In the early 20th century, at the height of the silk manufacturing boom in the United States, hundreds of Armenian and Syrian weavers migrated to the town of Summit, New Jersey, to work in its mills. When artist Bryan Zanisnik began researching the city for a Summit Public Art commission, he decided to create a monument that would both honor this “forgotten history” and unearth its archives for current residents to appreciate.“These workers who came from [historical] Armenia and Syria really built this town and contributed so much, but very few people know about their histories today,” Zanisnik told Hyperallergic, adding that Summit was second only to the neighboring town of Paterson, America’s “silk city,” in producing the fiber. “This is a monument to these people, to their ancestors, to the grandchildren of these immigrants.”To read the full story, check out the link below to the article on Hyper Allergic.
https://hyperallergic.com/660944/an-unlikely-monument-to-the-syrian-and-armenian-communities/
