Monument Lab

The document pictured above bears the only surviving instance of Robert Hemmings’s signature and handwriting known to the historical record.

In 1776, Hemmings was a fourteen-year-old enslaved valet accompanying Thomas Jefferson on a trip to Philadelphia as the Declaration of Independence was being drafted. More than three decades later, after gaining his freedom, he signed the marriage bond of his daughter Elizabeth, preserving a rare record of a life often left at the margins of America’s founding story.

In our latest publication, Declaration House, Andrew M. Davenport, Vice President for Research at Monticello, reflects:

“Seeing Hemmings’s signature and considering all that his family’s freedom meant during the era of slavery is a powerful reminder of the lives of the founding generation whose stories have been rarely, if ever, told.”

This Juneteenth, we’re thinking about the gap between the ideals expressed in 1776 and the realities of freedom as they were lived, fought for, and carried forward across generations.

Throughout the summer, we’ll continue exploring Robert Hemmings’s life, the history of the Declaration of Independence, and what changes when we place overlooked stories at the center of our understanding of America’s founding.

Dive into these questions with us by pre-ordering your copy of “Declaration House” today at the link in bio.

Major support for Declaration House has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional support from VIA Art Fund and the National Endowment for the Arts. Project partners include Independence National Historical Park and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation’s Monticello and its Getting Word African American History Department.

If you didn’t get a chance to check out the Monument Lab Pop-up shop at Summit, you can still grab our swag online and in-person! Our limited edition “Monument” collection is available while supplies last.

Visit in person now through July 2nd.

📍The Village of Industry and Art, 320 S. Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19102

📚Store hours:
Wednesdays and Thursdays through July 2nd
3-6PM EST

Or shop the collection online at the link in bio.

As the Semiquincentennial of the United States approaches, invited 25 architects, urban planners, and leading thinkers to nominate a building or monument that speaks to the nation at this moment.

Monument Lab Director selected Declaration House, the historic site where Thomas Jefferson and Robert Hemmings lived and worked during the drafting of the Declaration of Independence and where Monument Lab presented Sonya Clark’s () “The Descendants of Monticello”

The public artwork transformed the historic house through a monumental montage of blinking eyes, featuring Robert Hemmings’ collateral descendants and others descended from the more than 400 people enslaved at Monticello, including descendants biologically related to Jefferson.

By moving Hemmings to the center of this moment in history, the project illuminated the entangled legacies of freedom and enslavement at the core of our nation’s founding.

Read the full piece at the link in bio.

You may think you know the story of 1776, but this is one you likely haven’t heard.

This summer, Monument Lab and release “Declaration House,” a new volume tracing the intertwined histories of liberty, enslavement, kinship, inheritance, and public memory through the life of Robert Hemmings, a 14-year-old who witnessed the writing of the Declaration of Independence and was enslaved by Thomas Jefferson as his valet during the summer of 1776.

Created in collaboration with the Thomas Jefferson Foundation and Getting Word African American History Department at Monticello, “Declaration House” brings together artists, historians, writers, cultural thinkers, and descendants of Monticello to explore the stories that have shaped the nation, and those too often left out of its telling.

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the book confronts the gap between the ideals and realities of freedom, asking what the Declaration of Independence means today.

At a moment when archives, public sites, and collective memory are increasingly under threat, Declaration House offers a vital reexamination of the American story.

Pre-order your copy today: https://monument-lab.myshopify.com/products/declaration-house

Editors: Anna Arabindan-Kesson, , and

Contributors: , , Paul Buchanan, , M. Davenport, , Husnaa Haajarah Hashim, J. Calvin Jefferson Sr., , , Jane Kamensky, .kenyatta, ,

Major support for Declaration House has been provided by , with additional support from and the National Endowment for the Arts (). Project partners include Independence National Historical Park and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation’s Monticello () and its Getting Word African American History Department ().

Monument lab was thrilled to partner with as our Lead Catering Partner for this year’s Summit!

12th Street Catering has been a Philly institution for over 40 years, pushing the boundaries of traditional catering to deliver elevated culinary experiences rooted in expertise, creativity, and care.

Good food asks us to gather, and we couldn’t think of a more fitting partner to nourish our community through the Summit experience.

At the heart of our Monument Lab events is a commitment to investing in the local businesses that sustain Philadelphia’s creative communities and shape the cultural life of the city.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the 2026 Monument Lab Summit: “School of Monumaking”

We are so grateful for our time connecting, playing, and learning together. ✏️📚🚌

From our inspiring presenters and distinguished awardees, to our generous sponsors and the incredible local partners and vendors who brought it all to life, this convening was truly a community effort.