The Vermont Holocaust Memorial (VTHM), a non-profit organization working to advance Holocaust and genocide education throughout the state, is excited to announce a search for student design proposals for a Holocaust Monument and Garden. Once complete, the monument will serve to educate generations of Vermonters about the immeasurable losses of that era and the consequences of bigotry and hate, while teaching lessons of acceptance, resilience, and inclusion.
This monument will be the first of its kind in Vermont. The call for proposals is expected to run through December 15, 2021.
The design search is open to students studying architecture, art, design, or similar career interests. During the call for proposals, prospective participants can register, assess design elements, and query VTHM monument committee members.
A detailed prospectus for the monument has already been accepted and circulated by professors in architecture and design at several Vermont universities. “Educating these Vermont university students and faculty about the history and intention of the memorial,” said VTHM President Debora Steinerman, “has itself advanced the organization’s educational mission.”
According to Steinerman, “This permanent outdoor homage, dedicated to the 1.5 million children who perished in the Holocaust, will be established as Vermont’s first, Holocaust monument. For purposes of design submissions, it is our hope that this will be sited in Stowe, at a central location that can provide classrooms and other relevant facilities. Other sites are also being considered.”
The proposed monument was inspired by VTHM’s ‘Leaf Project’. “In Vermont, trees dominate and populate our landscape — no two trees, or leaves, are alike,” says Steinerman. “Each tree may stand alone — but together they create a forest. And, like leaves on trees, every young life lost during the Holocaust was unique. Imagine the unlimited contributions from those 1.5 million child victims had they survived.”
The monument design should help the public learn about this genocidal historic event. VTHM hopes the final design will inspire its visitors and give cause for contemplation and remembrance. Proposed designs will be reviewed by a committee consisting of family members of Holocaust survivors, as well Vermont artists and educators.
Donations in support of Vermont’s Commemorative Holocaust Monument are requested and may be submitted via VTHM’s dedicated website page.
Monument Design Proposal Review Process
Prospectus details are available on the “Commemorative Monument” website page: https://www.holocaustmemorial-vt.org/commemorative-monument. Monument committee members will be available during the process for questions and would be happy to meet with students while they present their design responses to this call. A link where students can upload their submissions will be provided upon request. Deadline for designs is Wednesday, December 15, 2021. Please send all questions, critique, and submission link requests to: info@holocaustmemorial-vt.org.
VTHM hopes to complete this singular Garden for Learning and Monument for Remembering by the end of 2022.