap’s commitment to innovation and the exciting possibilities that result when artists and technologists are brought together. In 2019, LACMA and Snap collaborated on the Los Angeles presentation of Christian Marclay’s Sound Stories. In 2018, Snap joined LACMA’s Art + Technology Lab Advisory Board, a group composed of leading innovators across a variety of technological industries. Advisory board members lend their experience and expertise to help drive the conversation around how museums will use new technology in the future and serve as advisors to artists who receive grants from the lab.

About the Monuments

Mercedes Dorame
Portal for Tovaangar, 2021
Portal for Tovaangar may be experienced at LACMA (5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036) or from anywhere at