No other event in recent history has touched every place, citizen, nation, & religion on Earth as did the COVID-19 pandemic. It excluded no one. At best you may have experienced quarantine, at worst you may have experienced loss; we have all shared the pain and challenges brought by the pandemic. This monument embraces our shared experiences.

ON March 11, 2020,

after more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries and 4,291 deaths, the World Health Organization declares COVID-19 a pandemic. Today, they are still collecting real time data on cases, deaths, and vaccinations across the globe. Explore your region by clicking on the interactive map below.

THE CONTEST

On April 1, 2023, the COVID-19 Monument Commission announced a design contest and a call for artist submissions due by August 31, 2023.

The Monument will be a major outdoor public sculpture and park. The materials will work in harmony with the environment and cultural topography. The design will provide a moving and creative concept that will speak to all nations and cultures, unequivocally inclusive.

The monument addresses the themes of honor, remembrance, and resilience. The design honors all who courageously served while much of society stayed home, locked-down by worldwide order. Aspects of remembrance will reflect on the lives lost by illness, the pandemic experience, the suffering – hence the call to learn and to heal. The design embodies notions of resilience and victory.

The winning design will receive a cash prize of $20,000 USD. The contest has since closed and a winning design will be announced from over 100 submissions.

A VIRTUAL GLOBAL MONUMENT

This monument will establish a virtual and physical platform to memorialize, mourn, and reflect. Serving as a permanent site for resilience and education, we will invite all to participate and share their pandemic experiences.

A PHYSICAL, PERMANENT MONUMENT

The COVID-19 Monument Committee in collaboration with the Hektoen Institute of Medicine and the Illinois Medical District has selected a location in the city of Chicago, Illinois, USA for the physical monument structure. It will be accessible to all through virtual engagement.