Memorial to Survivors of Sexual Violence Vandalized – Again

On October 17, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) was alerted to damage on the Memorial to Survivor’s of Sexual Violence at Boom Island Park in Minneapolis. Damage was inflicted on the tile mosaic and granite.

This is the second instance of damage to the memorial this year. In mid-May, there was damage to the memorial’s mosaic tiles, granite, and donor pavers. Repairs to the mosaic tiles and granite were completed this summer and work continues on repair of the donor pavers. 

“My heart is broken for our society, its sickness and its anger,” mosaic artist Lori Greene wrote in a statement to Minnesota Women’s Press. “Survivors’ voices will not be denied or silenced. We will rebuild. Love prevails.”

Minneapolis Park Police say they are investigating the incident. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Park Police Department at (612) 230-6550.

The memorial was dedicated in 2020. Green wrote a piece for Minnesota Women’s Press in October 2021 about her process. “I was very intentional with my thoughts about all of the survivors in the world as I built the panels. I wrote a prayer for them that I said every day: ‘You are love. You are safe. You are protected. You own your body. You own your mind. You are life.'”

Greene says she and fellow memorial organizers are planning to meet with MPRB to discuss options for protection at the site. “It’s unfortunate that the art needs to be protected; I think the story that [this] is telling is threatening to people,” she says.